West Bengal has always been the centre of culture and modernization. The state is home to the age old festival of Durga Puja which has been honoured by the UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2021. The Visva-Bharati University, founded by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore has received the UNESCO World Heritage inscription to become the world’s first living heritage university in 2023. Other UNESCO World Heritage Sites in West Bengal include the Sundarban National Park and the iconic Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.
Apart from picturesque tourist attractions ranging from the Himalayan foothills of Darjeeling, the jungles of Dooars, the terracotta temples of Bishnupur, the royal palaces of Murshidabad, the mangroves of Sunderbans and beach destinations in the southern part, the state is also known for its cotton and silk sarees, variety of delicious cuisine and mouthwatering sweets like mishit doi, shondesh and roshogolla among others.
However, geographical proximity to the turbulent waters of the Bay of Bengal often makes the state a victim of cyclones and other natural disasters. This not only hinders the progress of the state but also makes it a destination for various CSR initiatives.
CSR Funds for West Bengal
In FY23, West Bengal received Rs 762.29 cr through CSR from a total of 1369 companies benefitting 23 districts with a focus on Educaton, Healthcare and Rural Development. The top three districts enjoying CSR benefits are Kolkata, South 24 Parganas and Murshidabad. The Top CSR spenders for West Bengal include Ambuja Cements Limited, Steel Authority of India Limited, Shree Cement Ltd, Coal India, HDFC Bank and NTPC Ltd among others.
CIL CSR Conclave 2024 hosted in Kolkata
Coal India Limited (CIL) hosted its 3rd CIL CSR Conclave 2024 in December 2024, which was inaugurated by Dr. C.V. Ananda Bose, Governor of West Bengal, in the presence of Vikram Dev Dutt, Secretary, Ministry of Coal, Government of India and P.M. Prasad, Chairman of Coal India Limited (CIL) along with other dignitaries also attended the Conclave.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. C V Anada Bose emphasized the power of CSR initiatives to transform the lives of communities, particularly in the tribal belts of coal-bearing areas. He also commended CIL for funding cancer patient support initiatives and emphasized that such efforts not only uplift communities but also contribute to the holistic development of the Nation.
P.M. Prasad, Chairman of Coal India Limited highlighted that CIL has invested Rs. 5,570 crores in CSR projects over the past 10 years, focusing on key areas such as education, healthcare, skill development, sports, and women empowerment. He also noted that CIL is among the top three Maharatna companies in CSR expenditure and outlined the flagship programmes undertaken by CIL and its subsidiaries.
Top CSR projects in West Bengal
Bandhan Bank donates Rs 4 Crore to Ramakrishna Mission
Bandhan Bank, as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), has contributed Rs 4 crore to Ramakrishna Mission to support the construction of the Ramakrishna Mission Centre for Human Excellence and Social Sciences (Viveka Tirtha). This initiative aims to promote skill development and education, reinforcing the Bank’s commitment to social upliftment. Viveka Tirtha will serve as a hub for education and skill development, empowering individuals with knowledge and capabilities essential for personal and professional growth.
Partha Pratim Sengupta, MD & CEO, Bandhan Bank, handed over the cheque to Swami Suvirananda, General Secretary of Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission at the Belur Math, earlier this month. Other senior dignitaries from the Math and senior officials from Bandhan Bank were also present at the occasion
CSR initiative enhancing clean water access in Purulia district of West Bengal
PNB MetLife, in collaboration with the Center for Environmental and Socio-economic Regeneration (CESR), recently inaugurated solar-powered water points in Madhupur village, Purulia district, marking a major step toward enhancing access to clean water. This initiative will benefit over 300 tribal families by providing a sustainable water source with a capacity of approximately 10,000 litres of clean water a day.
Villagers previously needed to walk up to 2.5 kilometers to fetch water. The newly-installed water sources offer a reliable and eco-friendly solution, reducing dependence on conventional power sources and easing the daily burden of water collection.
CSR enhancing menstrual health awareness among tribal girls in Purulia
PNB MetLife’s Damini CSR programme has been supporting underprivileged adolescent tribal girls in Purulia by raising menstrual health awareness, facilitating access to sanitary napkins through donation drives and vending machines, conducting periodic health check-ups, and empowering local change agents.
Ambuja Cements’ CSR for Murshidabad farmers
Ambuja Cements Limited is addressing irrigation challenges in Farakka, Murshidabad by introducing high-value crops such as strawberry. The company has empowered local farmers to improve productivity and achieve sustainable growth. To help tackle water scarcity, Ambuja Cements’ CSR arm introduced the River Lift Irrigation (RLI) system, enabling farmers to draw water from nearby rivers. This initiative has allowed farmers to grow multiple crops throughout the year, reducing their dependency on erratic monsoon rains. The availability of consistent water supply has opened avenues for cultivating high-value crops, boosting the region’s agricultural output.
“Farmers have been trained to cultivate Winter Dawn strawberries, a high-value crop with immense market potential. With support from Ambuja Cements, farmers like Tetra Roy, who previously grew paddy and potatoes, earned Rs. 42,000 from just 0.03 acres of strawberries, tripling his income in a year. Women farmers, such as Srimati Mandal, have also achieved significant income growth and are now planning future investments. Today, over 40 farmers in Farakka are part of this initiative, earning up to Rs. 1.5 lakh from just 0.33 acres of land,” as per an announcement.
CSR of Alcon for visually impaired children
Global Eye care leader Alcon in association with Sightsavers India, has helped visually impaired children in the Bankura district of West Bengal. This association between Sightsavers and Alcon India is part of the ongoing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities. As part of the Inclusive Education Programme of Sightsavers India, the Block Resource Centre (BRC), a government space where children with special needs come to study, was renovated. The BRC is accessible to maximise participation, and Bankura was selected as it has the highest population of 543 children with visual impairment, making it a crucial area of focus.
The BRC is often established to provide support, materials, and expertise to meet the diverse needs of students, including those with disabilities or special educational needs. Under this initiative, assistive devices such as low-vision tools, mobiles, and laptops are provisioned free of cost to 60 children with visual impairments thus, ensuring they have the necessary tools to succeed in their educational journey. The children, aged 3-18 years old, were selected from low vision screening camps, which Sightsavers India jointly conducted with the government, and were enrolled in government schools, graded according to the government examination system.
CSR of ITC for dairy farmers
ITC is working with dairy farmers in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal to improve productivity of animals through several extension services and to facilitate higher milk production. During the year, about 66,495 cattle of over 43,212 dairy farmers across 483 villages in nine districts of Bihar, three districts of West Bengal and one district in Jharkhand were supported.
CSR of Hero Motocorp Limited
Hero Motocorp Limited as part of its CSR is running community development programs in West Bengal, Maharashtra, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Gujarat along with a few suburbs of Delhi-NCR are focused on healthcare, education and livelihood improvement, underlying our commitment to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL)
India’s highest ranked Energy PSU in Fortune-500 list of 2023 (Rank 94), Indian Oil recorded Revenue from Operations of Rs 9,34,953 crore and a net profit of Rs 8,242 crore for the FY 2022-23. One of India’s most socially responsive brands, Indian Oil, has successfully combined its Corporate Social Responsibility agenda with its business offerings.
The Corporation has been partnering with communities in which it operates by supporting numerous initiatives connected with health, family welfare, education, environment protection, potable water, sanitation, empowerment of women and other marginalised groups. Indian Oil Spent nearly Rs 1,800 crore on CSR endeavours during the last four years across healthcare, education, sanitation, skill development, women empowerment and environmental sustainability.
Indian Oil has been focusing on Healthcare, Education and Environmental Sustainability while undertaking CSR initiatives in West Bengal. In the FY 2021-22, the PSU donated a whopping Rs 32 crore for the construction of Phase 2 of Tata Medical Centre Hospital.
Apart from this, the PSU has contributed CSR funds towards construction and expansion of school buildings, toilet blocks, drinking water facilities, provision of ambulance, hospital equipments, and has funded for animal welfare and sustainable farming in the state.
CSR of Coal India Ltd (CIL)
Headquartered in Kolkata, West Bengal, Coal India Ltd, a Maharatra PSU is the world’s largest coal producer and plays a pivotal role in India’s socio-economic canvas.
Coal India’s major CSR initiatives in West Bengal have been focused on healthcare and education. These include providing Rs 10 crore CSR funds for Linear Accelerator Radio Therapy Unit to enhance affordable cancer treatment facility at Saroj Gupta Cancer Centre and Research Institute, Kolkata and spending Rs 2.50 crore for upgradation of medical equipment at the Institute of Neurosciences, Kolkata.
To boost quality education, the coal PSU has donated Rs 55 lakh for the construction of a G+4 school building for underprivileged students at Mayapur, Nadia district of West Bengal.
CSR of PepsiCo Foundation
PepsiCo Foundation in partnership with WaterAid India initiated the ‘Access to Safe Water’ project with 45 Gram Panchayats in West Bengal in 2022. The project aims at providing clean water access to high-water-risk communities in the districts of Purba Bardhaman, Bankura, and Hooghly. The project endeavours to positively impact the health, security, and hygiene of local residents.
The prime objective of this project is to benefit close to 200,000 people directly and indirectly, by mid-2024. Initiatives include providing adequate access to safe drinking water in households; improved hygiene and sanitation practices; reduced groundwater depletion through water conservation and recharge and establishing suitable water quality monitoring systems. Besides this, the project also aims to ensure significant awareness of water, health, and sanitation (WASH) issues, scaling up and replication of models outside the project villages/ communities, etc.
Through this partnership, WaterAid India aims to provide communities with sustainable access to safe & clean drinking water and to facilitate the adoption of better hygiene practices.
CSR of Nestlé India
Project Hilldaari supported by Nestlé India, and implemented by PLAN Foundation and technical partner, Recity India has expanded its footprint to Darjeeling in West Bengal. Project Hilldaari has been conceptualized to develop inclusive, contextualised, and resilient models for solid and plastic waste management at select tourist cities of India. The project is currently operational in Mussoorie, Mahabaleshwar, Ponda, Dalhousie and Munnar.
Project Hilldaari in its 5 existing locations across India has diverted more than 27,000 MT of waste from landfill through source segregation. 80% of source segregation has been achieved across more than 20,000 residential and commercial waste collection points. Through Project Hilldaari, over 560 waste workers have trained to become a crucial part of behaviour change interventions. The project has also given them formal recognition with occupational ID, benefits such as health insurance, protective gear necessary for their work and other such benefits.
Project Hilldaari envisions establishing Darjeeling as one of the cleanest tourist cities in India. This can be achieved through positive behaviour change within the city on source segregation and engaging with waste workers to professionalize them with support from local administration.
CSR of L&T Finance Holdings
L&T Finance Holdings Ltd, a leading non-banking financial company, runs the ‘Digital Sakhi’ project in Baharampur, Murshidabad district. The project, part of the company’s CSR initiative, is designed to train and nurture rural women. These women, known as ‘Digital Sakhis,’ then promote women entrepreneurship and digital financial literacy within their local communities, as per an announcement by the company.
L&T Finance Holdings Ltd aims to create a dedicated cadre of 100 Digital Sakhis in Murshidabad. These Digital Sakhis are expected to impart module-based training to the community, focusing particularly on women.
Since its inception in 2017, ‘Digital Sakhi’ has fostered a community of 1,370 trained women, who have upskilled more than 11,000 women entrepreneurs. In the fiscal year 2022-23 alone, the Digital Sakhis trained and empowered over 11 lakh people through the programme.
