Marico Limited empowered the community to collect and safely incubate 33,413 Olive Ridley turtle hatchlings over a period of 48 to 52 days during the eight-month long turtle hatching season. Under the initiative ‘Save Olive Ridley Turtle’, Marico supported the government in establishing turtle protection camps, collecting turtle eggs, managing hatcheries, and conducting awareness activities to protect this endangered species.

These efforts spanned across several coastal villages, including Narambai, Nallavadu, Veerampattinam, Kalapet, Panithittu, and Manapet, contributing significantly to marine conservation and biodiversity preservation. True to its commitment, Marico ensured zero human intervention during the hatching and the baby turtles’ journey to the sea, allowing them to make their way to the water naturally – a crucial step in their survival.

In addition, nearly 40 local fishermen were equipped with skills and knowledge about turtle conservation through various workshops and field training in partnership with forest and tourism officials. Those who actively supported the project received a monthly compensation of ₹5,000 for the duration of the initiative, offering an additional source of income for the fishermen community in the region.

Speaking about the effort, Amit Bhasin, Chief Legal Officer, Group General Counsel, and Secretary of the CSR Committee, Marico Limited said, “Our guiding light and defining ethos at Marico Limited has always been to ‘make a difference’ and create a positive impact for the people we engage with, as well as the community and the environment within which we operate. This has guided our community in Pondicherry, along with local villagers, and forest department officials, to work tirelessly for over eight months, nurturing sea turtles from eggs until they made their way safely to the ocean. This project is a testament to what we stand for at Marico Limited.”

Besides this project, as part of Marico Limited’s ‘Be the Impact’ campaign, an initiative that encourages employees across India to contribute to environmental and community well-being, Marico’s Pondicherry team continues to undertake various grassroot projects. These include regular beach cleaning initiatives by Members conducted two to three times a year. Further, Marico members have also undertaken the cleaning of ponds and water bodies in the area, along with providing 1,000 saplings to the Pondicherry Pollution Control Board for its ‘One Tree One Home’ project.

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Recognizing that many teachers in underserved regions lack business language proficiency, NSPF’s education Program upskills and empowers them through targeted training and innovative teaching materials. Aligned with FLN and NIPUN Bharat, the program enhances teachers’ subject knowledge, boosting students’ reading, spelling, vocabulary, and comprehension skills. It combines digital and offline tools to create an engaging, rural-focused learning environment.

Over the past four academic years, NSPF has made remarkable strides, enhancing education across government schools in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand through dedicated teacher engagement and support. Across the three states – Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, NSPF has trained teachers from 1.31 lakh schools and over 15 lakh students. This represents 85% of the total schools in these states. Additionally, 94% of the schools that NSPF works with are rural.

As part of its mission, Nihar Shanti Pathshala Funwala, along with its partner, LeapForWord, has been implementing a Three-Layered Program Monitoring structure to strengthen support and assessment across classrooms. This includes call-based support, online classroom evaluations, and on-ground school visits, creating a structured system to track and encourage teacher engagement. Additionally, it has launched the Saturday Story Session (SSS), a weekly YouTube program that enhances students’ reading, listening, and comprehension skills. With over 175000 lakh trained teachers in FY24, the program has transformed the foundational learning, and numeracy in regional government schools.

Focusing on teacher empowerment, NSPF has introduced pioneering initiatives to support educators effectively. Teacher Support System (TSS), a new rural-based call center is central to this strategy. TSS offers tailored guidance to all the registered teachers, providing invaluable support to enhance teaching practices in classrooms. Staffed by more than 100 trained local women, TSS enables NSPF to make close to 1 million calls annually, delivering the largest direct support to teachers in the sector. In addition, the Word Power Championship, a flagship initiative by LeapForWord in collaboration with Marico’s NSPF, has been adopted by various state governments. The program has inspired children and fostered a sense of pride among teachers, who have witnessed their students’ growing confidence. Word Power Championship competition motivates students to improve their vocabulary and reading skills, fostering a collaborative learning environment.

Commenting on the success of the program, Mr. Amit Bhasin, Chief Legal Officer & Group General Counsel and Secretary of the CSR Committee, Marico Limited said, “At Marico, we strongly believe that teachers lay the foundation of education, and by nurturing and empowering them, we can enable the students to reach their fullest potential. Through key initiatives such as the Teacher Support System and the Word Power Championship, we are creating the opportunities for teachers and students to drive education in rural communities. The Teacher Support System team has built a strong, dedicated team that brings essential cultural and contextual insights to teacher support. This rural understanding has led to tailored solutions that resonate with teachers in underserved regions. Additionally, the growth in outreach has further helped us to refine our approach to better serve teachers and students.”

He also added, “Besides teaching, I am also proud to share that NSPF has created growth opportunity for many women, marking their first involvement in a formal work environment, where employment options were previously limited. Our aim is continue making a meaningful difference.”

Currently active in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Rajasthan (Alwar), NSPF is set to expand its footprint with ambitious future goals to support more teachers and students across India. With a focus on scalability and long-term impact, Marico Limited, through the Nihar Shanti Pathshala Funwala, is laying the groundwork for education that can transform lives across generations.

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Underscoring its commitment to environmental sustainability and agrarian community development, the company planted over 12,000 saplings across 5 acres of land, in partnership with local zilla panchayat of Dhanwad. The theme of Farmers’ Day 2023 is ‘Delivering smart solutions for sustainable food security and resilience’ and to promote it Marico recognised and awarded 10 farmers for green practices, smart irrigations, encouraging other farmers towards improved agriculture practices in their respective villages. Along with Marico Members and Leadership team 600+ farmers from 5 villages attended the programme along with the SHGs women, village leaders, and youth committee.

The afforestation initiative was carried out in collaboration with local communities and panchayats. The objective of the program is to create livelihood opportunities through sustainable and organic farming practices primarily in Dhanwad village. The organic plantation site is expected to yield fruits, providing an additional income channel for locals through Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and promoting micro-entrepreneurship initiatives. Furthermore, Marico aims  to develop a Centre of Excellence for Moringa farm site, as it is a fast-growing, drought-resistant tree , This initiative will empower the local community with alternative income generation opportunity, by selling the produce and creating an ideal farm which is climate resilient.

With aim to improve the availability of surface water for the community, last year Marico launched its water stewardship program ‘Jalashay’ in Jalgaon. The idea was to increase the possibility of water for irrigation purpose during dry seasons. The initiative also drove awareness on water-resilient cropping and improved farming techniques like drip irrigation, mulching, solar powered pump, vermicomposting, and water budgeting. In a year’s span Marico created 13.50 Crore litres of water harvesting capacity through ‘Jalashay’, replenishing water for the drought prone villages of Jalgoan.

Sharing his thoughts on Marico’s effort to uplift the community, Amit Bhasin, Chief Legal Officer & Group General Counsel and Secretary, CSR Committee, Marico Limited, said, “At Marico, we believe that, as an organisation, it is our duty to create a positive impact for every life that we touch. We constantly strive to bring about sustainable transformation in society by nurturing and empowering communities.

Understanding the challenges of the drought prone villages of Jalgoan, we decided to initiate an afforestation and a water stewardship program that will increase greener zone and ensure better rains in the region.

Our vision is to drive a community-centric sustainable agriculture and livelihood improvement program. We aim to increase the income of farmers through strategic water interventions and enable the local community to become climate resilient. By working collaboratively with local communities, we aim to not only address immediate challenges but also contribute to a sustainable and thriving future for all.”

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The divine month of Ramadan is a time to spread joy through selfless actions while fostering stronger relationships with the community. Echoing the emotion, Saffola participated in the month of Ramadan by distributing meal kits to the lesser privileged.

The meal kits had everybody’s favorite Ramadan festive delicacies – Biriyani & Kheer. The kheer was made even more delightful and creamy by soft grains of Saffola Oats. This magic ingredient not only enhances the dish with its richness and creaminess but also is high in fibre that keeps you fuller for longer.

The event hosted by Saffola along with the Robin Hood Army saw the community come together with big smiles to enjoy the nutritious meal thereby spreading a mutual feeling of love amongst everyone.

Sharing his thoughts on the event, a spokesperson from Marico said, “We are excited to participate in the Ramadan festivities and bring joy to the community and spread the magic of oats. Happy to partner with Robin Hood Army to make a small but meaningful impact in the lives of other families. We firmly believe that nutrition plays a crucial role in every family’s well-being and that’s why we are thrilled to be using Saffola Oats as the perfect ingredient for Iftar. By incorporating oats into the traditional dish kheer, we hope to create a tasty and nutritious treat for those in need.”

Dinoj Mayaramachandran, the spokesperson from the Robin Hood Army concluded by saying, “Festivals always bring people closer to their loved ones. We are delighted that Saffola reached out to us for this fruitful association that brought joy and smiles to the families that were present. Saffola Oats was the perfect ingredient to incorporate in the kheer and we are truly delighted by the response all the families have given us. This initiative lets us embrace the true spirit of Ramadan by spreading the magic of oats to those around us. With heartfelt gratitude, we look forward to partner with the Saffola team on many such occasions.”

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Women in sales often have to travel long distances in the market, and are often exposed to less-than-ideal washroom facilities. With this collaboration, the on-ground sales women of Marico will be able to locate the nearest possible Woloo certified safe and hygienic washrooms, hosted by premium restaurants, QSRs, cafes, and many other retail business outlets.

The partnership is aligned with Marico’s mission of promoting diversity and ensuring inclusivity across level, roles, and domains. It would provide women members with unlimited access to over 25,000 clean, safe, and hygienic washrooms across 400 cities in India. Additionally, the association with Woloo will also offer eligible members with a free hygiene Suraksha Insurance cover of Rs 50,000 from Tata AIG for UTL diseases.

The members will have access to a chain of Woloo Powder-Rooms as well.

Speaking about the collaboration, Sanjay Mishra, Chief Operating Officer (COO) – India Business & CEO – New Business, Marico Limited said, “At Marico, we are committed to creating a safe and comfortable work environment for our workforce. We believe in investing in our employees and in creating an environment that respects and supports the well-being of our members. Taking a note of the feedback received from our female members in sales, we decided to collaborate with Woloo to provide access to safe and hygienic sanitation facilities. We believe that this partnership will go a long way in improving the health and well-being of our female sales workforce as our members can easily access clean, and hygienic washrooms hosted by premium restaurants and cafes on-the-go without second-guessing about their safety and conditions.”

Commenting on the partnership, a spokesperson from Woloo, said “Our mission is to empower every working woman with her hygiene dignity. Our tech-enabled loo-discovery app is specifically designed for women to access safe and hygiene-certified washrooms in any Indian city. We look forward to providing sanitation facilities that are safe, hygienic, and easily accessible to the women at Marico.”

The Woloo application is currently available for both Android and IOS users. Members have to enter their location which would immediately locate the nearest safe and hygienic washrooms and powder rooms for them. Members will also be given Rs 10,000/- worth of free Woloo reward points, enabling them to shop for hygiene, personal care products on Woloo E-store.

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The MoU was signed between Dr. B Dayakar Rao , PS & CEO, Nutrihub, ICAR-IIMR and Dr. Shilpa Vora, Chief Research and Development Officer, Marico Limited in the presence of Shri. G. Kamala Vardhana Rao, IAS, CEO, FSSAI ,Food License Registration Services India.

The United Nations has declared 2023 the International Year of Millets and millets have also been given a prominent place in the Union Budget for this year. This collaboration opens up new possibilities for innovating within the market to produce more millet-based products for consumers across India to meet all the taste preferences in the country.

Through this partnership, Marico Limited aims to promote millets through its differentiated product offerings. Further, the MoU will help combine the R&D expertise of the two entities and help Marico expand its offerings of millets through experiment with different recipes that can perfectly balance taste with health. This is also a milestone in the company’s efforts to expand its healthy foods portfolio which currently includes products made with millets in the form of Saffola Oats Karara Crunch and Saffola Munchiez Ragi chips.

Speaking about the association, Dr. Shilpa Vora, Chief Research & Development Officer, Marico Limited, said, “India is one of the largest producers of millets and this association with NUTRIHUB and IIMR will further unlock the potential of millets and help in making millet-based products widely available in a variety of formats while balancing health and taste. With this partnership, we aim to create differentiated offerings with millets that are tasty yet healthy and can easily integrate with people’s lifestyles. This MoU will enable us to experiment more with millets and make the superfood more mainstream in the Indian diet in the long run.”

Commenting on the partnership, Dr. B Dayakar Rao , PS & CEO, Nutrihub, ICAR-IIMR, said, “We are pleased to sign this MOU with Marico. Nutrihub is a focal point where ideas, entrepreneurs, agriprenuers, start-ups, experts, academia, and the funding agencies gravitate towards creation of a new knowledge-based economy. ICAR-IIMR through its TBI would like to contribute to the success of the National Innovation system, by providing the right ambience and infrastructure for nurturing innovation, technical skills and entrepreneurial talents of thousands of millets stakeholders and we believe this association with Marico will help achieve this. Year 2023 has been declared as international year of the millet and thus this MOU becomes very important for both the parties and for the overall economic development, farmer support and consumer delight. I congratulate Marico team for taking this initiative and partnering with us.”

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The report titled ‘Innovation in Plastic: The Potential and Possibilities’, provides actionable solutions across the plastics value chain which can aid and address the challenges of plastic waste management for India in the short, medium and long term – from collection, to sorting, to recycling and also providing viable alternates to plastics.

Marico Innovation Foundation collaborated with Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Praxis Global Alliance as knowledge partners to develop the playbook. The partners assisted in identifying the challenges created by plastic waste at macro and commercial level as well as outlining opportunities and recommendations in the plastic waste management space while dispelling myths, especially on bioplastics.

The research methodology comprised of in-depth assessment with corporate leaders, start-up ecosystem players, industry experts, and scientists.

Padma Vibhushan Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar, Emeritus Chairperson of Governing Council of Marico Innovation Foundation and Jury chair said, “This timely report succinctly captures not only the problem of plastic waste but also proposes very imaginative solutions that can not only stand to benefit our nation but the world. The report is a comprehensive playbook for both public and private sectors alike on how plastics can be reimagined and repurposed now and in the future.”

The playbook also features 15 innovations that are not only first to nation but also first to world in some cases that address plastic waste with their unique and path breaking solutions. The report also lists models communities and cities that have addressed the plastic waste challenge through a host of innovative initiatives.

Speaking on the initiative, Mr. Harsh Mariwala, Founder of Marico Innovation Foundation & Chairman of Marico Ltd said, “We understand the critical need to build an ecosystem that can help deliver innovative solutions for global problems. It is why Marico Innovation Foundation (MIF) came into existence, and has been at the forefront of India’s innovation story. Plastics was ripe for this intervention. The playbook is only the first step to help evolve an ecosystem for innovation within this sector. MIF is committed to create a long lasting and meaningful change and will be actively involved in helping innovations in this endeavour, thrive.”

Mr. Amit Chandra, Honorary Chairperson – Governing Council – Marico Innovation Foundation and Chairperson, Bain Capital India Office said, “Some of the innovations featured in the playbook are not only India-first but also world-first with their potential to solve for plastic waste management, circularity, replacing plastics with more sustainable solutions that diverse stakeholders including governments and businesses can benefit from.” He added “With the right ecosystem support these innovations hold the promise of delivering viable game changing solutions that could reframe the future for generations to come.”

Stepping away from the notion of treating plastic as a problem MIF provided a fresh solution forward perspective at the event, with Mr. Ankur Warikoo presenting the innovations featured in the report in an interactive session to audiences present.

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CSR of Marico Limited

Marico’s CSR strategy is based on its declared core mission of improving the lives of all its stakeholders in order to enable them to realise their full potential. Marico’s stated purpose is to “Make a Difference.” The company is committed to the interdependent ecosystem made up of many stakeholders and thinks that economic value and social value are intertwined.

Marico’s CSR programs include supporting community initiatives in the areas of education, health care, particularly preventative health care, economic empowerment, farmer livelihood enhancement, and water stewardship.

CSR Initiatives of Marico Limited

1. Kalpavriksha Program

The Parachute Kalpavriksha Foundation is the flagship initiative of Marico Limited. The initiative was launched in 2017 to make a difference in the lives of the farming community. The Parachute Kalpavriksha Foundation is focused on helping our agricultural partner improve their productivity, livelihood, and overall quality of life by supporting farmers beyond traditional agricultural practices. The Foundation operates to integrate sustainability in farming practices by training the farmers in various aspects of farm management. Moreover, under this program, farmers undergo training in scientific and research-based agricultural practices, which further leads to productivity and income improvement. The overarching aim is to equip the farming community with the steps to drive lasting change in their lives.

The program has over 2.55 Lakh acres and 62,900 farmers currently enrolled with it. The initiative has led to a 15% enhancement of their productivity rates in FY22. The aim of the program is to cover a total of 4.05 acres and impact over 1.16 Lakh farmers, reaching a productivity enhancement rate of 16% by FY25.

2. Jalashay

Marico’s water stewardship program, ‘Jalashay,’ focuses on replenishing more water for the community than that consumed in its own operations, year-on-year. In a country that experiences disproportionate rainfall throughout the year, it is important that we identify the environmental, social, and economic concerns that might emerge out of water stress and make conscious efforts towards abating them. The objectives of the program are to promote effective conservation and management of water across the country and to replenish more water back to the community than that Marico uses for its operations by capacity creation.

In FY22, under the program, the company constructed 246 ponds, increasing the water storage capacity by 47.7 crore litres across various states.

3. Nihar Shanti Paathshala Funwala

As one of Marico’s signature brands that keeps purpose at the centre of its existence, Nihar Naturals has always focused on education and skill empowerment in alignment with its overall value proposition.

Initiated about four years back, the Nihar Shanti Pathshala Funwala program is focused on upskilling and empowering government school teachers to resolve the pressing issue of lack of consistency, and fluency in English Literacy, within the Indian education system. The program intends to increase the proficiency level of reading and speaking capabilities among students from underserved areas. Over the years, contextualised content and comprehensive training processes have improved the teachers’ subject-matter knowledge and enabled them to engage better with the students. The accessibility of digital learning resources has enhanced the learning environment for students.

4. Nihar Skills Academy

The Nihar Skills Academy was launched on September 25, 2021, as the next milestone towards deeper implementation of the brand purpose. Literacy is not just restricted to education but also broadens to the concept of skills, which comprises technical expertise, vocational skills, transferable skills, digital skills, and other such knowledge and abilities required for employment and livelihood. To address this and contribute to India’s share of the employable workforce of tomorrow, the brand ‘Nihar’ collaborated with 3 implementation partners in FY22 to impart skill-based education, followed by placement opportunities to women and the youth of the country.

5. Marico Innovation Foundation

Marico Innovation Foundation’s vision is to identify hidden, potential game-changing innovations and help them rapidly scale up in India. Over the past 19 years, MIF has grown to be a torchbearer of driving change in the Indian startup ecosystem, having been associated with more than 100 Indian innovations through various programs and themes that cut across the various clauses of Schedule VII under the Companies Act. MIF aims to nurture social innovation in India in a way that futureproofs the country’s transformational agenda in terms of scale, growth and impact.

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The integrated campaign spread across print, digital and social media channels,released an ad film with an aim to not only sensitise consumers about the nurturing spirit of the farmers, but also express gratitude towards their undying efforts.The ad film narrates how Marico sees a nurturer in every farmer.

The campaign was supported by some of the leading South Indian celebrities like Aishwarya Lekshmi, Lakshmi Manchu, Kalyani Priyadarshan, Sarath Kumar, Anupama Parmeshawaran and Samyukta Hornad.

Through this campaign Marico aspires to bring consumers a step closer to the farming community. Therefore, as the second leg of the campaign, Parachute Kalpavriksha Foundation launches a special farmer edition, featuring their real-life inspirational stories on the pack of Parachute Advansed Gold. To extend the spirt of nurturance to the consumers, the pack will come with a seed paper neck tag which when sowed in soil and watered regularly, grows into a plant.

The special edition will showcase a prelude to the impactful stories of four farmers — Moti Singh (The Farming Soldier), Sandeep Gite (The Drought Warrior), Arvind A (The Land’s Guardian) and Vinoth Kumar (Nurturer on Duty).

A QR code embedded in store assets will lead consumers to a microsite presenting a detailed story about their family, life and the challenges they overcame to feed the people of the country. The microsite will also entail details about the initiative and its impact.

The limited-edition packs will be sold digitally and offline in cities such as Bangalore, Chennai, Kochi, Coimbatore, Hyderabad and Vijaywada.

Speaking on the campaign, Mr. Koshy George, Chief Marketing Officer, Marico Limited, said, “Marico has always believed in rearingbrands with purpose as our core strategy. This campaign, under Parachute Kalpavriksha Foundation is dedicated to the country’s farmers. The unique limited-edition packs will act as a platform to acknowledge their consistent contribution to the society and give a glimpse of their life to the people. The objective is to appreciate and highlight how every farmer rises above their circumstances to feed the people.

Our brands have always led the way with authenticity, this campaign is yet another way to create deeper connections in the communities to understand and support them at the ground level. Thus, trying to make a difference in their lives significantly”

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However, the aspirational districts in the State have been ignored by corporate houses which haven’t dedicated as much CSR resources as they deserve. Nevertheless, some CSR projects have been successful in making a lasting impact.

In FY2020-21, the state received a total of Rs. 344.13 Cr of CSR funds from 473 companies. The top three contributors included Northern Coalfields Limited, NHDC Limited, and Dilip Buildcorn Limited, which spent Rs. 98.94 Cr., Rs. 12.76 Cr. and Rs. 12.32 Cr. respectively. The top three areas of focus of CSR initiatives were Education (Rs. 127.59 Cr.), Healthcare (Rs. 118.65 Cr.), and Rural Development (Rs. 52.41 Cr.). Here are the top social interventions from India Inc implemented in Madhya Pradesh.

HUL Lifebuoy Help A Child Reach 5

Unilever soap brand Lifebuoy’s ‘Help A Child Reach 5’ campaign aims to eradicate preventable deaths from diseases like diarrhoea by teaching lifesaving handwashing habits. The campaign was launched with an award winning film ‘Gondappa’ and handwashing initiatives in Thesgora, a village in Madhya Pradesh in the year 2012.

The decrease in diarrhoea in this village – known for having one of the highest rates in India of this deadly yet preventable disease – was observed over the period of Lifebuoy’s intervention in an independent evaluation of 1485 households with children aged below 12 years, conducted by Nielsen in September 2013.

Worldwide, one child dies from diarrhoea or pneumonia every 15 seconds. Handwashing with soap is the most cost-effective way to prevent child deaths. The simple but lifesaving act of handwashing with soap could help many more children reach the age of five, hence the name ‘Help A Child Reach 5’ for the CSR project.

The results achieved show that handwashing programmes have significant positive impact on both the handwashing behaviours and the health of a community. Lifebuoy’s handwashing programmes are now being rolled out to villages across 14 countries and scaled up in India to reach 45 million people.

Lifebuoy’s handwashing programmes are not only helping to change habits to combat disease – expert studies have shown that washing hands with soap at critical moments during the day can dramatically cut the incidence of life-threatening diseases like COVID-19 and diarrhoea.

Nihar Shanti Pathshala Funwala

The outbreak of global COVID-19 has disrupted education infrastructure in our country. Marico’s Nihar Shanti Pathshala Funwala partnered with Government of Madhya Pradesh and the NGO LeapForWord, towards upskilling teachers in English with the help of technology. The programme uses apps including YouTube and WhatsApp to provide content in a highly structured form to teachers in the state. Considering it has been a challenge for most of the teachers to impart education online, this helps them to get trained but also teach effectively. As part of the Teacher Empowerment Programme, teachers are also provided with digital ready aids and self-learning materials through WhatsApp.

Nihar Shanti Pathshala Funwala has remained true to its purpose of providing underprivileged children with opportunities and access to education, contributing 5% of the profits of Nihar Shanti Amla towards the same. Under the CSR initiative, various programmes such as IVR-based Spoken English programme, App-based Virtual School and WhatsApp based Teacher Empowerment Program are being actively conducted to further the cause of children’s education.

The project has officially empowered one lakh teachers in Madhya Pradesh, through its digital first initiative to help improve English literacy levels in the government schools. During the nation-wide lockdown, the project launched the Padhai Pe Lockdown Nahi campaign, which ensured students could keep learning English even at home safely.

NTPC GEM (Girl Empowerment Mission)

The CSR project by government company NTPC won the FICCI ‘Jury Commendation Certificate’ last year. NTPC was the only PSU to receive the FICCI Award in 2020. Girl Empowerment Mission or GEM is a flagship CSR project of the power company launched in 2018 to provide holistic education to girls aged 10-12 years. The programme prepares the girl child to become a well-rounded adult; instills curiosity and helps them develop better communication and social skills. Furthermore, it encourages girl children to get connected to a subject with their creative skills; develops psychological, social and emotional growth, makes learning natural, engaging, and a fun and meaningful experience.

GEM was inaugurated simultaneously at Singrauli, Vindhyachal and Rihand with a month-long residential workshop. This CSR initiative aims to not only empower them to face the realities of life but also make them future-ready. An interesting curriculum was designed for the overall development of the girls which includes yoga, followed by Basic English, Hindi, Mathematics, Science, GK and Life Science classes in addition to inputs on dance, drama and music, magic shows and puppet shows. GEM was so successful in Madhya Pradesh that it was scaled up to other States where NTPC has a presence.

HDFC Bank Holistic Rural Development Programme

With nearly half of its population belonging to socially marginalised communities, one of Madhya Pradesh’s main issues is the lack of suitable land for cultivation since most of the land holdings are either barren, sloped or forested. Hence, HDFC Bank’s Holistic Rural Development Programme (HRDP) focused on treating the land. Bringing about changes in cropping patterns and transforming the arability of barren lands, these CSR interventions have sustainably enhanced the livelihoods of targeted communities.

Villages in Chhindwara suffered due to issues ranging from decreasing water levels to increased soil erosion – the combined impact of which weighed heavily on its farmers during non-monsoon seasons. HDFC Parivartan’s sustainable Ridge-to-Valley model prevents soil erosion and ensures water conservation by starting at the top and letting the water evenly percolate, hence improving soil moisture. As a result of the increased productivity, employment opportunities were generated and seasonal migrations were reduced by 40%. Not only has it allowed farmers there to opt for double cropping, but it has also restored the once-degraded forest land.

ONGC Solar Chula Initiative

The ONGC Solar Chulha initiative has helped many villages in Madhya Pradesh go smoke-free. Taking up PM Narendra Modi’s challenge of developing an energy efficient electric cooking stove, energy company Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Ltd launched a nationwide ‘Solar Chulha’ competition in 2017 to secure implementable ideas for indoor cooking of Indian food.

A Team of M.Tech students from IIT Bombay – with their project titled ‘Design and development of Solar PV powered electric stove for domestic application’ – bagged the first prize. IIT Bombay’s design was taken up for pilot implementation in Betul, Madhya Pradesh under the CSR initiative. IIT Bombay students, with the help of ONGC, implemented the 86 Solar Chulhas under the guidance of Prof Chetan Solanki. The project was completed at a cost of Rs. 89,43,000.

This CSR initiative comes under ONGC’s flagship programme, INDEG-Make in India. Previously, the villagers had to walk miles to collect wooden logs for cooking. Apart from saving time, the solar stoves have ushered in a healthy life for the villagers; pollution in the area has considerably reduced within the span of past 10 months. This has eliminated major air and water borne diseases in the villages.

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