Diversified conglomerate Reliance Industries has contributed Rs 1,184.93 crore towards supporting a number of need-based and impactful Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives during the fiscal FY22, as reported by IANS.
Reliance Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Reliance Industries, spearheaded the CSR programmes, which were directed by Nita M. Ambani, the foundation’s Founder and Chairperson. Rural transformation, health, education, disaster response, and sports for development initiatives were among the main focus areas of projects.
COVID-19 Response
The Reliance Foundation’s Covid-19 response to support the nation and its people, was implemented through five missions that pivoted and strengthened throughout the year in response to urgent and growing needs, including Mission Oxygen and Mission Vaccine Suraksha. Based on the increasing pandemic crisis, the other missions, including Mission Anna Seva, Mission Covid Infra, and Mission Employee Care, were strengthened and sustained. The organisation was able to reach out to approximately 5.75 crore individuals and serve 50,600 villages through its various activities.
During the pandemic, it produced 1,000 tonne medical oxygen every day exclusively for patients, distributed over 8.5 crore meals to the needy, distributed over 1.4 crore reusable masks, set up over 2,000 Covid care beds across various locations, provided Covid related advisories to over 44 people, and dispensed over 27 lakh litre fuel to emergency response vehicles, among other things.
Reliance repurposed its factory in Jamnagar in record time to make liquid medical oxygen, providing critical help to the nation in the face of a sudden scarcity of medical oxygen for Covid-19 patients, especially during the second wave. On a daily basis, the infrastructure was expanded to meet the life-saving demands of 100,000 patients, who were delivered free of charge to other states.
The Jamnagar facility contributed 11% of India’s total medical-grade liquid oxygen production. Despite the fact that Reliance was not a manufacturer of medical-grade liquid oxygen, it became India’s largest producer of this life-saving resource from a single location to help the country in its hour of need. It also improved India’s covid testing capability by establishing its own confirmatory tests with a daily capacity of 15,000 or more.
Initiatives in Education and Employment
In the education space, the Reliance Foundation has built a Jio Institute Campus on 52 acres in Ulwe, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, which will begin academic sessions in 2022.
It also assisted a number of other small and medium-sized entrepreneurs in rural areas by holding their hands and guiding them through the process of making their venture a success.
Initiatives for Sports Development
Since the foundation’s inception, it has reached 2.15 million youth and children through various sports projects. Scholarship athletes from the Reliance Foundation excelled at national and international competitions, winning a total of 28 medals. Athletes are aiming for a number of international competitions, including the Commonwealth and Asian Games. Artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled tools are being used to detect football talent.
Reliance Foundation Youth Sports (RFYS) was founded in 2016 with the goal of laying a strong foundation for India’s sporting future through developing sports in schools and universities.
Disaster Relief Response
During cyclone Tauktae in 2021, which hit the Arabian Sea in the second week of May and affected the livelihoods of many by damaging property and infrastructure, Reliance Foundation Information Services, through its mobile audio services reached out to more than 435,000 people across states hit by the cyclone with information on heavy rainfall, high wind, high wave, thunderstorm and lightning, pre and post-cyclone cautionary measures on the management of agriculture, livestock and fisheries.
