Chennai, formerly known as Madras, is one of the major cities of India in the state of Tamil Nadu. The city is nicknamed the ‘Detroit of India’ as it houses more than one-third of India’s automobile industry. The city is also home to the Tamil film industry, making it a major film production centre. The presence of such economic centres has also made Chennai a favourable destination for CSR initiatives.
In FY 2022-23, Chennai was the top recipient of CSR funds in Tamil Nadu. The district received a total of Rs. 649.87 Cr. from 1247 companies in the last fiscal year. The top three sectors of focus for CSR initiatives in the district were Education, Health and Environment. The top three spenders in the district were Shriram Finance Limited (Rs 56.63 Cr.), Infosys Limited (Rs. 24.82 Cr.), and Sundaram Finance Limited (Rs. 20.29 Cr.).
Top CSR initiatives in Chennai
Research Anatomy Laboratory at IIT Madras – CSR of Power Finance Corporation Limited
A state-of-the-art Anatomy laboratory was inaugurated at the Department of Medical Sciences and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) in August last year. This advanced facility, supported by a CSR grant of Rs 16.5 crore from Power Finance Corporation Limited (PFC), marks a significant milestone in medical education and research in India.
The PFC-Supported Anatomy Laboratory is designed to utilise and develop advanced technology for effective teaching and learning, specifically for the innovative BS Degree Programme in Medical Sciences & Engineering. This facility represents a pioneering step in integrating high-tech methods into undergraduate medical education.
CSR of Indus Life Sciences for people with intellectual disabilities
Indus Life Sciences (Indus), a Chennai-based company, as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative has collaborated with Paradise Home, a non-profit organisation that assists individuals with intellectual disabilities, providing vocational training, education, and therapeutic services in a caring, residential setting. Indus is funding the construction of an additional floor at Paradise Home, enhancing its capacity to serve more individuals.
The company donated Rs.30 lakhs to Paradise Home. The funds will aid the construction of an additional floor at Paradise Home, expanding its capacity to provide vocational training, education, and therapeutic services to individuals aged 6 to 65.
CSR of Tech Mahindra Foundation in Chennai
Tech Mahindra Foundation, the CSR arm of Tech Mahindra is currently running 14 projects in Chennai under its employability and education programs. The employability projects provide skill development training courses in the areas of Logistics, Tally, BFSI, Electrical & Automobile, E-publishing, Medical Coding, Medical Billing and more. The education projects provide interventions with a focus on enriching learning opportunities among children and facilitating equal opportunities for children with disabilities.
The ARISE or All Round Improvement in School Education is our education program that focuses on enabling children from underprivileged and marginalised socio-economic strata to receive quality primary education to optimize their potential for a promising career.
In the domain of education, Shikshaantar is the Foundation’s training program for teachers that focuses on creating happier classrooms by empowering teachers and helps them to unleash their potential to the fullest. Mobile Science Lab is an innovative initiative in the area of education by Tech Mahindra Foundation. It is a bus that visits the government schools as a travelling laboratory for hands-on activities of EVS (Science) and facilitates the learning of students from Classes 3 to 5.
Started in the year 2012 with three centres, the Skills-for-Market Training or the SMART Program is the foundation’s flagship employability program. The Foundation has been running SMART Academies (since May 2016) with the intent of offering more advanced and longer-term courses in some specialised vocations. At present, the Foundation runs Twelve Tech Mahindra SMART Academies including five SMART Academies for Healthcare, three SMART Academies for Digital Technologies and four SMART Academy for Logistics and Supply Chain Management.
SMART Centres train youth from economically weaker sections from urban communities with requisite employability skills through a structured skill development training program, ensuring that they are placed in suitable dignified jobs. The program places great emphasis on foundation job skills such as Spoken English, Basic IT and Workplace Readiness. There are a total of 15 domains and 50 courses that the students can opt from SMART, SMART+ (for persons with disabilities) and SMART-T (Technical) Centres.
CSR of Indian Overseas Bank
Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), a leading public sector bank, recently celebrated its 89th Foundation Day in Chennai. As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, IOB has undertaken multiple community welfare programs, including Rs 50.78 lakh donation to the Akshaya Patra Foundation, supporting breakfast for 3,126 students across 12 schools.
The bank has sponsored 836 cataract surgeries for the underprivileged individuals in partnership with HelpAge India. It has also provided one-day meals, school, and sports uniforms for 650 students at Ramakrishna Mission Students Home, Mylapore, Chennai. Apart from these, IOB has distributed wheelchairs, walking sticks, and tripod walking sticks to 30 needy individuals.
CSR support for children with special needs in Chennai
Defence and Aerospace electronics solution provider company Data Patterns (India) Limited has supported in the construction of a new building for Jayam Special School, a school for children with Autism, ADHD, Intellectual Disability, slow learning and learning Disability.
The new building of Jayam Special School was inaugurated at Ayapakkam, Chennai in May this year. The company has contributed Rs. 29 Lakhs for construction of four classrooms in the new building.
Jayam Special School has 174 children enrolled, with hostel facility and follows State Board syllabus for education. This new building will help in improving the quality of life for the children while also supporting their educational and vocational needs.
Mammogram machine donated to Cancer Institute Adyar
Kotak Securities Limited has partnered with Cancer Institute Adyar, Chennai, through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative and presented the medical institute with a mammogram machine for early detection and treatment of breast cancer.
Through this CSR collaboration, Kotak Securities aims to cater to a large women population of Tamil Nadu and other areas. The state-of-the-art mammogram machine installed has cutting-edge capabilities to identify early signs of breast cancer, enabling timely and effective medical treatment.
This is expected to play a pivotal role in ensuring effective diagnosis to approximately 30-35 patients per day, prioritising enhanced treatment outcomes through a smooth and fast process. Being a public charitable institute, the hospital will provide the diagnostic services either for free or at an affordable rate depending on the socio-economic status of the patient. The machine can radiologically penetrate through the layers of the breast, detect any lump or tumour and help fast-track the course of treatment.
