Laxmi Vilas Palace is a stunning landmark of Vadodara
Vadodara – aka Baroda – in the State of Gujarat is famous for its art and culture. In fact, it is often referred to as Sanskari Nagari (city of culture) and Kala Nagari (city of art). Vadodara is the Power Equipment Manufacturing Hub of India because Vadodara district accounts for over 35% of India’s power transmission and distribution (T&D) equipment manufacturers and is home to an estimated 800 ancillaries supporting the big players in Power Sector equipment manufacturing and engineering industry. In line with the ‘Knowledge City’ vision of the CII (Confederation of Indian Industries), Baroda is gradually becoming an IT hub for Gujarat.
It houses large public sector companies like Indian Oil Corporation, Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals, Gujarat Industries Power Company Limited, ONGC and GAIL. In addition to these public sector enterprises, a number of other large-scale enterprises have come up in the private sector, such as Bombardier Transportation, a Canadian company manufacturing the Delhi Metro from its site in Savli, along with other manufacturing companies such as Alstom, Areva, Apollo Tyres, Thermax, Siemens and Voltas. L&T established “Knowledge City” at Waghodia, while MasterCard opened its tech hub in Vadodara.
In FY2021-22, the district of Vadodara was the recipient of Rs. 132.99 Cr. of CSR funds from 286 companies. The top sectors for CSR programs were Health, Education, and Environment, with an investment of Rs. 60.58 Cr., Rs. 54.03 Cr., and Rs. 12.92 Cr., respectively, in each of the sectors. The top three spenders in the district in the last financial year were Alembic Pharmaceuticals Limited (Rs. 15.74 Cr.), Gujarat State Fertilisers & Chemicals Limited (Rs. 9.8 Cr.), and Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (Rs. 7.06 Cr.).
Top CSR Projects in Vadodara
CSR in Vadodara is geared towards education, skill development for more employability and empowerment of the girl child. Here are the CSR programmes in the flourishing city that follow Best Pratices.
Rural Sanitation – L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering
L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering (LTHE) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro, has begun a sanitation revolution in two villages of Waghodia Taluka in Vadodara district. LTHE’s CSR division was surveying the district for a sanitation project and identified Umarva and Pavlepur villages as needing immediate intervention.
For the residents of Umarva and Pavlepur villages sanitation wasn’t a priority. While there were many reasons for the dire sanitation situation in the two villages, lack of water, financial constraints, and mindsets were major deterrents preventing the villagers from adopting a more hygienic way of life. In association with implementation partner Voluntary Youth Organisation for Motivation (VYOM), LTHE CSR project team decided to build individual household sanitary latrines as part of a detailed programme for which it collaborated extensively with multiple stakeholders over an extended period. The project involved participation of the community, including the design and construction of toilets. It made sure that the villagers took ownership of the facilities for usage, repair, and maintenance of the toilets.
Besides building the toilets, the CSR programme also involved educating the community members about the harmful effects of open defecation. There have already been multiple benefits including fewer incidents of water-borne diseases and lower out-of-pocket expenses for the families due to improved sanitation.
Project Prerna – MG Motor India
MG Motor India does CSR in Vadodara under MG SEWA, the umbrella platform of the British automaker to serve immediate communities with whom the company interacts. MG SEWA and Baroda Citizens Council are running ‘Prerna’, a Skill Development programme aimed at training underprivileged women. ‘Prerna’ aims to create a financial platform for them and their families in the long-term. MG Motor India has brought Dineshbhai Thakur Raval onboard as the Prerna programme’s Master Trainer. Dineshbhai has been stitching since the age of 14 years and was diagnosed with polio when he was a 17-year-old. It left his right hand and leg dysfunctional. However, he didn’t let his disability overpower his passion and has worked across Mumbai and Surat since then.
Under MG SEWA, the carmaker started supporting the education of girl students in 2019. Other CSR initiatives under MG SEWA include skilling unemployed women to make masks. MG Motor has facilitated enhanced production of ventilators by providing technological and infrastructure support to an MSME player, Max Ventilator, at Vadodara. The company has provided more than 100 Hector cars to frontline workers and donated Hector Ambulances as part of the same.
Hostel for Differently-Abled Girls – Schaeffler India
CSR of Schaeffler India set up the hostel for differently-abled girls at Mook Dhwani Trust in Vadodara with the primary objective of retaining the girls in secondary schools. The project ensured that distance to the school, parents’ financial affordability and other societal factors never came in the way of denying any girl student the opportunity to pursue her studies.
Inaugurated in June 2015, the hostel is constructed within a school campus and provides accommodation to over 30 differently-abled girls. The facilities include rooms, a dining hall and a meditation hall along with indoor and outdoor recreation areas. The premise has a multi-functional Gazebo to display school work or host an exhibition. The hostel has significantly reduced the dropout rates of girl students in Vadodara.
