Sustainability

Going beyond business is in the ethos of our organisation and hence, it is befitting that our CSR projects cater to relevant issues such as Community Development, Education, Integrated Health Care, Skill Development, Gender Equality and Women Empowerment, Environment and Business & Human Rights. While a wide array of projects are undertaken each year and continued from previous years, let’s have a look at some major initiatives in FY20.

Promotion of Education and Enhancement of Skills

Multiple projects have been undertaken in this theme in Jajpur district of Odisha. Sixty students are studying in the education centers at Marutikar and Kiapada. The children are provided with school bags, play materials and teaching and learning materials. Village libraries are also functioning at Hudisahi and Trijanga, with various types of books, such as epics, novels, Dharma Shastras, story books, farming, patriotic books etc. On the sporting front, this is the second year of the five students sent to Sudeva Football Academy, Delhi for coaching in Football. The children are selected from Danagadi and Sukinda blocks. We also sponsored Master Subhjeet Mallick, a student of 6th standard in Byasanagar Public School, for participation in the 4th India Open International Taekwondo Championship 2019, under 28 kg category at Kolkata. 2 water purification systems have been installed at Manatira and Kumbhiragadia high schools, in which 1120 students and teachers are benefitting under the safe drinking water project.

Integrated Community Healthcare Program

We have been organising health camps in and around the periphery of our plant with a doctor, pharmacist and one assistant. 15 villages are covered every week as per the health camp schedule. A total of 21,045 patients were treated in 883 static and mobile health camps during the year. Dental Care Centres are also running in Kaliapani mines area and Nadiabhanga, every Saturday. A total of 554 patients were treated in 47 dental camps in both the centres during the year.

Women Empowerment and Gender Equality

Asmita Production Centre is promoted as a micro-enterprise involving sewing-trained underprivileged girls from different villages, wherein stitching of safety jackets, masks, etc is undertaken for paid orders from organisations like Jindal Stainless Limited, Tata Motors, and Tata Jusco. In partnership with Mudra Foundation, we have been training girls from various villages in making different types of bags, baskets and other materials from golden grass for international markets like Tokyo. We have also been running four tailoring training centres for the underprivileged girls and women in six different villages. Sahaja Sanitary Napkin Making Unit is being promoted by us, wherein women/girls are involved in the production and sale of the napkins, under the brand Sahaj. Women livelihood development initiatives are also carried out, targeting the 2449 women Self Help Group (SHG) members of 200 SHGs in 27 villages.

Rural Development Projects

Doubling farmers’ incomes is a key project that we have been focussing on for the past few years across 9 districts in Odisha. The project focuses on diversification of farming towards dairy, horticulture, floriculture, aquaculture, agro-forestry, apiculture etc. We have helped farmers introduce high value aromatic paddy in the Danagadi block in Jajpur, along with introduction of new and improved varieties of Maize, Groundnut, Vegetables, Green Gram etc. We also undertook rehabilitation projects on individual scale, for people who lost all their belongings during unfortunate incidents like fires, and on mass scale, during natural calamities like Cyclone Fani. COVID-19 relief work and financial aid to government rehabilitation projects has also been carried out.