City of lakes and palaces Indore has been ranked first at the “Swachh Vayu Survekshan 2023” with 187 points among cities with population above 10 lakh. This is conducted by the Central Pollution Control Board under the National Clean Air Programme.
Indore is known as the IT hub of Madhya Pradesh. Considered the fourth largest centre of cotton textiles in India, it is also regarded as the industrial capital of the state. Indore accounts for one-third of the total ‘namkeen’ snacks production of India.
Apart from the textile industry, Indore also has an oil seed extraction industry, confectionery, paper and straw board, factories for asbestos products, machine tools and accessories, electrical machinery and appliances. Indore has one of the largest trans-shipment centres for truck transport. Due to a lot of similarities with Mumbai like cotton mills, cosmopolitan population, being a hub of business deals and destination for investments, Indore is often referred to as Mini Mumbai.
Top projects for CSR in Indore in 2023 and in the FY 2021-22 include:
CSR of HDFC Bank
As per data from National CSR portal, HDFC Bank has been the highest CSR spender for the district of Indore for the FY 2021-22. The Bank has been running their Holistic Rural Development Programme in Indore.
The programme focuses on comprehensive development through activities under Natural Resource Management, Education, Skill Development and Livelihood, Financial Literacy and Healthcare. The Natural Resource Management theme rests on the twin goals of enhancement of natural resources and their optimal utilisation for the economic development of the community. Under this theme, HDFC Bank has defined three goals. First, irrigating 2 Lakh acres land and covering 1 Lakh acres with vegetation, to increase the area of land under cultivation, as well as to increase the cropping intensity of cultivable land.
Secondly, the Bank focuses on reducing the carbon and ecological footprint of communities by promoting clean and renewable energy solutions. These include undertaking projects such as tree plantation for carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation. The Bank is targeting 1,000 villages to have clean and renewable energy solutions and a minimum of 10 solar lights in each village. In addition, it is providing solar home lights, biomass chulha, biogas plant, solar study lamp, and a solar irrigation unit, covering 25% of the households in each village. The biomass stoves have helped improve indoor air quality, creating a direct positive impact on women’s health. Further, it targets to plant 2.5 Million trees by FY25.
Third, HDFC Bank has been promoting the use of chemical-free farming, to maintain the soil, environment, and human health by combining tradition, creativity and science. It trains farmers on different agricultural techniques for improving productivity and using locally produced manure and fertilisers, which not only aid in chemical-free farming but also help avoid expenditures on chemical fertilisers.
River Ambulance – CSR of IRCTC
A new boat which is being used as “river ambulance” has been donated by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative. The boat situated on the banks of the backwaters of Sardar Sarovar Dam will serve as a river ambulance catering to the healthcare needs of 40 villages. The new boat, which runs at a speed of 40 kmph has replaced the previous river ambulance boat which was stationed here since 2014.
The river ambulance has been equipped with oxygen and other necessary equipments for basic healthcare and medical emergency. A doctor is present at the boat along with driver, assistant and a representative from the NGO Narmada Samagra. The boat will be catering to three districts of Madhya Pradesh, especially the underprivileged population.
Smart classes in Government schools
In a latest development, 55 classes of 55 government schools of Indore have been turned into smart classes with fund received from Infosys, Spandana, SGS and non-profit organisation ‘Yuva Unstoppable’ under Corporate Social Responsibility.
The Smart Classroom initiative aims to provide state-of-the-art technology and interactive learning experience to the students of Government schools. Equipped with modern technology, interactive displays and digital learning resources, these classrooms have designed to create an intensive and engaging learning environment for the students.
More than Rs. 1.37 crore has been spent for developing 55 smart classes. The smart classes were inaugurated by District Collector of Indore Ilayaraja T in August this year.
CSR of Gulf Oil Lubricants
Earlier this month, Gulf Oil Lubricants India Limited announced the return of its “Gulf Superfleet Suraksha Bandhan” campaign which is now in its fifth consecutive year. This year’s campaign marks a significant milestone in Gulf’s resolute commitment to fostering a safer and more secure life for these valiant trucking heroes, who tirelessly propel the wheels of commerce forward without a pause.
The Gulf Superfleet Suraksha Bandhan campaign, which made its debut in 2019, stands as a testament to Gulf’s enduring pledge to safeguard the trucker community. The company is distributing 10,000 portable water purifiers across India this year with the purpose of elevating the quality of life for truck drivers by ensuring access to pure and safe drinking water throughout their journeys, thus reinforcing their well-being and protection on the road.
Furthermore, Gulf is installing Community water Purifiers at strategic transport hubs, including Kalamboli (Navi Mumbai), Indore, Surat, Jaipur, Ludhiana, Baddi, Faridabad, Delhi, Kanpur, Amritsar, Ahmedabad, Agra, and Varanasi. These strategically placed community water purifiers are capable of filtering up to 200 liters of water per hour, catering to the hydration needs of approximately 15,000 truckers each month.
Swastika Investmart’s CSR with Indore Society of Mentally Challenged
Stockbroker company Swastika Investmart Ltdm, as part of its CSR initiative the company, announced the launch of its flagship program ‘Taare zamee par’ in June, last year. The programme aims to empower and skill persons with disabilities (PwDs) for their financial independence. The programme is implemented in Indore in collaboration with the Indore Society of Mentally Challenged. The company has reportedly been in an alliance with the NGO for the past 5 years to empower persons with disabilities for financial independence under its CSR arm.
Medyseva’s menstrual hygiene awareness initiative
Indore-based telemedicine healthcare startup Medyseva started an initiative in 2022 to spread awareness on menstrual hygiene in rural areas as part of their flagship campaign ‘Har Ghar Swasth’.
As part of this program, the startup conducts periodic healthcare and menstrual hygiene awareness sessions at schools, colleges and other places. They also have an online awareness initiative called Medy Talk, where gynecologists and other doctors speak about this topic. Webinars and sessions in public places are also conducted to create awareness around menstrual hygiene. Sanitary napkins are also distributed for free among the underprivileged women from rural areas.
Apart from Indore district, the program also caters to Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Assam.
IIM Indore’s School Adoption Programme
School Adoption Programme (SAP) is an initiative by Pragati, the social sensitivity cell of top management institute IIM Indore. The aim of SAP is to improve education, and provide infrastructure facilities to selected government primary schools. Under SAP, IIM Indore has adopted 5 government schools in the district.
The main concerns of Pragati revolve around enhancing the facilities and infrastructure of the government schools to improve the quality of conditions in which students learn. Another function of the team is to conduct donation drives that not only provide materials to the underprivileged ones but bundles of happiness too.
Pragati provides the kids with stationery, toys, sweaters, bags, shoes etc. They reportedly undertook the construction of a water tank and separate washrooms for girls and boys in EG School, Pigdamber.
Hinduja Global Solutions Smart Class
Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS) has been running the Smart Class Program, a CSR initiative to drive overall educational development of underprivileged children, in 10 government schools in Indore since 2018. HGS has associated with the NGO YUVA Unstoppable for the programme.
Children aged below 14 comprise 28% of India’s population and are always curious to learn. However, owing to lack of proper physical and technological infrastructure in government schools coupled with shortage of teachers, most of the students drop out immediately after completing their primary education. HGS’ Smart Class Program is expected to play a crucial role in transforming and improving the overall student learning outcomes and teacher effectiveness in the schools adopted by the company.
The CSR programme aims to ensure that children in the secondary standards take part, continue and complete their secondary school education. It is tied in with India’s developmental agenda of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Digital India to ensure wider reach and impact among the less-privileged children.
