“HINDUSTAN ZINC FOOTBALL ACADEMY WILL NURTURE FOOTBALL TALENT FOR NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL EXPOSURE” – ANNANYA AGARWAL

Hindustan Zinc’s below 12 years, international level residential Football Academy organized the closing ceremony of its 24-days Residential Team Zinc Football Camp at Chittorgarh on 3^rd February 2018. The event was attended by the Chief Guest, Mr. Annanya Agarwal  - President, Vedanta Football Project and son of Mr. Navin Agarwal – Chairman, Vedanta Limited. He is spearheading the Football Sports in all Group Companies of Vedanta. Mr. Annanya has a vision to create world class Football players out of India and wants to aid in India’s qualification in World Cup Football.

The Academy is going at the grass-root level to select 40 talented & aspiring footballers, to nurture & train them as professional players. In order to penetrate in rural and tribal areas, the Academy is also organizing 64 Community Football Clusters in 5 identified districts of Rajasthan that will nurture 2500 football enthusiasts through camps to form a 20 players team each of girls and boys at each Cluster. So far, the Academy has shortlisted 56 children through 23 Talent Scouting Camps that saw the participation of over 3000 children from 5 districts of Rajasthan – Udaipur, Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand and Ajmer. These identified 56 children joined the 24-days Residential Team Zinc Football Camp at Chittorgarh that started form 10^th January, 2018.

During the event, Annanya Agarwal said – “There is a huge talent that is hidden in rural and tribal areas, unexplored, and they just need guidance, support and opportunities. I am happy to see that through Hindustan Zinc Football Academy, we are opening the prospects for these aspiring footballers. It is also heartening to receive such a good response from their families and the enthusiasm of both participants & coaches is stimulating. I am confident that some of these players will have the potential to be selected for the national football team & clubs and would also be eligible to participate in international football tournaments in future.”

Vinod Wagh – Site President, CSC welcomed the guests, participants and their families during the program and briefed about the objective of Hindustan Zinc Football Academy.

One of the participants, Raghva Janghid from Ajmer was thankful for this wonderful opportunity where he got to learn both discipline and technical aspects of the game. Mr. Shakeel, father of one the participants from Chittorgarh said – “with such kind of encouragement and support, we can see our children participating in Under-14 matches in next 2 years.”

Post this camp, based on the performance, merit, physical, mental & psychological attributes, the Academy has selected at-least 20-40 children who will join Residential course of Hindustan Zinc Football Academy in Zawar, Udaipur. At Academy, these children will undergo rigorous training to become professional football players and play in various Local, National and International Football Tournaments. Their training and grooming would be monitored by experts that would include health & fitness experts and nutrition & diet experts. Their skills, body weight, energy, strength and stamina would be tested and monitored on regular basis.

Pavan Kaushik – Head Corporate Communication informed “The Company’s vision is to set-up a world-class technology based fully residential Football Academy to provide a 360 degree holistic platform for talented footballers from Rajasthan, both boys and girls, who will get an opportunity to get trained and play for the Indian National Team. Hindustan Zinc has tied-up with ‘The Football Link Sport’ for setting-up this state-of-the-art Football Academy.”

The ultimate objective is to reach out to more than 60,000 children in 100 villages and tribal areas of Rajasthan in next five years.

Also present were the Coaches, families of participants, Hindustan Zinc and The Football Link representatives during the event.

EQUIPMENT INDIA MAGAZINE - SCALING UP SKILLS

A qualified and productive workforce in mining operations is of utmost importance. Pavan Kaushik elaborates on the efforts of Hindustan Zinc (HZL) and its Mining Academy in enhancing the skill levels of mining machine operators through its various hands-on training courses.

The natural resources industry in India has seen significant changes in the past 10 years in terms of technology, employment generation, metal production and attracting best of Indian and global talents of engineers and management graduates. The growth of mining projects in India has resulted in huge demands of skilled operators to operate sophisticated mining equipment such as jumbo drill, load haul dumper (LHD), low profile dumper truck (LPDT), etc. Hindustan Zinc Mining Academy is preparing the youth for these new and exciting opportunities.
The Beginning
In the past few years, there has been a tremendous growth in the mining sector worldwide and India is no exception. The demand of manpower in the natural resources sector is increasing year-after-year. To meet this demand, many international experts have joined at key positions to explore natural resources, improve metal recovery and build a future of sustainable mining.
As the industry is growing with the advent of automation and technology, the need for trained manpower is also increasing. This is where the Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the scope of employment opportunities with growth in natural resources sector. This led Hindustan Zinc, India's only and world's leading integrated producer of zinc, lead and silver, to identify areas that play crucial role in underground mining where the need for skilled manpower is being felt with a need to tap local talent. HZL has set up the Hindustan Zinc Mining Academy in collaboration with the Skill Council for Mining Sector and the training partner, Indian Institute of Skill Development Pvt Ltd.
Jumbo drill operators and winding engine operators came out as two distinct roles where the need for Indian skilled manpower could be deployed. These are currently being operated by expats at very high cost. Hindustan Zinc itself engages about 200 jumbo drill operators and 45 winding engine operators through business partners. The opportunities are set to move up with an increase in expansion of mines.
The Mining Academy was started as a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative on August 1, 2014. The vision of this initiative was to provide a platform to local youth for developing highly specialised skills to operate the latest and the most advanced equipment used in underground mining operations, while making them self-reliant and opening paths for sustainable livelihood. The initiative has successfully delivered two batches of six-month residential programme on jumbo drill operators, followed by a six-month residential programme on underground mining equipment. In 2014-15, the academy trained 55 ITI/Diploma pass-outs in the jumbo drill and all of them got immediate placements.
After the huge success of the programme, Hindustan Zinc envisioned and made the programme more robust with quality changes. Currently, the academy runs three centres at Bhilwara, Rajsamand and Zawar near Udaipur, with 260 candidates from all over Rajasthan.
In October 2016, Hindustan Zinc commenced jumbo drill operator training to 120 ITI/Diploma pass-outs and their training will be complete by March 2018. In the winding engine operator training programme, 47 ITI/Diploma pass-outs were enrolled in February 2017 and their eight-month long training was completed in October 2017. Besides winding engine training, these candidates are also being given exposure in banksman and bellman operations.

The Facility and Courses
Hindustan Zinc extends high-tech facility for VTC training, simulation, and hands-on training for learning maintenance and operations required in underground mines. The candidates are able to operate real machines and are given industry exposure before they complete the course as per requirement. For jumbo drill operators, the company has set up a 3-D simulator, which is a virtual reality high-tech device used in Hindustan Zinc to train the operators in heavy machinery. The 3-D simulators are cost-effective, safe, and efficient methods for training all concepts and skills, from controls familiarisation to procedure compliance. Simulation training maximises productivity and increases workforce efficiency.
Hindustan Zinc also engages experts from its locations for taking expert faculty interface classes periodically, and also invites its business partners for engagement with candidates.
All academy centres run in a professional manner with inbuilt monthly monitoring system. Since the course is residential, the academy has a provision for free boarding and lodging facilities for all the selected candidates in all the training programmes. Equal emphasis is being given on classroom lectures and practical exposures to the students for enabling them to develop a better understanding of the module. The trainees are being groomed in various aspects like soft skills, team effort, discipline and overall personality development, which would further help them in securing sustainable livelihood in future.
Also, uniform for class-room and practical sessions are being provided by the academy to all candidates. They are also engaged in various indoor and outdoor sports – cricket, volleyball, badminton, chess, carom board, football etc.

Selection Criteria
It was assessed as an opportunity for the ITI pass-outs and diploma holders who are below the age of 30 years and who are qualified to operate equipment through training.
The candidates are being invited through advertisements in prominent newspapers as well as channels like FM Radio, WhatsApp and jingles are also engaged to create the buzz.
Application forms available on the mentioned website are to be filled online and then all applicants have to appear for written test (aptitude/respect for rules/IQ/English proficiency test etc). Successful participants are then called for documents check, medical fitness test, police verification for final selection/completion of the course and then
proceed for interview. Also, all existing trainees act as brand ambassadors and communicate through their channels.

Evaluation Process
The training assessment has inbuilt weekly and monthly tests, followed by quarterly third-party assessment. Candidates successfully fulfilling passing criteria each month
and in the third-party quarterly assessment are being awarded with National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) certifications. The Government of India notified the
NSQF on December 27, 2013. This is a competence-based framework that organises all qualifications according to a series of knowledge, skills and aptitude.
Certification based on National Occupational Standards is facilitated by Skill Council for Mining Sector (SCMS) after third-party assessment to the enrolled candidates who successfully complete the programme. The National Occupational Standards specify the standard of performance an individual must achieve when carrying out a role at the workplace, together with the knowledge and understanding they need to meet that standard consistently.
The candidates are given stipend ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs 7,000 and also performance top-up according to set criteria based on their attendance and assessment performance, which motivates high performers to give their best. Further, to boost the confidence, centre-wise toppers and overall toppers are also given cash reward on quarterly basis, ranging Rs 5,000-10,000 during the course.
Apart from certification and monetary rewards, SCMS conducts an internal auditor assessment as well through reputed third-party audit checks like KPMG that are monitored by a designated Project Steering Committee comprising senior executives.

Importance of Skill Development in Mining
According to the McKinsey Global Institute, over the last decade, the contribution of mining to India's GDP has fallen from 1.2 per cent to one per cent. If properly tapped, the mining industry could help propel growth for the country over the next decade. In fact, the performance of mining sector will be an important factor for India to achieve over seven per cent GDP growth. The mining industry has the potential to create six million additional jobs by 2025, accounting for 12 per cent of the new non-farm job gap.
India needs to create an additional 150 million non-farm jobs by 2025, to significantly reduce poverty, and empower people. It is also need to be highlighted that there are no relevant courses available in mining space for the candidates to pursue. Apart from this, the awareness level among youth and quality of education are other bottlenecks to meet the required skills.
Mining workforce is crucial for sustainable development of the sector, especially as there could be incremental demand of 1.5-2.5 times of the current workforce by 2025. 
To bridge the imminent shortage of human resource in mining sector, there are two possibilities that can be considered: increase the number of seats in mining engineering in relevant institutes over the next 10-15 years. The second solution is to devise short-term mining-specific courses for ITIs/diploma holders in mining states by facilitating private sector participation in skill development for the mining sector.
Setting up perhaps India's first Mining Academy, Hindustan Zinc is developing an ecosystem and contributing in unlocking India's potential in mining. This is certainly going to enhance India's capability in training people in the mining space and putting India on the growth path.
Definitely, a long-term vision and consistent effort is going to make India self-reliant on such mining skills, which presently is outsourced mostly from abroad. This has helped local youth to gain meaningful employment, and enhance employability of eligible youth. To some extent, it has also ensured sustained availability of adequate trained operators for the growing mining sector in India that completely aligns with 'Make in India' concept and act as a catalyst in nation building.

Challenges
There is a need to drive initiatives for the overall development of the mining sector. The major challenge in training people in mining is availability of proper infrastructure. The equipment is costly and sophisticated. Hindustan Zinc has provided simulators and has made its underground mines accessible for training, which is substituting need for the required infrastructure. Also, to enhance the personalities and imbibe discipline in these candidates, the programme has been made fully residential. The attrition is almost nil at Mining Academy, which itself speaks about its credibility and standard with qualitative training.

Future Plans
Hindustan Zinc plans to spend Rs 30 crore in five years to train about 500 ITI pass-outs in jumbo drill and winding engine operations. The academy is determined to have the jumbo drill batches every six months, which is well in place. The academy also provides training on other trades like winding engine, banksman, bellman, etc; an exclusive jumbo operator programme for ex-servicemen that started in October 2017 and another batch of regular jumbo drill programmes to start in January 2018. 
Currently, there are approximately 260 candidates on board at the academy across its three centres. To further strengthen the foundation of Mining Academy, Hindustan Zinc is exploring the possibilities to run it through a registered society. The academy is even planning to initiate online assessment for entrance examinations and has started a step-up programme for rural youth residing near Hindustan Zinc's business locations. This is a pre-coaching programme to encourage and prepare these youth for entrance examination to join the course.
Recently, the company organized placement drive for these students and 126 passing-out students got jobs with an average package of Rs. 25,000/- per month. Hindustan Zinc's business partners have come together to employ these trained youths and use them for their different operations. These candidates have been recruited by companies like SK Khetan, BGE Mining Pvt Ltd, SMSL, Aravali Construction Co, Teknomin Construction Limited, UTM Engineering Pvt Ltd, AAC Mining Executors India Pvt Limited, to name a few. Hindustan Zinc itself engages about 200 Jumbo Drill Operators and 45 Winding Engine Operators. As Hindustan Zinc mines are in expansion mode, the opportunities for employment are only likely to increase.

By Pavan Kaushik
Head - Corporate Communication, HZL

ASIAN AGE - ‘HINDUSTAN ZINC FOOTBALL ACADEMY' Sets-up Infra for Future Football Players in India

Perhaps India's first junior football academy that will go at the grass-root level and select 40 talented & aspiring footballers, below the age of 12 years, to nurture & train them as professional football players. It will also organize 64 Community Football Clusters that will nurture 2500 football enthusiasts through camps to form a 20 players team each of girls and boys at each Cluster. Hindustan Zinc Football Academy will be fully residential, with international standard training facilities and induction of 'F-Cube Technology' for training. The Academy will also introduce for the first time in India 'Junior Zinc Premier League Football Tournament'.

Football is the most popular sport and enjoys maximum participation and fan following on a global scale with over 200 countries and affiliates playing the football as official members of FIFA. Over the last few years, India has seen a great push towards the development of football with a massive football fan following which was also recently seen at the Under-17 FIFA World Cup in India.
Going back to the history, on November 6, 1869, Rutgers and Princeton played, what was billed as the first college football game. However, it wasn't until the 1880s that a great rugby player from Yale, Walter Camp, pioneered rules changes that slowly transformed rugby into the new game of American Football.
In India, Nagendra Prasad Sarbadhikary, who is recognized as the father of Indian football, introduced soccer in the year 1877 at Hare School, Calcutta. It is Nagendra Prasad Sarbadhikary who mobilized his classmates and started playing the game at Hare School compound.
In 1889 India's oldest and current team Mohun Bagan A.C. was founded as "Mohun Bagan Sporting Club". This was the first club to be under the rule of the army. Several football clubs like Calcutta FC, Sovabazar and Aryan Club were established in Calcutta during the 1890s.
Hindustan Zinc, has been associated with sports and has been promoting sportsmen for almost 4 decades when the company made its football stadium at Zawar in Rajasthan in 1976. Since last 40 years, National Football Tournaments are being organized every year at Zawar Stadium in the memory of late Shri Mohan Kumar Manglam, former Union Minister for Steel and Mines, Government of India. The tournament attracts more than 50,000 spectator every year from across India with teams participating from Delhi, Mumbai, Udaipur, Chennai, Kolkata, Jodhpur, Jaipur, Dehradun, Ahmedabad, Hisar, Meerut and Himachal Pradesh and other cities. Overall the tournament witnesses about 20 national level football matches. The company has also constructed a stadium in Rajsamand in Rajasthan to promote sports.
Hindustan Zinc assessed that a sportsman needs financial security, training, infrastructure and confidence to put his hundred percent energy. With an aim to encourage and support sportsmen, the first association of Hindustan Zinc started with the Ace Archer Padam Shri Limba Ram and extended to Bhupendra Vyas - 7 Gold Medals winner of Commonwealth Games in Power-Lifting event; Mala Sukhwal – Gold Medallist in Women Power-Lifting and Jabbar Mohammed, the Volleyball Player. Hindustan Zinc also supported the Ace Discus-Throw international champion, Krishna Poonia who has been the recipient of the Arjuna Award in 2010 and Padma Sri Award in 2011.
Another example of support was Bhakti Sharma who has set world record in open-water swimming by covering 2.5 km in Antarctic Ocean, beating the record of British open water swimming champion Lewis Pugh and American swimmer Lynne Cox. 'Had Hindustan Zinc not supported, it would have been impossible to achieve this feat', Bhakti Sharma had said after achieving this milestone.
The company also supports multi-sports tournaments for school children in Rajasthan that sees thousands of children participating in various sports.

Setting up “Hindustan Zinc Football Academy”
Hindustan Zinc association with sports and sportsmen brought the thought of setting up of India's first, below 12 years, international level 'Hindustan Zinc Football Academy' in Udaipur.  The Company's vision is to set up a world-class technology based fully residential Football Academy and provides a 360 degree holistic platform whereby talented footballers from Rajasthan, both boys and girls, can get an opportunity to get trained and play for the Indian National Team. Hindustan Zinc has tied-up with 'The Football Link Sport' for setting-up this state-of-the-art Football Academy.
Hindustan Zinc Football Academy currently has 40 children. To get these 40 children, 23 Talent Scouting Camps have already been organized that saw the participation of over 3000 children from 5 districts of Rajasthan – Udaipur, Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand and Ajmer. These identified 40 children will now undergo rigorous training to become professional football players and play in various Local, National and International football tournaments. The training will be for 4-6 hours a day, for about 5-6 years, till they get to the age of 17-18 years.
World Class technology based 'Player Performance Analysis Centre' is also being set-up with artificial turf grounds and latest technological innovations including the 'F-Cube Technology'.
Hindustan Zinc Football Academy would provide all necessary facilities, complete football kits and accessories to the selected children. Their training and grooming would be monitored by experts that would include health & fitness experts and nutrition & diet experts. Their skills, body weight, energy, strength and stamina would be tested and monitored on regular basis.
To strengthen the ultimate purpose, the Academy will further undertake skill development of local and national football coaches by organizing various coaches' development initiatives and certification courses in association with the District, State and National Football Federations to develop a talent pool of skilled football educators.
The Academy will therefore help in creating employment and job opportunities for passionate football coaches.
The ultimate objective is to reach out to more than 60,000 children in 100 villages and tribal areas in Rajasthan in the next five years.

"I have always believed that every person should pursue one sport throughout his life with the intention to keep the body fit and healthy. Hindustan Zinc believes that India has a huge talent that is hidden in rural and tribal areas, unexplored, and they just need guidance, support and opportunities. Hindustan Zinc has supported many sportsmen that have brought laurels to India. We decided to build an international level football academy and have identified Zawar in Rajasthan, which is a tribal area, to bring forward hidden talent and give them proper infrastructure, training and all other facilities, so that one day they are able to play not just for Rajasthan but for India. All this support is part of our CSR and budget will never be a constraint."
– Mr. Sunil Duggal - CEO, HZL

Induction of Technology for Skill Development
The Academy has introduced 'F-Cube Technology' which is a globally accepted sensor based interactive and intelligent device for football training, skill evaluation, accuracy, response monitoring, measurement of speed, endurance and power of the players.
First time introduced in India, this device, as a player crosses different levels, would measure and enhance the training parameters. It precisely presents, digitally, an analysis of players for evaluation so that necessary strengths can be developed and weaknesses may be addressed.

Developing Community Football Clusters in Rural Rajasthan
Hindustan Zinc has focus to penetrate in rural and tribal areas through an extensive 'Community Outreach Program' across 5 identified districts of Rajasthan by adopting 64 Government Schools and their play-grounds to create grassroots football network for nurturing football talent in the long run. Each Cluster will also scout for about 40 children who are below the age group of 12 years and will form 2 teams, 20 each of boys and girls. Overall these clusters will nurture 2500 football enthusiasts. By now, 30 clusters have already become operative and training have started.  These football enthusiasts are provided with professional training and fitness sessions.

Assurance of Formal Education - Admissions in Schools
Hindustan Zinc has already been associated with about 55 schools through its Shiksha Sambal Project and the company also has its own schools at every location where the businesses are located. To assure continuance of formal education to the final 40 children of the Academy, the company has identified schools for the admission of these children so that their formal education is also not hampered. Additional tutoring to these children will also be provided to help them in their Academics.

Zinc Football Team v/s National Football Teams
After the rigorous training at Hindustan Zinc Football Academy, a 'Zinc Football Team' of boys and girls would be separately formed that would compete in national tournaments. Hindustan Zinc Football Academy also has plans to partner with International Football Clubs to promote the trained football players of Hindustan Zinc Football Academy for further exposure.
The Company is confident that some of these players will have the potential to be selected for the national football team and clubs and would also be eligible to participate in international football tournaments.

By Pavan Kaushik
Head - Corporate Communication, HZL

SAFETY TOWN HALL MEETING AT HZL

Safety Town Hall was organized at Head Office, Udaipur on 1st December, 2017. The program started with a screening of a heart touching short film as a safety contact aimed at increasing awareness on importance of safety. During the program, Mr. Sunil Duggal – CEO, HZL emphasized on a re-audit of lifting & shifting practices for further improvement in rigging practices as well at Hindustan Zinc. Also present were Mr. Naveen Singhal - Director, Projects and Mr. Dilip Pattnayak - Head HR during the program along with other senior management officials.
The employees from all the units joined through 12 TP/VC and 8 webcasts. More than 2000 employees participated in the Town Hall.