VEDANTA KHUSHI - JEEVAN TARANG ENHANCING SPECIAL TALENT OF SPECIAL CHILDREN

Hindustan Zinc improving academic opportunities of these specially abled children by distributing Android Smartphones to educate & learn…

Hindustan Zinc under its unique initiative  - “Jeevan Tarang”, on the occasion of World Disability Day distributed Android Smart Phones to blind students of Pragya Chakshu School, Udaipur and Badhir Baal Kalyan Vikas Samiti, Bhilwara on 4^th December, 2017 with an objective of enhancing academic opportunities for these children and mainstreaming them into the society.

These Android Smart phones will enable the visually impaired students to ‘Read & Write’ using Accessibility Features on the device. These phones will allow these students to access their textbooks in DAISY format from the world’s largest Online Library for the Print Disabled – ‘Bookshare’. This will bring these students at par with other students by allowing them to comprehend, read and prepare their academic content for better understanding hence making them competitive & ready for any exam. These Accessible devices will also allow the students to access the power of the internet and also gain worldly knowledge. They will also be able to enjoy games specially designed for Blind users on their phones.

The report says, India is home to the world's largest number of blind people. Out of 37 million people across the globe who are blind, over 15 million are from India. It is also known that quality education is an absolute necessity in order to succeed and progress in this knowledge driven world. Most of the current educational curriculum is oriented towards the use of the eyesight thus poses paramount challenges to the blind and visually impaired students.

Many organizations are working consciously and tirelessly to ensure these children get their due attention. Through Jeevan Tarang, Hindustan Zinc has provided these Android phones to the students from Class 1^st – Class 5^th of Pragya Chakshu School, Udaipur and to all the students of Badhir Baal Kalyan Vikas Samiti, Bhilwara accessing them the basic human right to educate & learn, a critical step on the path to economic, educational, and social development. Hindustan Zinc has partnered with experts to build capacities of these institutions and under this initiative Mr. Nitin Patel has been appointed in both these schools as a trainer to train these students in these advanced gadgets.

The Chief Guest of the event, Amitabh Gupta – CFO, HZL expressed his happiness to see the passion of these students to learn and climb up the ladder of success. He emphasized that through Jeevan Tarang, Hindustan Zinc strives to provide better opportunities to these students to grow and learn.

Pavan Kaushik – Head Corporate Communication said “There is a need to understand and up-bring these children with all love and care. Jeevan Tarang is an initiative to ensure that every single ability & disability gets the same opportunities and recognition thus ensuring the development of both social & cognitive skills.”

‘Jeevan Tarang’ endeavours to support people with disabilities, with a focus to identify needs of deaf-mute, visually impaired and children with brain damages. Around 500 beneficiaries have been identified from HZL’s operational areas; Kayad Mine, Rampura Agucha Mine, Chanderiya Smelting Complex and Udaipur.

DEVELOPING INDIA WITH A COLLECTIVE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

When corporate come forward to drive programs for community welfare, it is essential to get support from all sectors…

Albert Einstein said - “The value of a man should be seen in what he gives and not in what he is able to receive”.
These values of giving have their roots going deep to mythological times where Karna, one of the central characters in the Hindu epic Mahabharata was a man with a phenomenal sense of integrity and generosity. Even Lord Indra who tricked him by disguising as a Brahmin for his Kavach and Kundal that made him invincible was amazed at Karna's capacity to give away anything asked for. Even though he had alliance with Kauravas during the war, he is always remembered as 'Daanveer Karna'. Also, 'Maharshi Dadhichi', one of the greatest saints of all times donated his bones for the welfare of the community, a force that still drives Indian philanthropy.
We all have grown hearing such stories on power of giving and understanding the necessity of community development and humanistic approach in every way of life. Irrespective of profession, high or low profile, there are people who have made best of their capabilities provided to them for development of society.
When it comes to community service or popularly known as 'Social Responsibility', it has always been seen as responsibility of government and main source for social-economic development of society, particularly in rural India. When Panchayati Raj was introduced, it brought in rural independence in India. With the advent of technologies and setting-up of big industries in remote rural areas, it led to generation of employment thus giving economic boost to villages where Agriculture has always been the main source of economy. It led to less migration and availability of growth opportunities in villages. Gradually with time, population spurted in both villages & cities and with this their necessities also increased making it crucial for the Government to allow Corporates to pitch in for the Greater Good.
This is when Social Responsibility transformed to 'Corporate Social Responsibility'. There are some respected and successful organizations that primarily work towards bringing socio-economic independence in rural communities with the focus on child care, education, health, nutrition, employment, women empowerment, infrastructure development, to name a few. In 2015-16, 5097 companies have invested Rs. 9822 crores in India for social good. This spend is testimony of increased involvement of private sector in social development by contributing in generation of employment and eradication of poverty in country. With Government, corporates and supporting NGOs coming together for nation building, it becomes imperative for communities and individual to take the ownership and work towards 'Collective Social Responsibility' to achieve a well-defined objective. It is important to make the community responsible thus requires more community participation.
To work on long term, sustainable solutions based on the need of the communities, there is a need to underline high impact CSR programs like child care, education, healthcare, women empowerment, skill development, sanitation and agriculture & livestock. For immediate attention, 'child care', 'women empowerment' and 'Skill development' should become part of Nation Development Projects.
There are 7.5 crore underprivileged children in rural areas who need environment to grow and nurture into responsible human resource. We have to build future of India by strengthening their foundation by providing them proper nutrition, health and education.
Women, constituting 48% of total population of country has time and again proven, when we empower them, they empower their family that empowers village/city and ultimately empowering whole nation. Rural women have immense potential to develop their skills and make that a regular source of livelihood. All they need is encouragement and skill development program to move them towards micro-enterprise.
India has target of creating 500 million skilled workers by 2022. It is essential to tap this resource who is primarily those, who could not study due to lack of facilities in their village or lack of interest. There is a need to increase their capacities through professional vocational training programs thus making them resourceful manpower.
With corporate's engagement and communities' support, Government can execute these programs by assigning each corporate with one focus area to address and same will be weaved into their Business Plan. This approach will give undivided attention of Corporate that will align all their resources on the execution of one project, ultimately impacting the society at a National Level. The other approach is that Government allows corporates to highlight 5 flagship programs in the state they are operating and start engaging their resources on the implementation of these programs for the benefit of the community. It is to understand that when corporate come forward to drive the programs for community welfare, it is essential to get support from all sectors including Government. Corporate also need a cushion in smooth running of their Businesses as they are ultimately contributing in boosting the economy and job creation. They should be given equal opportunities to flourish by introducing transparent policies, simple regulatory framework with an offering of 10% tax rebate in running businesses. This money gained is only to be further utilized and reinvested for the Greater Good.
For a developing nation like India, it is important to recognize & strengthen the grass-root level and taking forward the whole nation together in making it the powerhouse of socio-economic development.

By Pavan Kaushik
Head - Corporate Communication
Hindustan Zinc

HINDUSTAN ZINC’S JEEVAN TARANG INITIATES ‘GARV SE’ CAMPAIGN FOR SPECIAL CHILDREN

Mainstreaming the specially abled children by bringing them together with the society/community…

Hindustan Zinc under its ‘Jeevan Tarang – Zinc Ke Sang’ Project has initiated around six month long Campaign – ‘Garv Se’ where these Special Children of God would be participating in series of creative activities to engage them with Hindustan Zinc employees & their families on a same platform.

The program has been formally launched by Hindustan Zinc Ladies Club on 26^th September, 2017 where Painting Workshop along with other artistic activities – clay modelling, diya painting & block painting were organized that saw the participation of around 60 children from Viklang Kalyan Samiti, Udaipur & Prayas Sansthan, Udaipur.

The objective of the Campaign is to mainstream the specially abled children by bringing them together with the society/community and Garv Se has been a step towards it by engaging Hindustan Zinc employees and their families through the series of engagements – movie screening, sports, trekking, dance workshops to name a few.

"Jeevan Tarang - Zinc Ke Sang” was formally launched on Foundation Day of Hindustan Zinc, i.e., on 10^th January, 2017.

The fact says that there are over 70 million disabled people in India out of which over 12 million are hearing impaired with hardly 500 government aided Deaf schools providing formal education to these children. Even the teachers working in these schools are not equipped or trained to teach the hearing impaired students as Sign Language is still not accepted as a medium of teaching and communication. More than 90 % of students with deafness do not have access to and are out of the formal education system. Lack of access to language has also kept the deaf away from development of social and cognitive skills.

Mr. Pavan Kaushik – Head Corporate Communication said “There is a need to understand and up-bring these children with all love and care. Jeevan Tarang is an initiative to work towards a more inclusive society, where every single ability & disability gets the same opportunities and recognition.”

‘Jeevan Tarang’ endeavours to support people with disabilities, with a focus to identify needs of deaf-mute, visually impaired and children with brain damages. Around 500 beneficiaries have been identified from HZL’s operational areas; Kayad Mine, Rampura Agucha Mine, Chanderiya Smelting Complex and Udaipur. Access to knowledge is a basic and human right, a critical first step on the path to economic, educational, and social development. Hindustan Zinc has partnered with experts to build capacities of these institutions.

Hindustan Zinc has also partnered with National Handicapped Finance & Development Corporation to support for Skill Building of the disabled persons from among Hindustan Zinc’s districts. 

Also present were Ms. Neelima Khetan – Head CSR, HZL, members of Hindustan Zinc Ladies Club along with HZl employees and their families during the program.

VEDANTA KHUSHI - JEEVAN TARANG - SPECIAL CHILDREN TO GET SPECIAL ATTENTION BY HINDUSTAN ZINC

Jeevan Tarang – Zinc ke Sang - to enhance education and skill opportunities of more than 500 children with disabilities…

There are few children that god has made with lots of love, affection & care and this is the reason, these children are known as 'special children of God'. These children make you smile instantly and also brings tears in our eyes. As these are special children,  they do require and need a lot of care and attention.  

Many organizations are working consciously and tirelessly to ensure these children get their due attention. “Jeevan Tarang” is a unique initiative launched by Hindustan Zinc, a Vedanta Group company with an objective of enhancing education and skill opportunities for the disabled, and mainstreaming them into the society. Under the program, around 500 beneficiaries have been identified from Hindustan Zinc’s operational areas by working with schools for deaf-mute, visually impaired and for children with brain damages in Ajmer, Bhilwara, Chittorgarh and Udaipur.

"Jeevan Tarang - Zinc Ke Sang” was formally launched on Foundation Day of Hindustan Zinc, i.e., on 10^th January, 2017.

On 30^th August, 2017, on Zinc Day, Children of Jeevan Tarang from Shri Sanwaliya Bahuuddeshay Viklang Seva Sansthan (SSBVSS), Chittorgarh, Baadhit Baal Vikas Samiti, Ajmer, Viklang Kalyan Samiti, Udaipur and Badhir Baal Vikas Kalyan Samiti, Bhilwara performed during the cultural evening and enthralled the audience with their beautiful heart touching performances.

During the program, Hindustan Zinc also partnered with Noida Deaf Society(NDS) to develop a long-term vision and roadmap for the institutes of Deaf-Mute children. NDS has set up four permanent separate trainers (Deaf Mute themselves) who will teach Indian Sign Language(ISL) to students. Jeevan Tarang  also focuses on capacity building of teachers by teaching them ISL, who then will be equipped to teach the courses in ISL. Through this partnership, the aim is to enable 400 children learn sign language so to empower the children by imparting education and vocational training for rehabilitation of hearing and speaking impaired children, instilling self-confidence and skills & qualitatively improve both their professional and personal potential to be an active contributor to society.

During the program, Mr. Sunil Duggal – CEO, HZL said “The need is to up-bring these children with all love and care. After all they are special children of god and through Jeevan Tarang we strive to provide them with better opportunities to grow and learn.”

The fact says that there are over 70 million disabled people in India out of which over 12 million are hearing impaired with hardly 500 govt aided Deaf schools providing formal education to deaf children. Even the teachers working in these schools are not equipped or trained to teach the hearing impaired students as Sign Language is still not accepted as a medium of teaching and communication. More than 90 % of students with deafness do not have access to and are out of the formal education system. Lack of access to language has also kept the deaf away from development of social and cognitive skills.

Mr. Pavan Kaushik – Head, Corporate Communication said “Jeevan Tarang is an initiative to work towards a more inclusive society, where every single ability & disability gets the same opportunities and recognition. Hindustan Zinc has partnered with experts to build capacities of these institutions and also engaging industry representatives to ensure good job opportunities for them.”

Also present were Mr. Ashwin Bajaj – Director, Investor Relations, Vedanta Group, Mr. Amitabh Gupta – CFO, HZL, Mr. Naveen Singhal – Head Projects, HZL, Mr. L.S. Shekawat – COO, Mines, Mr. Pankaj Kumar – COO, Smelters, Mr. Ramakrishnan Kasinath – Chief Commercial Officer, HZL, Mrs. Sonal Shrivastava – Dy. CFO, Mrs. Neelima Khetan – Head CSR, HZL, Mr. V. Jayaraman – Head EOHS, Ms. Ruma Roka – Founder of NDS and other HZL representatives during the program.

‘UNCHI UDAAN’ TO GIVE WINGS TO 24 SELECT RURAL STUDENTS

Hindustan Zinc to give free coaching to 24 select rural students under 2 year school integrated residential program...

The famous proverb says “Education is a gift that no one can take away”.  It gives opportunity to people irrespective of their backgrounds to change the world with their knowledge.

Being a responsible metal & mining corporate, Hindustan Zinc is committed to the principles of harmonious and sustainable development and has a strong focus towards uplifting the communities residing near its business locations. With a focus on Education, Hindustan Zinc has launched a new program – ‘UNCHI UDAAN’ – an Educational Excellence Initiative on 25^th April, 2017 at Head Office, Udaipur in association with Resonance Eduventures Pvt. Ltd. and Vidya Bhawan, Udaipur. The initiative aims at providing free coaching to 24 select students to appear and get through the IITs and other prestigious Engineering Colleges. These 24 bright students from lower earning families will get free coaching under 2 year school integrated residential program.

Mr. Sunil Duggal – CEO, HZL said “Unchi Udaan is very close to my heart. Through this program, Hindustan Zinc is contributing to the society and is bringing deprived students into mainstream education that would help in Building the Nation”.

Ms. Neelima Khetan – Head CSR, HZL informed that these 24 students comprising 12 girls were selected through rigorous 2 level selection process conducted across 6 districts – Udaipur, Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand & Ajmer from Rajasthan and Pantnagar from Uttrakhand. About 2330 students appeared for the exam during the selection process, out of which these 24 select students will pursue for 11^th & 12^th coaching program.

The technical partner, Resonance Eduventures Pvt. Ltd is a well-known name in the field of education providing classroom training to aspirants intending to prepare and appear in various competitive, talent search and scholarship examinations of national and international level. Resonance will coach these students for IIT entrance exam and will also be responsible for teaching Physics, Chemistry & Maths of 11th & 12^th.

For schooling, boarding & lodging facilities, HZL has partnered with Vidya Bhawan, Udaipur where select students will get admitted as per regular course for class 11th RBSE and can avail the facilities like music, sports while getting groomed for overall personality development during the program.

While addressing the students, Mr. Pankaj Kumar – COO, Smelters emphasized on the importance of hard-work and passion along with the talent while working towards getting through IITs and other prestigious colleges.

The event saw the participation of students as well as their parents who were there to motivate them and to see them taking their first step towards bright future.

Mr. Pavan Kaushik – Head Corporate Communication, HZL said “Hindustan Zinc through its educational programs like Shiksha Sambal, Yashad Sumedha Scholarship program and other coaching programs to appear in Govt. Competitive Exams have always focussed on inclusive growth of students from rural background. ‘Unchi Udaan’ is one such initiative where young minds are motivated financially to come forward and secure their future”.

Also present during the occasion were Mr. V. Jayaraman – Head EOHS, HZL, Mr. P.C. Bhandari – HZL, Mr. Ravi Ranjan – Head Academic Excellence, Resonance Eduventures Pvt. Ltd, Udaipur Region, Mr. Ajay Mehta – President, Vidya Bhawan Society, Ms. Madhulika – Principal, Vidya Bhawan School, Mr. Arun Shrimali - Resonance Eduventures Pvt. Ltd along with Location CSR Heads of Hindustan Zinc and other HZL representatives.

CHAIRMAN HONOURED BY BIHAR CHAMBERS IN PATNA - AWARD PRESENTED BY HON'BLE VICE PRESIDENT OF INDIA, GOVERNOR OF BIHAR, CHIEF MINISTER - BIHAR AND DEPUTY CHIEF MINISTER - BIHAR

Mr. Anil Agarwal - Chairman, HZL was honoured on 9th September, 2016 by Bihar Chambers of Commerce and Industries in Patna on the occasion of the celebrations of their 90^th Anniversary. Chairman received the honour from Hon’ble Vice President – Mr. Mohd. Hamid Ansari, Hon. Governor of Bihar - Mr. Ramnath Kovind, Hon. Chief Minister Bihar – Mr. Nitish Kumar and Hon. Deputy Chief Minister Bihar – Mr. Tejashwi Prasad Yadav.

The award was bestowed on him for making the State of Bihar proud by becoming an extremely successful industrialist. While speaking to the media, Chairman spoke about his days in Bihar and how through his passion, determination and hard work, he has achieved what he is today. 

"Hindustan Zinc gave me a life of Dignity", Bherulal Bheel

"I was a small farmer from Kathia Kheda village of Rajsamand District of Rajasthan, who had never seen the school. My whole family needed to get engaged in daily labour, working 14-16 hours per day, to ensure two-time meals since my childhood", says Bherulal Bheel. "But I have been always very ambitious and desirous to become a Forward Farmer", Bherulal added.

The journey of Bherulal’s success began when his family bought the land from the money they saved working as peasant and he and his brother decided to work together on their farm.

Then in April 2011, Bherulal became one of the beneficiaries of “Improved Agriculture-Horticulture and Water Conservation Project” run by Hindustan Zinc in collaboration with BAIF as part of their community service initiatives. Under this project, Bherulal along with other farmers was trained on different aspects of modern agriculture technology and systematic farming through demonstration and exposures. His exposure to different forms of seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides, technical and marketing  was helpful in his turn-around.

At the time of intervention by Vedanta's group company Hindustan Zinc, the situation of Bherulal Bheel was quite critical. His primitive and age old methods of cultivation and harvesting for not yielding good crop. Hindustan Zinc encouraged him for modern techniques and for practicing various  areas like improved agriculture techniques, commercial cultivation, organic farming, use of micro nutrients, remedial measures of local disease among crops.

The project of Hindustan Zinc was designed to reduce the risk, maximize the land usage and to prevent the dependency on rainfed cultivation. The project had focus towards short and long term farming, low margins to high return and finally making agriculture a steady source of livelihood.

Hindustan Zinc exposed Bherulal along with other fellow farmers to KVK Chittorgarh, Mount Abu and Agriculture University, Bikaner, to learn and experience best agriculture practices in horticulture, floriculture and vegetable cultivation etc. After the successful result shown by vegetable cultivation, Hindustan Zinc also helped in construction of a ploy house to grow vegetables when it is usually off season.

Gradually Bherulal Bheel became an example for other farmers of his community to follow. The then Hon’ble Minister of Road Transport and Highways, GOI - Dr. C.P Joshi recognized his contribution during District Level Agriculture Mela.

Bherulal Bheel now optimally utilizes the available water sources through Drip Irrigation System received under the Drip Irrigation Scheme of Agriculture Department of Rajasthan. Due to this project Bherulal  who earned  Rs. 80,000 per year now is aiming to earn Rs. 2.5 lacs within a year.

"Hindustan Zinc gave me a life of Dignity", Bherulal Bheel proudly mentions.

Hindustan Zinc Honour's Bhupendra Vyas, Commonwealth Power-lifting Gold Medalist

Vedanta group company Hindustan Zinc honoured the 7 gold medal winner of commonwealth games, Bhupendra Vyas, today with a cheque of Rs. 50,000/-. The company honoured him for his outstanding performance in the Commonwealth Games held in Bournemouth, Australia from December 15-18, 2011. Bhupendra Vyas won 5 gold medals, one silver medal and 2 gold medals for overall performance in power-lifting event in the games.

The cheque of Rs. 50,000/- to Bhupendra Vyas was handed over by Pavan Kaushik Head-Corporate Communication of HZL. He said, ` Hindustan Zinc has been supporting sports persons earlier as well like power lifter Mala Sukhwal, Swimming Champion Bhakti Sharma and volleyball player Jabbar Mohammed. At HZL, we believe that financial help does motivate the players and that reflects in their performance.’ While accepting the honour, Bhupendra Vyas thanked Hindustan Zinc for coming forward with their support.

National Geoscience Award 2010 to Hindustan Zinc's Mr. Narendra Kavdia

It was another day of Award for Hindustan Zinc. Mr. Narendra Kumar Kavdia, General Manager – Exploration has been conferred with the prestigious National Geoscience Award 2010 in recognition of his outstanding contribution in the field of mineral discovery. The innovative exploration strategy using intuitive field, drill core and in-mine observations over a GIS platform has led to significant lead-zinc resource additions rendering India in the first four countries on the lead-zinc map of the world. Mr. Kavadia received the award from Smt. Meira Kumar, Hon’ble Speaker of Lok Sabha in an Award Presentation Ceremony held on 16th February 2012 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. Shri Dinsha J. Patel, Hon'ble Minister of State, Mines (independent Charge) presided over the function.

Vedanta's Hindustan Zinc Receives "Assocham CSR Excellence Award"

Hindustan Zinc received the most coveted "ASSOCHAM CSR Excellence Award 11-12" for its contribution in bringing sustainable development in rural villages in Rajasthan.

ASSOCHAM, one of the most reputed industrial association awarded Vedanta group company Hindustan Zinc, with the highest CSR award, the ASSOCHAM CSR Excellence Award 2011-12, for the outstanding work done by the company in the community service in rural India. Mr. Akhilesh Joshi, Chief Executive Officer of Hindustan Zinc received the award from Dr. M. Veerappa Moiley in a glittering ceremony held in Hotel Le Meridian, New Delhi on Wednesday, 15th February 2012.

The ASSOCHAM CSR Excellence Award is a recognition to the efforts made by Hindustan Zinc in the areas of nutrition to rural children through adopting 1500 child care centres, bringing socio-economic empowerment in women through formation of over 200 self-help-groups, training and guaranteed employment to drop-out rural youths in Rajasthan, daily hot mid-day meal to about 180,000 rural and tribal school going children, organizing free remedial classes under Shiksha Sambal Program for students of 10th to 12th class and health & medical facilities in deep rural areas. The company is also implementing special projects in agriculture & livestock and water & sanitation areas.

"This award is a recognition of the significant sustainable development brought out by Hindustan Zinc in deep rural villages. The company will continue to bring socio-economic empowerment in villages in close association with Govt. of Rajasthan and Govt. of India", said Mr. Akhilesh Joshi, Chief Executive Officer of Hindustan Zinc.

Besides, a large number of participation from Industries, the ceremony was also graced by the Member Planning Commission Shri Arun Maira and Member of Parliament Shri R.N.Dhoot who is also ASSOCHAM President-elect. From Hindustan Zinc, Mr. H.K. Mehta, Senior Vice President (HR), Mr. Ahmar Sultan, Head - CSR, Mr. T.R. Gupta - Head - Corporate Affairs and CSR team members Mrs. Sushma Sharma and Miss Akanksha Sharma were present during the award ceremony.

This is not the first time the company has been awarded for its contribution to up-bring the lives of rural poor. Some of the excellence award won by company include - Asian CSR Award, FIMI CSR Award, CII-ITC Sustainability Award, Pegasus CSR Award and TERI CSR Award to name a few.

Through its sustainable community development initiatives, HZL is reaching out to about 200 villages and a community of over 500,000 people in Rajasthan.

VISIT : INDIA CSR – CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY AND RESPONSIBILITY

Hindustan Zinc developing 3,700 Rural Women as Entrepreneurs in Rajasthan

The journey begins to a rural road in a village in district Chittorgarh of Rajasthan, away from the national highway, searching for a house that is known for running one of the most successful self-help groups in the district. Passing through small lanes and muddy roads, children playing around, we reach a house, the house of Chanchal Pareekh. Head of a Self Help Group (SHG) “Shiv Shankar Sahayata Samooh’, dressed in traditional attire, surrounded by about 15 rural women of the same village, into some discussion, relating to products designing and demands in the market, here we could see a glimpse of a real ‘rural women entrepreneur’. Chanchal Pareekh, who is also today the Ward Panch of village Ganeshpura, district Chittorgarh, Rajasthan.

Not just Chanchal Pareekh, we could see as many women entrepreneurs working towards their socio-economic independence and support to their families.

Here was an example of how rural women are replicating the success of urban women, who are not just restricted to their homes.

Rajasthan, known for colourful apparels, bandhani-bandhej, traditional handicrafts, heavy jewellery and various art forms, has been a major attraction for traditional art lovers. People cover large distances from India and abroad to reach remote Rajasthan villages to admire the skills of these rural women.

To up bring the socio economic conditions of these women and to also sustain the traditional art of Rajasthan, it was important to organize these women into a Self Help Group, popularly known as SHG which is normally a group of 10-15 women.
The journey of forming SHG was never easy. More than convincing the women, the daunting task was to approach their families for all traditional reasons and household commitments. It was difficult to break the myth that these women were potentially capable of being an entrepreneur, if given proper guidance and training. Families finally agreed with the belief that women of their houses would bring socio-economic independence.

Another challenge was now to bring rural women of different potential and temperament into one SHG and training them at par in different skills. This was essential to meet the objective of forming and making an SHG successful.
The SHG formation has importantly also encouraged the habit of thrift savings amongst these women, who have used this money for buying raw materials to make the products.

Pushpa Sharma, a member of “Saraswati SHG” is now confident enough to deal with banks independently on behalf of the group. Jyoti Pareekh, another member is happy to support her family financially. Saroj Devi, a trainer, is expert in dealing with the market and product development as per demand. Seeta Devi’s family never believed on her present success and admires her financial support to the family.

It is astonishing to know that in Rajasthan, where population of male & female are almost equal, the literacy rate in females is as low as about 53%. With such literacy rate, it becomes imperative to make these women literate so to be more socio-economically empowered.

Hindustan Zinc, a company of Vedanta Group, has by now formed 215 such Self Help Groups in Rajasthan bringing together almost 3700 women and developing them into “Women Entrepreneurs”. The company has been providing them various skill based trainings in handicrafts, tie & dye, bags, cushion covers & bed-sheets, quilts, rakhi & bangle making, block printing, zardozi, terracotta products, imitation jewellery, tailoring to name a few and also organizing regular ‘Adult Literacy Camps’.

It was indeed an unforgettable journey, though traveled alone, but bringing back the memories of the warmthness and simplicity of these women entrepreneurs in the form of their handmade crafts.

Vedanta CSR beneficiaries reach 2.5 million covering 550 villages

HINDUSTAN ZINC EFFORTS SAVE 'CHOTU LAL' FROM SCOLIOSIS

Hindustan Zinc, a Vedanta Group company, came for instant help of Chotu Lal Gurjar, a 15 year boy from Rajasthan, who was suffering from Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis with curvature of 85 degrees. As a result, his body was completely bent on one side and had developed a large hump with severe difficulty in breathing. Chotu Lal was advised surgery, with total cost ranging Rs. 450,000. The cost was much higher for this poor child, who is a son of a farmer in Bhilwara, Rajasthan. Further there was also a fear of paralysis.

Scoliosis (means abnormal curvature of spine leading to hump on the back) is a common problem in children especially of the lower socio-economic group. Scoliosis correction surgery is a complex operation done in very few centers in India like Delhi and Mumbai because it requires highly trained surgical team and tertiary level infrastructure. It is an expensive surgery requiring costly implants, intensive care and world class operating rooms. GBH American Hospital, Udaipur, Rajasthan and Save a Child Charitable trust (SACT) performs these complicated surgeries in Rajasthan.

Chotu Lal approached Hindustan Zinc, through District Collector Bhilwara, and the company immediately agreed to bear total expenses of the surgery and donated Rs.250,000 rupees to Save A Child Trust (SACT). The balance expenditure of Rs. 200,000 was borne by GBH American Hospital and SACT.

Chotu was operated for 14-15 hours on 31st August 2010 by Dr Chirayu, Dr Sood and team at American Hospital, Udaipur. The surgery was conducted successfully. 20 screws and a rod has been implanted on Chotu's back and now his bend is only 25 degree, which is like any normal human being. Now Chotu can stand straight and has no breathing problem. After 2 weeks, he walks back home with a straight spine and lovely smile.

Hindustan Zinc has given Chotu a new lease of life.

Women Bring Micro-Enterprise In Rural Rajasthan

Vedanta Group company, Hindustan Zinc, bringing difference in the lives of thousands of rural women in Rajasthan...


Women in rural Rajasthan are for a change. Their social and economic conditions are changing and they are emerging as self reliant, self independent, micro entrepreneur, and decision makers in their house. The women of rural Rajasthan are experiencing women empowerment. Their house hold income is increasing multi-fold and there is a significant change in their quality of life.The credit goes to forming of Self Help Groups that has participation of about 10-12 rural women, primarily of the same village and surrounding.

Rajasthan is emerging as one of the leading State in India in development of Self Help Groups (SHGs). Hindustan Zinc alone facilitates 215 Self Help Groups in the district of Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Bhilwara and Rajsamand. More than 3,500 women are associated with these 215 Self Help Groups in the State. The important part is that all the Self Help Groups are linked with the banks and operate their bank accounts. The cumulative savings of these groups is about Rs. 45 Lacs and about 80% of these Self Help Groups have received a loan of about Rs. 50 lacs from the banks.

Radha Somani of Agucha village, took a loan of Rs. 10,000 and starated a Manihari Shop. Today she earns about Rs. 4,000/- per month. She says, "I am paying pack my installment and also my sons college fees. In soon my son would complete MBA and our days of hardship would change". Another women Shanti Mali is about 56 years of age, widow with one son. She was working as daily wager and fell ill. She took a loan of Rs. 15,000/- and started cultivating vegetables in 2 bighas of land. Today her daily earnings are over Rs. 500/-. She has become a small entrepreneur now.

With emphasis on self independence and improving their quality of life, about 60% members have opted and established their own micro-enterprise , viz. vegetable cultivation, mini dairy, tailoring shop, grocery shops, spice grinding units, imitation jewellery shop to name a few. This has brought a significant change in their economic conditions. On an average there has been an increase in their monthly income to the tune of Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 5,000.

Hindustan Zinc has not only been facilitating these Self Help Groups but also linking them with banks, and guiding them for opening micro enterprises. The role of Hindustan Zinc is important in terms of making these women participate in the Panchayat affairs, decision making in issues within their houses, at village level, and also uplifting their quality of life. The Company has been educating them on savings, inter-loaning and capacity building, including, providing need based training to the members.

The exercise begins in convincing individual women for forming a group i.e SHG, their training, imparting knowledge in book keeping and continuously motivating them till they start achieving results. “There is also resistance from men in the family said ,” Bhanwar Singh Chundawal, sarpanch, Nagari village in Chittorgarh. “They fear their wives and daughters-in-law are going to become too independent for their liking.” In spite of all that, self-help groups are spurring hope and aspirations for women like Chunki Devi, 47. A widow and mother of four, she has struggled for 11 years to earn a living. Recently she joined a self , help group in Agucha and is taking a Rs 25,000-loan to buy seeds and fertilizers for her fields. “I hope my days of poverty would soon come to an end,” said Devi, a lohar (blacksmith) by caste.

Some self-help groups, such as the one in Ganeshpura village of Chittorgarh, work towards generating collective income for their members.

“Our group works together to make bags, bed sheets and rakhis,” said Chanchal Parikh, 37, its president. “We have tied up with a person for bulk orders.” The groups also give loans to its members. Their functioning is largely democratic - with regular elections to the posts of president, secretary and treasurer.

The biggest concern is that most of these women are not literate; so, they have to depend on others to operate their bank accounts and handle finances. Although the groups meet every month to discuss socially relevant issues such as childcare, family planning and sanitation, many members fail to benefit because they are not educated.

In a country where women empowerment in rural area plays an important role in the economic development of the nation, the participation of Corporates in forming of SHGs is important.

Vedanta to strengthen computer education programme in Rajasthan

50,000 children of 482 government schools in Rajasthan will get computer education every year. Govt. of Rajasthan, Vedanta Foundation and Hindustan Zinc signs MoU under "Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan". Government of Rajasthan under the "Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan" programme signed an MOU with 'Vedanta Foundation' and 'Hindustan Zinc' for providing e-contents in 482 government schools located in four districts of Rajasthan, which will benefit 50,000 children every year.

Under the program entitled “Vedanta e-Shiksha @ Schools” 482 Govt. Schools in the districts of Rajsamandh, Bhilwara, Udaipur and Chittorgarh will be provided e-Contents towards ‘Computer Aided Learning (CAL) and Computer Education Program (CEP). This program will primarily benefit students from the class 6th to 8th. 115 schools of Udaipur, 140 schools of Bhilwara, 118 schools of Rajsamand and 109 schools of Chittorgarh would be covered in this programme.

As per the MoU ‘Vedanta Foundation’ will provide ‘e-Contents’ which include English, Science, Social Studies and Maths, in all the 482 schools and will also take-up its maintenance. Vedanta Foundation will also train two teachers from each school, and appoint a third party supervising agency, who will oversee, monitor and do the assessment of the implementation and effectiveness of this project.

In addition to this, the Vedanta Foundation will also ensure that in order to make this 3-year long project more effective, teachers and students are constantly motivated and in this regard an award scheme is being worked out. The project cost is estimated to cost over Rs. 2 crore which will be borne by Hindustan Zinc.

Rajasthan Government has already installed computers in all the 482 schools and it was now a matter of providing them right content which Vedanta Foundation and Hindustan Zinc have taken the responsibility. “The objective of this project is to give an opportunity to the less privileged and rural children to get acquainted to computers which have become integral part of education.

This initiative will not only bring quality education in computers but would also bring enthusiasm in these children. This is likely to impact the attendance and reduce the drop out percentage” said Mr. Ravi Krishnan CEO Vedanta Foundation. The MoU was signed by Ms. Veenu Gupta- Commissioner of Rajasthan Council of Elementary, Government of Rajasthan, Mr. Ravi Kirshnan - CEO of Vedanta Foundation and Mr. Ahmar Sultan from HZL.

Vedanta launches 8th Mid-Day Meal Kitchen for Under-Privileged Children in India

Mid-Day Meal Kitchens to benefit 250,000 under-privileged children in about 3,000 schools in Rajasthan, Chattisgarh and Orissa

40,000 school going children of 264 schools of Korba, Chattisgarh, will start receiving hot, hygienic and nutritious mid-day meal as their school open after vacation, which should be this month itself. With the launch of Hi-Tech kitchen at Korba, Vedanta group now has 8 such Hi-Tech centralized Kitchens, providing hot mid-day meal to about 250,000 school going children of about 3,000 rural schools in Rajasthan, Orissa and Chattisgarh.

Vedanta had first set-up these Hi-Tech kitchens in the districts of Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Bhilwara in the State of Rajasthan and now has 6 such hi-tech centralized kitchens in Rajasthan, benefiting 180,000 under-privileged children in 2,400 rural schools. Recently, former Hon'ble President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam inaugurated mid-day meal kitchen at Lanjigarh, Orissa, which will benefit 20,000 under-privileged children of 273 rural schools, and now another hi-tech kitchen at Korba, Chattisgarh, that would benefit 40,000 under-privileged children in 264 schools.

Vedanta has partnered with the State Governments of Rajasthan, Chattisgarh and Orissa for the Mid-Day Meal scheme with the prime objective of improving the health status of children from Class I to VIII in government aided schools, given that 41% of the children in India are under-weight. A study conducted by the World Bank at Chittorgarh assessing the mid-day meal scheme highlighted that enrolment in schools improved by 64% and an increase in the enrolment of girls by 58% alone.

The impact of mid-day meal program has been immense. Besides improving the health of these children, it has also improved the attendance in the school and also the enrolment of students. The uniqueness of mid-day meal program lies in its easy scalability and the like-mindedness of the partners. This public private partnership between the State Government, Naandi Foundation and Vedanta group has come up as a social commitment to provide quality meals on time in the remotest schools. The government brings in the food grains as per the budget allocated per child (this varies from state to state); Naandi Foundation - NGO, is implementing partner and Vedanta group has committed one time capex investment for setting up all these hygienic hi-tech centralized kitchens along with quality control measures on food, delivery and service.

Vedanta group has vision to set-up 20 kitchens in the coming four years and reach out to over 15 lakh under-privileged children.

Vedanta Hindustan Zinc Heart Hospital in Udaipur

Hindustan Zinc to up-grade 'Vedanta Hindustan Zinc Heart Hospital' in Udaipur, Rajasthan.

An MOU to upgrade the "Vedanta Hindustan Zinc Heart Hospital", Udaipur was signed recently between Hindustan Zinc and Rajasthan government in the presence of Hon'ble Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Shri Ashok Ji Gehlot. The MOU in this regard was signed, on behalf of Government of Rajasthan by Mr. C.M. Meena, Principle. Secretary (Medical Education) and Mr. Akhilesh Joshi, COO, Hindustan Zinc. Hon'ble Chief Minister highly appreciated the work being done by Hindustan Zinc in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility in Rajasthan.

Under the MOU, Vedanta Group company Hindustan Zinc would contribute Rs. 10 crore for the up-gradation of the said hospital. The Government of Rajasthan would meet the annual recurring expenditure required for full use of the facilities created in the 'Vedanta Hindustan Zinc Heart Hospital', Udaipur.

This hospital was built by Hindustan Zinc with the expenditure of Rs. 6.5 crore in the year 1999. Dr. S.K.Kaushik, Principal RNT Medical College, who was also present on the occasion informed that "with the time the number of patients have increased and thus the facilities also needed to be increased. With contribution of Rs. 10 crore by Hindustan Zinc, the facilities would now double and we would be able to look after much more patients." 'Vedanta Hindustan Zinc Heart Hospital' after the up-gradation will have 90 or more beds, 2 Units for cardiology and 1 unit for Cardio Thoracic Vascular Surgery.

A Project Management Committee has also been constituted under the Chairmanship of District Collector, Udaipur, Mr. Anand Kumar, to implement, monitor the progress and co-ordinate all the project related activities. The Committee will also have Dr. S.K.Kaushik, Principal RNT Medical College, and Mr. Ahmar Sultan, Associate Vice President, Hindustan Zinc as members.

The MOU ceremony was attended by Chief Secretary of Government of Rajasthan - Mr. T. Srinivasan, Principle Secretary (Finance) Mr. C.K.Mathew, Principle Secretary (to CM) - Mr. Srimat Pandey, Principle Secretary (PWD) - Mr. Dinesh Kumar Goyal, and the District Collector -Udaipur Mr. Anand Kumar. Mr. S.L. Bajaj CFO and Mr. A. Sultan AVP-CSR were present from Hindustan Zinc.

Hindustan Zinc, through CSR,is impacting the lives of more than 500,000 people in about 200 villages in the areas of health, education, livelihood, sanitation, drinking water and various infrastructure development activities, in the State of Rajasthan.

Vedanta to adopt another 1,000 Anganwadi Centers in Orissa and Rajasthan

Now, 120,000 under privileged rural children to get nutrition value
through 3,000 Vedanta Anganwadi Centers

Statistics show every 3rd malnourished child in the World lives in India. It is astonishing to know that every 2nd Indian child is under-weight and 3 out of 4 children in India are anemic. India alone accounts for 40% of child malnutrition in developing countries, one of the highest levels in the World. India accounts for 57 million of the World’s 146 million malnourished children.

With a mission to provide nutrition value to under privileged children in the age group of 0-6 years, Vedanta group took the initiative of adopting State Governments run Anganwadi Centers. Initially, Vedanta adopted 800 Anganwadi Centers, 400 each in Orissa and Rajasthan, and provided nutrition value (groundnut, poha etc.), utensils, water filters, medical kit, books, toys, and other necessary items to each of these 800 Anganwadi Centers. A regular doctor had now started visiting these Anganwadi Centers for conducting medical check-ups and also for providing necessary immunization. These Vedanta Anganwadi Centers now maintain data of each child and the activities are monitored. Not only this, the company has also appointed supervisors to ensure proper implementation of the project. The impact is to be seen, as not only the nutrition value in these children has considerably increased but also the attendance in the Anganwadi Centers.

Encouraged by the results Vedanta adopted another 600 Anganwadi in Rajasthan and another 600 in Orissa, in the second phase, enhancing the total number of Anganwadi to 2,000, benefiting over 85,000 under privileged children living in deep rural areas.

Now, the Vedanta group is moving ahead to adopt another 1,000 Anganwadi Centers, 500 in Orissa and 500 in Rajasthan, which would benefit about 43,000 rural children, taking the total adoption to 3,000 and beneficiaries as over 120,000. Vedanta group has the target for reaching out to minimum 10,000 Anganwadi Centres to benefit about 500,000 under-privileged children living in deep rural areas in the coming 2-3 years.

Mr. Anil Agarwal, Chairman, Vedanta Group says, "I want to see India as a child malnutrition free country. The Vedanta group is working towards complete eradication of malnutrition from this country. A very high percentage of Children in India are under-nourished and suffer due to malnutrition and children are under-weight. Children are wealth of any nation and also future of Indian growth story. We need to ensure their childhood is healthy and well nourished and they get proper education.”

The children who are going in Anganwadi Centers are also happy as they learn through play way methods where the teacher teaches them through songs and rhymes, colourful pictorial books and toys. The parents of the children are also very happy as their children are being taught about health and hygiene, civic sense and their children from the Anganwadi Centers then move to formal schools.

Today, these children greet every visitor with ‘good morning’, have every day bath, brush their teeth, cut their nails, comb their hair, and wear clean clothes. One can feel the inner happiness in these children.

From the House of Women Entrepreneurs

Hindustan Zinc, bringing difference in the lives of thousands of rural women in Rajasthan...


Women in rural Rajasthan are for a change. Their social and economic conditions are changing and they are emerging as self reliant, self independent, micro entrepreneur, and decision makers in their house. The women of rural Rajasthan are experiencing women empowerment. Their house hold income is increasing multi-fold and there is a significant change in their quality of life.The credit goes to forming of Self Help Groups that has participation of about 10-12 rural women, primarily of the same village and surrounding.

Rajasthan is emerging as one of the leading State in India in development of Self Help Groups (SHGs). Hindustan Zinc alone facilitates 215 Self Help Groups in the district of Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Bhilwara and Rajsamand. More than 3,500 women are associated with these 215 Self Help Groups in the State. The important part is that all the Self Help Groups are linked with the banks and operate their bank accounts. The cumulative savings of these groups is about Rs. 45 Lacs and about 80% of these Self Help Groups have received a loan of about Rs. 50 lacs from the banks.

Radha Somani of Agucha village, took a loan of Rs. 10,000 and starated a Manihari Shop. Today she earns about Rs. 4,000/- per month. She says, "I am paying pack my installment and also my sons college fees. In soon my son would complete MBA and our days of hardship would change". Another women Shanti Mali is about 56 years of age, widow with one son. She was working as daily wager and fell ill. She took a loan of Rs. 15,000/- and started cultivating vegetables in 2 bighas of land. Today her daily earnings are over Rs. 500/-. She has become a small entrepreneur now.

With emphasis on self independence and improving their quality of life, about 60% members have opted and established their own micro-enterprise , viz. vegetable cultivation, mini dairy, tailoring shop, grocery shops, spice grinding units, imitation jewellery shop to name a few. This has brought a significant change in their economic conditions. On an average there has been an increase in their monthly income to the tune of Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 5,000.

Hindustan Zinc has not only been facilitating these Self Help Groups but also linking them with banks, and guiding them for opening micro enterprises. The role of Hindustan Zinc is important in terms of making these women participate in the Panchayat affairs, decision making in issues within their houses, at village level, and also uplifting their quality of life. The Company has been educating them on savings, inter-loaning and capacity building, including, providing need based training to the members.

The exercise begins in convincing individual women for forming a group i.e SHG, their training, imparting knowledge in book keeping and continuously motivating them till they start achieving results. “There is also resistance from men in the family said ,” Bhanwar Singh Chundawal, sarpanch, Nagari village in Chittorgarh. “They fear their wives and daughters-in-law are going to become too independent for their liking.” In spite of all that, self-help groups are spurring hope and aspirations for women like Chunki Devi, 47. A widow and mother of four, she has struggled for 11 years to earn a living. Recently she joined a self , help group in Agucha and is taking a Rs 25,000-loan to buy seeds and fertilizers for her fields. “I hope my days of poverty would soon come to an end,” said Devi, a lohar (blacksmith) by caste.

Some self-help groups, such as the one in Ganeshpura village of Chittorgarh, work towards generating collective income for their members.

“Our group works together to make bags, bed sheets and rakhis,” said Chanchal Parikh, 37, its president. “We have tied up with a person for bulk orders.” The groups also give loans to its members. Their functioning is largely democratic - with regular elections to the posts of president, secretary and treasurer.

The biggest concern is that most of these women are not literate; so, they have to depend on others to operate their bank accounts and handle finances. Although the groups meet every month to discuss socially relevant issues such as childcare, family planning and sanitation, many members fail to benefit because they are not educated.

In a country where women empowerment in rural area plays an important role in the economic development of the nation, the participation of Corporates in forming of SHGs is important.

Vedanta - Empowering Communities in Rural India Through CSR

“CSR is close to my heart and we are working day and night for the benefit of the under-privileged children in the country. Through Computer education, mid-day meal and Vedanta Bal Chetna Anganwadi Project, we would be touching the lives of about 2.5 million under-privileged children in coming 3-4 years time.” Shri Anil Agarwal, Chairman, Vedanta Group.

The group is currently touching the lives of over 2.5 million people spread across more than 425 villages. With a mission to impact the lives of another 1.6 million under-privileged child; the Group has already strengthened its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes across all operating states in India and Zambia.

Our programmes on nutrition, mid-day meal, health & hygiene, women empowerment, livelihood, computer education, infrastructure development, mother and child care, agriculture development, water & electricity, to name a few, have become bench-mark in the States we operate, viz. Rajasthan, Orissa, Chattisgarh, Tamil Nadu and Goa.

We are proud to serve rural community at large:-

2,050 Vedanta Bal Chetna Anganwadi Centres across India.

84,500 rural under-privileged children being provided nutrition value.

180,000 rural children being provided mid-day meal through 6 hi-tech kitchens.

100 Child Care Centres - Project 'Parvarish' - for pre-school, nutrition & health care.

540 Care Centres - Project ' Mamta' - for child care, care for adolescent girls, and expecting mothers.

350 bedded Vedanta Cancer Hospital & Research Centre, upcoming in Raipur, Chattisgarh.

53 villages covered by Mobile Health Units - covering 32,000 under-privileged families.

Vedanta Hindustan Zinc Heart Hospital in, Udaipur Rajasthan.

18 Company run hospitals and health posts - 300,000 rural people provided quality health.

200,000 children of 600 Government Schools covered under Computer Education.

500,000 beneficiaries of Computer Literacy Program spread across 320 Centres in India.

1,500 youth trained in livelihood programs for self employment.

27 company run schools and Post Graduate college for girls at Ringus, Rajasthan.

200,000 women trained through 12 Vocational Training Centres across India.

12,000 Jail inmates trained across India - 14 Jails covered including Tihar Jail, New Delhi.

1,825 Self Help Groups bringing socio-economic empowerment in 24,300 rural women.

1,050 farmers covered under micro-irrigation, cultivation,land improvement and water-shed.

75 villages under Integrated Village Development Program.

82 NGOs partners - regional, national and international.

Investment of over USD 65 million (Rupees 300 crore) in CSR by 2010.

On mission to touch the lives of another 1.6 million under-privileged children through nutrition program and computer education.

Vedanta group has an unparalleled vision not only for businesses but also for social change in India.