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  • IIFL Foundation launches Rajasthan’s first agri drone

    IIFL Foundation launches Rajasthan’s first agri drone

    This is IIFL Foundation’s second drone initiative after the successful launch of Maharashtra’s first drone-based last mile vaccine delivery in Palghar district.

    IIFL Foundation has launched an agricultural drone at Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology (MPUAT), Rajasthan in order to boost research work.

      “This is also one of India’s first agricultural drone initiatives by a CSR foundation,” the IIFL Foundation claimed in a statement.

      The custom built agricultural drone has been given to MPUAT for research and educational purpose, it said.

      The custom made 2 meter wide, battery powered drone can spray over an area of 1 acre in less than 3 minutes. An android phone is mounted to its wireless remote that allows easy navigation. The structure comprises of 6 arms, 6 propellers and 4 spraying nozzles which can easily cover large farm areas in few hours that takes a day or 2 for manual spraying, it said.

      The drone was launched by MPAUT Vice Chancellor Narendra Singh Rathod, IIFL Foundation Director Madhu Jain, RNT Medical College (Udaipur) Principal Lakhan Poswal, at the instructional farm in MPUAT’s campus, Udaipur, in presence of Farmers.

      MPUAT Vice Chancellor said, “We are highly grateful to IIFL Foundation for choosing our University to grant such an innovation. Of all the technological innovations that have been made in agriculture, drone based services is definitely the next best step.”

      Currently, the drone will be used to spray insecticides, pesticides and other liquid based supplementary nutrition to the crops. In coming time we shall certainly enhance the technology with research and contribution of our students, he said.

      IIFL Foundation Director Madhu Jain said the agricultural drone is an innovation that shall allow farmers to save time spent on manual spraying, avoid over exertion in the extreme hot climate & also safeguard them against any illness arising out from over-exposure to pesticides and insecticides.

      This is IIFL Foundation’s second drone initiative after the successful launch of Maharashtra’s first drone-based last mile vaccine delivery in Palghar district. The project was done in partnership with Ministry of Health and Government of Maharashtra. It became India’s first such innovation with a payload capacity of 5 kg and operating within a radius of 25 km, delivering life saving vaccines at the earliest.

  • UP Deputy CM launches HCL Samuday crafts by rural women artisans for sale on Flipkart

    UP Deputy CM launches HCL Samuday crafts by rural women artisans for sale on Flipkart

    The Foundation unveils Samuday Crafts – a range of handmade products by rural women artisans on the e-commerce platform. All products will be available on the Flipkart website: https://bit.ly/3lBtUea

    Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Saturday unveiled ‘Samuday Crafts’, a range of handmade products made by 500 rural women artisans under a CSR initiative by HCL Foundation in partnership with Flipkart Samarth.

      During the event, an exclusive range of home decor products namely ‘Alankaar’ was also launched. All products will be available on the Flipkart website: https://bit.ly/3lBtUea.

      Samuday Crafts enables rural artisans to produce and sell products in the categories of home décor, lifestyle, and apparel.

      It offers a range of crafts like Taat embroidery, natural fiber-based crafts (Moonj, Kans, and Wheat Grass), hand embroidery (chikankari), block-printing, and tie and dye.

      The price range of these products starts from Rs 200 and goes up to Rs 3,500.

      “HCL Foundation’s partnership with Flipkart will further help rural women artisans to reach a much wider audience through their handicrafts. I would like to congratulate them for this initiative,” Maurya, who is also UP Rural Development Minister, said on the occasion.

      The state government has always supported handicrafts and “we are committed to support replication of such cluster development models in other parts of the state,” he said.

      The UP Deputy CM further said that the Uttar Pradesh government is working in collaboration with HCL Foundation in 11 blocks of the Hardoi district in six areas of rural development including health, education, agriculture, water and sanitation, infrastructure and livelihood.

      Through the livelihood intervention, over 22000 rural women have been able to strengthen the financial condition of their family, he added.

      HCL Foundation under its flagship program HCL Samuday, has partnered with Flipkart Samarth to provide livelihood opportunities to rural women in Hardoi district of Uttar Pradesh by reviving existing crafts and skilling through training programs. As part of this initiative, HCL Samuday unveiled Samuday Crafts.

      Uttar Pradesh Minister of State for Rural Development Vijay Laxmi Gautam, Agriculture Production Commissioner Additional Chief Secretary in Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Manoj Kumar Singh as well as HCL Foundation Project Director Alok Varma and Flipkart Group Director – Government affairs Tushar Mukherjee were also present on the occasion.

      HCL Foundation Project Director Alok Varma said the handicraft sector provides an opportunity to create an alternate source of income for rural women, skilled in making traditional handicraft products.

      Since 2015, as part of its livelihood interventions, HCL Samuday has supported 22,000 women with a range of livelihood opportunities. While close to 2,000 women artisans have benefitted from additional income through our efforts, we realized that the potential could be much higher if we are able to connect them directly to the consumers.

      “Our partnership with Flipkart Samarth is a step in this direction and can be truly transformational for these artisans. This association will help showcase the ingenuity of skilled artisans on a global platform, resulting in increased acknowledgment and remuneration.

      “We expect that the partnership will help artisans to make sales of around Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 per month directly,” he said.

      Rajneesh Kumar, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Flipkart Group, said Flipkart’s Samarth initiative was launched in 2019 to support under-served communities, artisans, weavers and craftsmen and provide them access to a national market, using the power of e-commerce.

      “Through this initiative, we have been able to support millions of livelihoods engaged with this program across the country. Under this partnership with HCL Samuday, we are committed to extending the opportunities of the digital economy to these talented women artisans, support their financial independence and build visibility for their local crafts,” he said.

      Working together as a group since 2017, these rural women artisans have been enabled to generate revenue of Rs 3.5 Cr in the last five years, helping them individually earn an average income of Rs 2500 to Rs. 3000 per month. This additional income is empowering the rural women in the district with a sense of financial security while helping them become earning members of the household.

      This is a comprehensive livelihood upliftment initiative where women are empowered, not only through skill development on handicrafts but also on financial literacy, design and marketing linkages. They also benefit from health initiatives under HCL Samuday, thus leading to holistic transformation.

      To ensure that rural women refine their craft-making skills, HCL Foundation, over the years, has partnered with Craftizens, Kadam, and Rang Sutra to provide skill training to artisans in multiple crafts. Artisans have also been supported to showcase their work in various exhibitions such as Dastakar, Delhi Haat, Jaipur Lifestyles Festivals, and Heritage, etc.

  • Learning to ride safe on the Honda way

    Learning to ride safe on the Honda way

    With this campaign, Honda aims to make children safety ambassadors of tomorrow and help adults understand the importance of using the roads safely.

    Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (HMSI) has targeted schools in India to spread its National Road Safety Awareness Campaign and the need for road safety awareness among citizens.

      A three-day camp was held at the Radha Krishna Public School in Ghaziabad, where over 2100 school students and staff members learnt about safe riding practices.

      Speaking on HMSI’s commitment to sensitising India on road safety, Prabhu Nagaraj, Operating Officer – Brand & Communication, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Pvt. Ltd., said, “Road safety education is education essential for developing a road safety mindset. Continuing to strengthen further our commitment to building a safer India on roads, we have resumed our on-ground road safety training – National Road Safety Awareness Campaign”.

      He said that with this campaign, Honda aims to make children safety ambassadors of tomorrow and help adults understand the importance of using the roads safely.

      “Honda will strive for zero traffic collision fatalities involving Honda motorcycles and automobiles globally by 2050”, a company statement has announced.

      Fulfilling its corporate social responsibility (CSR), HMSI has promoted road safety in India since its start in 2001. Today, working towards realising Honda’s global safety vision, HMSI’s road safety awareness initiative has already spread to over 45 lac Indians. It’s skilled safety instructors conduct daily programmes at its ten adopted traffic parks across India and 7 Safety Driving Education Centers (SDEC).

      HMSI’s proprietary virtual riding simulator increases the risk-prediction ability of riders. At the same time, new customers to are given predelivery safety advice (PDSA) before they start riding at every dealership across India.

  • Quess partners with SMC to rid menstruation taboo

    Quess partners with SMC to rid menstruation taboo

    This collaboration is a step toward impacting the female workforce participation within Quess, enabling awareness of sustainable products as well as facilitating a safe and hygienic work environment for all gendered employees and their families.

    Quess Corp, India’s leading business service provider, has entered into a corporate partnership with Sustainable Menstruation Coalition (SMC), a global coalition aiming to eradicate period poverty.

      The partnership aims to positively impact over 400,000 plus Quess associates, 3000 plus corporate clients, 7000 plus core employees, and two million plus employee family ecosystem through company-wide menstruation awareness campaigns encouraging behavioural change and education on a wide scale.

      The Sustainable Menstruation Coalition is a strategic alliance of companies and NGOs that uses innovative financing and on-ground activation to empower menstruators to choose sustainable menstrual hygiene products that benefit their health and wellbeing. Through this collaboration, Quess Corp and SMC will together tackle workplace stigma and taboos and promote sustainable menstruation practices among the workforce and their larger ecosystems to impact health, sustainability goals, and gender parity at the workplace.

      Quess aims to become a Period Victory workplace which provides access to sustainable menstruation products and celebrates dignified menstruation free of shame or stigma. This collaboration is a step toward impacting the female workforce participation within Quess, enabling awareness of sustainable products as well as facilitating a safe and hygienic work environment for all gendered employees and their families. Further, this partnership extends to schools and educational institutes as part of Quess Corp’s CSR arm, Careworks Foundation (CWF).

      Lohit Bhatia, President of Workforce Management, Quess Corp, spoke on the partnership and said, “We believe that social security can only be achieved through formal employment. This is what workers of all classes need, including women. One of the biggest deterrents for women entering the workforce is the discontinuation of education when they hit puberty due to a lack of toilets in public schools or access to hygienic menstruation products.

      Something as natural as periods cannot put a girl child’s access to education and future employment at risk. We are confident that through this partnership, we should be able to make a difference in the lives of several little girls who aspire for a financially secure future.”

      Reports maintain that 64% of Indian women do not have access to menstrual hygiene products, while 23 million Indian girls drop out of school annually after they start their period. It is also estimated that women in India miss 50 days of work a year due to their menstrual cycles. The scale of unawareness and lack of access to hygienic health accessories contributes to the low participation of women in the workforce as these factor into the education of girls and, consequently, the employment of women in the workforce.

      “Even in our workforce, we have been striving to improve women’s participation and seeing a quarter-on-quarter increase in their enrolment. To continue this momentum till it reaches the desired level, steps like creating awareness and giving access to hygienic menstruation products will go a long way”, added Bhatia.

      The Sustainable Menstruation Coalition (SMC) aims to empower menstruators in India to gain awareness of menstrual hygiene practices by adopting sustainable menstruation products. The coalition intends to positively impact the reduction of waste and greenhouse gas emissions to provide sustainable menstrual products to 100 million menstruators across India by 2030.

      Imran Wali Ahmad, Managing Director, TrueFootprint & Founding Member, SMC, added, “As the non-profit Project Drawdown highlights, one of the most impactful solutions for climate change lies in girls’ education; one of the biggest barriers identified is poor menstrual hygiene practices. We are hopeful that with the support of like-minded institutions like Quess, we should be able to reach our common goal of providing sustainable menstrual products to 100 million women and girls across India in the next seven years, in alignment with the UN’s 2030 SDG targets.”

      As part of the initiative, SMC has actioned a baseline survey with female employees at Quess to understand their comfort level, menstrual knowledge, and access to period products. An awareness program specialised in the survey findings will be undertaken to sensitise menstruators about period hygiene and introduce them to sustainable/alternate products.

      All genders of the workforce will be a part of this program to encourage continuous learning of the menstrual landscape and normalise the phenomenon. Further, knowledge dissemination through sensitisation seminars, workshops, and donation campaigns will also be undertaken to aid menstruators outside the company.

  • SBI Sanjeevani now serves Himalayan towns

    SBI Sanjeevani now serves Himalayan towns

    SBI Foundation partnered with Borderless World Foundation to provide primary, preventive, diagnostic, curative and referral health services at the doorstep of the communities in the remote villages of Bandipore and Kargil districts.

    The SBI Foundation’s mobile medical unit project, SBI Sanjeevani – Clinic on Wheels, will soon service Bandipore, Jammu & Kashmir and Kargil, Ladakh. This has become possible after SBI Foundation partnered with Borderless World Foundation to provide primary, preventive, diagnostic, curative and referral health services at the doorstep of the communities in the remote villages of Bandipore and Kargil districts.

      The mobile medical units, funded by SBICap Securities, were flagged off by Bhagwat Karad, Union Minister of State for Finance in the presence of Amitava Chatterjee, CGM, SBI Delhi Circle, Lalit Mohan, President and COO, SBI Foundation and officials from Borderless World Foundation and SBICap Securities.

      SBI Sanjeevani – Clinic on Wheels is currently being implemented in 21 States and Union Territories in our country, covering over 400 remote villages and serving a population of close to 5 lakh.

      These mobile medical units are equipped with state-of-the-art diagnostic facilities and accompanied by a dedicated medical team consisting of a doctor, lab technician and pharmacist. Along with the clinical facilities, these units will also run specialised health and awareness camps in these remote villages. This project also leverages collaborations with the state and local health departments/medical colleges for support.

      Speaking at the event, MoS Finance Karad said, “The SBI Sanjeevani – Clinic on Wheels is a unique initiative where the state and local health departments, local NGOs and SBI Foundation work in unison. I am grateful to SBI Foundation, SBICap Securities and Borderless World Foundation for these efforts to serve communities in the most remote areas of our country, specifically in Bandipore and Kargil.”

      “Serving rural communities is one of the core ethos of the State Bank of India. As a corporate citizen, SBI is undertaking various CSR initiatives, thus helping nation-building.” Amitava Chatterjee, CGM, SBI Delhi Circle, said.

      Lalit Mohan, President and COO, SBI Foundation, shared, “Our SBI Sanjeevani initiative makes primary healthcare services accessible to our rural and remote population and improves the health status of villages and induces behavioural changes in health, hygiene and sanitation practices within the community. Shortly, we further look to extend this initiative to all states and union territories in our country, to serve our rural and remote communities.”

      SBI Foundation is the CSR arm of the State Bank of India. True to its tradition of service beyond banking, the foundation currently works in over 27 states and union territories of India on rural development, healthcare, education, livelihood and skill development, youth empowerment, promotion of sports, and more.

  • DCB Bank to inaugurate 25 rainwater recharge wells in B’luru

    DCB Bank to inaugurate 25 rainwater recharge wells in B’luru

    Recharge can help move excess salts that accumulate in the root zone to deeper soil layers, or into the groundwater system. Tree roots increase water saturation into groundwater reducing water runoff..

    Private lender DCB Bank will tomorrow inaugurate and symbolically mark the beginning of the 25 rainwater recharge wells (RRW) sustainability project in Bengaluru.

      This RRW would act as a powerful groundwater management tool that not only protects and restore aquatic environments, prevents urban flash folding, increases groundwater but also provides employment to well-diggers, the company said in a statement.

      With the continuous issue of ground water shortage in Bengaluru, the Bank is contributing to preserve water by utilising existing natural resources.

      Recharge can help move excess salts that accumulate in the root zone to deeper soil layers, or into the groundwater system. Tree roots increase water saturation into groundwater reducing water runoff.

      Besides this, DCB Bank in collaboration with iNaturewatch Foundation will launch a mobile app “eForestrails” in Mumbai that will help visitors for nature tours in Karnala Bird Sanctuary.

      In Odisha, DCB Bank’s sustainable development initiative in Banki Block, a backward area in Cuttack district is transforming the lives of its inhabitants.

      Local women are trained in the bee-keeping activity to create an inclusive development for the region. They have been successful in promoting cross-pollination and honey collection thereby building a steady source of supplementary income.

  • Nestle India training dairy, spice & coffee farmers to source high quality raw material

    Nestle India training dairy, spice & coffee farmers to source high quality raw material

    Apart from working towards a sustainable resilient supply chain, Nestle India has also been plastic neutral across all its brands, strengthening its commitment towards 100 per cent recyclable or reusable packaging by 2025.

    Recognising the need for sustainable operations across the value chain, FMCG major Nestle India on Wednesday said it is training dairy, spice and coffee farmers to develop sustainable farms and source high quality raw material.

      Nestle India, in a statement, said the company has partnered and engaged with 7000 dairy farmers across the dairy value stream for reducing enteric fermentation and energy, improving feed management and manure management.

      “The focus is on training farmers in good agricultural practices, helping them produce safe, high-quality raw materials, and develop resilient and sustainable farms,” it said.

      In addition to dairy farmers, Nestlé India has also been working closely with spice and coffee farmers, enabling them to source sustainably.

      The association with coffee farmers under the NESCAFÉ plan has resulted in an impactful contribution in reducing water usage at farms by 23 per cent while increasing yield by up to 18 per cent, the company claimed.

      Similarly, the MAGGI Spice plan has ensured that the spices sourced are free from harmful pesticides, additives, and climate change effects, it added.

      Commenting on these initiatives, Nestlé India Chairman and Managing Director Suresh Narayanan said: “Responsible sourcing of materials is essential to ensuring a sustainable future. There are continuous efforts to improve operational efficiencies, minimizing consumption of natural resources and reducing water, energy and CO2 emissions while maximizing production volumes.’’

      Apart from working towards a sustainable resilient supply chain, Nestle India has also been plastic neutral across all its brands, strengthening its commitment towards 100 per cent recyclable or reusable packaging by 2025.

      There has also been an increasing focus on sustainable logistics for addressing key climate challenges including the use of railways for transportation of goods to reduce carbon footprint and initiation of inland waterways among others.

      Nestle India said it has reduced the usage of energy by around 43 per cent, water usage by around 52 per cent, generation of wastewater by around 67 per cent and specific direct Green House Gas emissions by 57 per cent for every tonne of production over the last 15 years.

  • HMSI celebrates 7th anniversary of Children’s Traffic Training Park in Hyderabad

    HMSI celebrates 7th anniversary of Children’s Traffic Training Park in Hyderabad

    HMSI has educated over 1.44 lakh people of Hyderabad (more than 92,000 kids + 52,000 new and existing riders including both male and females) since inception.

    Committed to spread road safety awareness to make Hyderabad roads safer for all, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) and Hyderabad Traffic Police today celebrated severla glorious years of its Children’s Traffic Training Park in Goshamahal.

     The celebration was held in the august presence of G. Harish (Inspector, Traffic Police, Hyderabad) and members from Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India. 

    In April 2015, HMSI in collaboration with Hyderabad Traffic Police inaugurated its first adopted traffic training park across entire South India at Hyderabad. 

    Spreading awareness on safe riding habits, road safety rules, signs and markings and road sharing manners, HMSI announced that through its daily trainings for all age groups, it has educated over 1.44 lakh people of Hyderabad (more than 92,000 kids + 52,000 new and existing riders including both male and females) since inception.

    HMSI Senior Vice President (Brand and Communication) Prabhu Nagaraj said the development of Hyderabad’s traffic training park with Traffic Police of the city is one such initiative that is driving positive change in not only the existing riders but also preparing more responsible riders of tomorrow. 

    “Educating over 1.44 lakh people of Hyderabad bears testimony to the fact that our combined efforts are making a difference constantly. Moving forward, we will continue to instill more discipline among the citizens of Hyderabad to make them responsible road users,” he added. 

    HMSI had in April 2021 announced it will strive for zero traffic collision fatalities involving Honda motorcycles and automobiles globally by 2050.

    Fulfilling its corporate social responsibility (CSR), HMSI has been promoting road safety in India since its start in 2001. Working towards the realization of Honda’s global safety vision, HMSI’s road safety awareness initiative today has already spread to over 44 lakh Indians. 

    Its team of skilled safety instructors conduct daily programmes at its 10 adopted traffic parks across India and seven Safety Driving Education Centres (SDEC).

    Not only this, all 1000 plus dealerships of HMSI across India spread road safety awareness. HMSI’s proprietary virtual riding simulator increases the risk-prediction ability of riders; while new customers too are given predelivery safety advise (PDSA) before they start riding at every dealership across India.

    Additionally, ensuring that learning doesn’t stop in the New Normal, HMSI started the digital road safety education initiative – Honda Road Safety E-Gurukul. Since its start in May’20, this initiative has sensitized over 7 lakh Indians on importance of being aware and responsible road users.

  • Day Quote

    “I believe that with great wealth comes great responsibility, a responsibility to give back to society and a responsibility to see that those resources are put to work in the best possible way to help those most in need.”
    Bill Gates

  • Day Quote

    “CSR is a hard-edged business decision. Not because it is a nice thing to do or because people are forcing us to do it because it is good for our business.”
    Niall FitzGerald