Category: News

Muskurahat Foundation today announced the launch of ‘Project Saarthi’ to help youth leaving shelter homes in rural areas identify and secure job opportunities. The Project Saarthi aims to help youth (18 years and above)

Muskurahat Foundation today announced the launch of ‘Project Saarthi’ to help youth leaving shelter homes in rural areas identify and secure job opportunities.

The Project Saarthi aims to help youth (18 years and above) — who are required to leave the shelter homes as per the existing Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act — to find employment on an emergency basis and work with them in the long term to identify and take steps towards building their choice of career.

The long-term vision of the project is to support the youngsters in equipping them with life skills and mental health support to be able to uplift themselves from their current situation, the Foundation said in a statement.

As part of the project, the Foundation today conducted job readiness training to a pilot batch of 35 youth in Kolhapur, Maharasthra

Each of them were paired with one mentor to guide them in identifying their life goals and action plans to achieve it. Additionally, a scholarship has also been made available to all participants to take up skill building courses to bridge their skill gap, it said.

Commenting on the training, Muskurahat Foundation Founder Himanshu Goenka said: “We realised the lack of NGO penetration in Kolhapur and surrounding areas, a result of which is the lack of exposure for the children in shelter homes. These children anyway grow up with the absence of a family that takes care of your basic needs till the time they are able to earn their own living.”

“…We took quick decisions to support them in the interim to resolve their immediate requirements while keeping our focus on the long term that is to help them build quality lives for themselves,” he added.

With the pilot batch underway, the learnings are helping the NGO plan and execute more batches that will serve the large community of youth care-leavers currently in need in Kolhapur.

The slowdown of the economy rendered these youth jobless and unable to manage their living expenses. While the temporary relief through donations was available during the initial months, it has started dwindling and raised the requirement of a regular earning source for their sustenance.

The youngsters who leave the shelter homes lack awareness and exposure to career guidance, finding employment and work skills. As a result, they take up low-paying, odd jobs in the unorganized sector, which is one of the worst affected sectors during this pandemic, it added.

HCL Foundation today invited online application from NGOs working in rural India for providing institutionalized grants up to Rs 16.5 crore under its flagship programme ‘HCL Grant’. Application has been invited for the sixth edition of HCL Grant

HCL Foundation today invited online application from NGOs working in rural India for providing institutionalized grants up to Rs 16.5 crore under its flagship programme ‘HCL Grant’.

Application has been invited for the sixth edition of HCL Grant, the most coveted institutionalized CSR grants of India.

The last date for submitting the application is August 8, 2020. NGOs can apply on the website https://www.hclfoundation.org/hcl-grant.

According to the Foundation, the Grant is applicable for NGOs working in the field of education, health and environment and that have an experience of implementing projects in rural India.

Those organizations are eligible who with innovative, replicable and sustainable models can make a significant contribution towards rural development in the categories of education, health and environment, it said in a statement.

Three NGOs will be awarded with a grant of Rs 5 crore each for a 3-5 year project. The remaining two finalist NGOs in each category will be awarded a one-year grant of Rs 25 lakh, taking the overall Grant commitment Rs 16.5 crore.

HCL Grant, an initiative by HCL Foundation — the philanthropic arm of HCL Technologies — is a step towards recognition of the ‘The Fifth Estate’ contributing towards the nation building.

Started in 2015, it is a commitment by HCL to strengthen transformation in the areas of education, health and environment by reaching out to marginalized, isolated and underdeveloped rural communities, and achieve sustainable socio-economic development.

A unique aspect of the HCL Grant is that the organizations are recognized not only based on the ‘idea’, but also for their power to transform ideas into implementable projects and thereby transform Indian villages in a sustainable way.

The Foundation said some changes have been made in the current edition of HCL Grant. From the current edition onward, the eligibility criteria in the education and health categories concerning an NGO’s average annual expenditure over the last three years has been reduced from Rs 1.5 crores to Rs 1 crore.

Also, henceforth, NGOs will need to submit only a brief concept note of the proposal in Stage 1 (as per the online format). Detailed proposals will be required only in Stage 2 from the shortlisted NGOs.

“There will be no charge or fees while submitting the application,” it said.

No authorized individual, third party, company, agency or organization may accept an application on behalf of the HCL Grant or ask for any benefit, either monetary or in kind, for completing the application process, it added.

In these times of COVID-19 crisis, the Foundation said the HCL Grant’s commitment will remain directed towards the objective of achieving sustainable, replicable and scalable rural development, through long-term strategies.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has opened a range of challenges in rural India, over and above the already prevailing conditions. While HCL Foundation recognizes that the applicant NGOs will take into consideration these challenges, it requests NGOs to ensure that the HCL Grant proposal remains focused on transformation and impactful rural development, in the areas of environment, health and education, through innovative, relevant and cost-effective strategies,” it noted.

While applying for the HCL Grant Edition VI, the Foundation said it is imperative that the COVID-19 pandemic situation on the ground should to be taken into consideration.

The pandemic has impacted various states and districts differently, and therefore it is critical that the situation assessment is done at micro-macro levels while developing long term solutions towards issues related to environment, health and education in rural belt of India, it said.

The NGOs will be treating COVID-19 as the ‘new normal’ till the world finds a permanent solution to it, yet focusing on regular rural developmental areas while taking all measures to contain the spread of the pandemic. This further calls for NGOs to strengthen the aspects of ‘innovation’ and ‘use of technology’ in their HCL Grant application, it added.

Edible oil trade body Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) on Sunday said it has provided food and nutrition support as part of its CSR initiative to labourers, farmers and less privileged people in Maharashtra amid the COVID-19 crisis

Edible oil trade body Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) on Sunday said it has provided food and nutrition support as part of its CSR initiative to labourers, farmers and less privileged people in Maharashtra amid the COVID-19 crisis.

In the last four months, the Association has distributed 10,000 kg of sugar in Thane district and 4,500 kg of edible oil in Mumbai and Thane.

Besides, 10,000 ready meals were distributed for ten days in Gowandi area of Mumbai, 5,000 ready meals to Majiwada migrant labourers in Thane and another 5,000 ready to eat packs to BMC hospitl staff and police department.

That apart, 63,000 mini meals containing masala oats and ready khichadi packs were distributed. About ten COVID suraksha boxes to police staff were given, it said in a statement.

Mumbai-based SEA said it is continuing with the CSR activities to provide relief to the lowest strata of the society and daily wagers.

SEA with 750 membership is an apex body for vegetable oil industry and trade in India. It is recognized as a NGO by the Union Agriculture Ministry and also as trade promotion organisation by the Union Commerce Ministry.

PROJECT MUMBAI, an award-winning model of Public-People-Private Participation known for social transformation through initiatives of scale, especially during its fight against COVID-19 in Mumbai, has been selected by the UN SDG Action Campaign

PROJECT MUMBAI, an award-winning model of Public-People-Private Participation known for social transformation through initiatives of scale, especially during its fight against COVID-19 in Mumbai, has been selected by the UN SDG Action Campaign as one of the global recipients for the Solidarity Award 2020

Shishir Joshi, CEO and Founder and Project Mumbai are among the 50 chosen globally for this honour, an official statement said.

Among the top fifty recipients in the world, three from India have made it to the global fifty list of winners, PROJECT Mumbai being one of them and only one from this region.

Project Mumbai is a 20-month-old not-for-profit and in the last hundred days, launched three mental health helplines, built a network of volunteers to provide groceries and medicines to vulnerable senior citizens and people with disabilities living alone.

It also contributed over 2 lakh PPE Kits to doctors, over ten thousand PPE kits and two lakh masks to the Mumbai Police and among its various initiatives provided cooked meals to 45 lakh citizens—homeless and migrants across Mumbai besides providing grocery kits to over 20,000 families.

Through this initiative, the UN SDG Action Campaign has recognized the most heart-warming and impactful initiatives undertaken and implemented in communities around the world to improve people’s lives, inspired resilience and lifted hopes, amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the statement said.

Project Mumbai Founder Shishir Joshi said, “Project Mumbai is founded on the principles of volunteerism. Its support and outreach platform is built on a strong sense of ownership of our city, arising out of every volunteer-citizen’s ability to understand areas that directly affect people’s lives. Each initiative, ranging from mental health helplines and free delivery of essential supplies to grocery and medical support for senior citizens, have been powered by Project Mumbai’s hyper-local volunteer base.

According to United Nations SDG Action Campaign Global Director Marina Ponti, “In the midst of the global health crisis, we see strong examples of solidarity among people everywhere. We congratulate Project Mumbai for their solidarity and determination to improve others’ lives, inspire resilience and lift hopes in the face of this crisis.”

The selected initiatives have been announced by United Nations on a day dedicated to Solidarity within the High-Level Political Forum, to inspire people across the world to continue taking action for people and for the planet.

Mobis India Ltd — an established player in manufacturing high-quality automotive parts and accessories for Hyundai Motors in India — today donated Rs 3.50 crores through is CSR arm Mobis India Foundation for COVID-19 Relief. Of the total donation

Mobis India Ltd — an established player in manufacturing high-quality automotive parts and accessories for Hyundai Motors in India — today donated Rs 3.50 crores through is CSR arm Mobis India Foundation for COVID-19 Relief.

Of the total donation, the company has donated face masks and hand sanitizers worth Rs 3 crore through its NGO partner Oli, while the rest Rs 0.50 crore has been donated to the PM CARES Fund, Mobis India, Managing Director (AS Parts Division) Woosuk Leem said in a statement.

“These are very challenging times. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the world to a standstill. There has been immense misery and a huge loss of human lives and worsened the plight of millions of people across the globe. At Mobis India, we are cognizant to this fact and have launched several measures to reach out and help the poor and needy,” he added.

JSW Paints has trained under a new initiative ‘Safe to Paint’ about 2,000 contractors from six states on safe painting practices to be followed at customers’ site in view of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The company said it empowered its contractor partners

JSW Paints has trained under a new initiative ‘Safe to Paint’ about 2,000 contractors from six states on safe painting practices to be followed at customers’ site in view of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The company said it empowered its contractor partners under the ‘Star Contractor Partners Program’ by conducting training modules on preparedness against COVID-19.

The company’s training programme clearly defines the precautions that one needs to take while completing painting jobs at a customer’s site.

The training module covers all precautions suggested by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Government of India regarding hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene and sanitization.

“Over 2000 contractors were provided with safety and sanitization training across Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra and prepare them to provide safe painting services to consumers,” JSW Paints said.

Adapting to the new normal, contractors have enthusiastically taken the training on a video call. Post the training, these contractors give a test through dedicated call centre operatives and receive a digital certificate based on their performance, it said.

Talking about the new initiative, JSW Paints Managing Director and CEO A S Sundaresan said, “Consumers depend on contractors for painting safely! It is imperative to ensure safe painting practices in Consumer’s homes. We are training our Star Contractors as per WHO and Government of India guidelines.”

Through this initiative, the the company wants to make the contractor community aware about the importance of maintaining hygiene, adherence to safety practices and the sanitization necessary to ensure homes are safe, he added.

The company said that with economic activity steadily resuming post months of lockdown clamped to prevent spread of COVID-19 disease, adherence to safety practices by customer-facing partners such as painting contractors is crucial.

Bengaluru-based NGO Rise Against Hunger India (RAHI) today said it has served 2.5 million meals till date to these vulnerable groups in 38 districts spread across nine states. Out of this, nearly 85 per cent of the meals were provided to the migrant

Bengaluru-based NGO Rise Against Hunger India (RAHI) today said it has served 2.5 million meals till date to these vulnerable groups in 38 districts spread across nine states.

Out of this, nearly 85 per cent of the meals were provided to the migrant population comprising of daily wage workers, construction workers, contract laborers, street vendors who were the worst-hit due to COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown, it said in a statement.

Talking about the milestone achievement, RAHI Executive Director Dola Mohapatra said, “Over the last 4 months, our focus has widened to include more vulnerable groups under our meal distribution programme. The early stages of our COVID-19 response was concentrated on the metro cities focussing on the vulnerable community like labour, daily-wagers.”

However, over the past six weeks, RAHI has managed to reach out across 38 districts in nine states of India to cater to the migrants, who moved back to their villages, he said.

The nine states include Maharashtra, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, UP, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala and Delhi.

Stating that continued support will be required in the coming 4-6 months for these migrants who have been the worst-hit, Mohapatra said, “Hunger is the biggest enemy for these groups as of today and we need to work towards providing them ample provisions, so that they along with their families can have two decent meals per day.”

Due to spike in a number of cases, the uncertainty prevails over when workers will be able to get back to earn a stable income. “In these tough times, we need to support them,” he said.

He also appeal to all corporate groups, large business houses and other organisations who wish to contribute to come forward and help in providing basic food to these people and prevent them from succumbing to hunger.

Apart from food, RAHI is also planning to mobilize essentials like cooking oil, spices, masks etc. which can be utilized by these people.

With Unlock 2.0 in place and the whole country trying to adapt to the new normal, there is a dire need to handhold lakhs of migrant population who undertook the mass exodus from Tier-I cities to their villages. Despite the lockdown being lifted, these vulnerable groups have not been able to adapt to the new normal and restart their livelihood. They are still struggling to meet their basic needs of food.

New Delhi, July 9: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today applauded the contribution of people, authorities and NGOs of Varanasi in helping the needy during the COVID-19 pandemic, and urged citizens to strictly adhere to guidelines to prevent the spread of the deadly virus

New Delhi, July 9: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today applauded the contribution of people, authorities and NGOs of Varanasi in helping the needy during the COVID-19 pandemic, and urged citizens to strictly adhere to guidelines to prevent the spread of the deadly virus.

While interacting via digital mode with representatives of various Varanasi-based non-government organisations via video link, he said Kashi has vigorously countered the unprecedented coronavirus crisis.

Varanasi, which is also known as Kashi, is the prime minister’s parliamentary constituency.

Uttar Pradesh with a population of nearly 24 crore people has been able to contain the spread of COVID-19 disease, he said, adding that those infected with the virus are also recovering fast.

Modi said Brazil with an almost similar population has seen thousands of deaths due to COVID-19 but in Uttar Pradesh, the deaths were limited to nearly 800.

He said Varanasi can emerge as an export hub and develop as a key centre of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ campaign in the coming days.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the government on Monday said CSR spending for COVID-19 will be considered as corporate social responsibility (CRS) activity. In view of the spread of novel #CoronaVirus in India, its declaration as pandemic by the WHO

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the government on Monday said CSR spending for COVID-19 will be considered as corporate social responsibility (CRS) activity.

“In view of the spread of novel #CoronaVirus in India, its declaration as pandemic by the WHO, and decision of Government of India to treat this as notified disaster, it is hereby clarified that spending of CSR funds for COVID-19 is eligible CSR activity,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tweeted.

Funds may be spent for various activities related to COVID-19 under items (i) and (ii) of schedule VII relating to promotion of health care, including preventive health care and sanitation, and disaster management, she added.

Hero Cycles has partners with micro-loan provider Muthoot Microfin to provide bicycles to low income households and women entrepreneurs in rural areas, especially in South India. The partnership is aimed at making bicycles easily accessible to poorer

Hero Cycles has partners with micro-loan provider Muthoot Microfin to provide bicycles to low income households and women entrepreneurs in rural areas, especially in South India.

The partnership is aimed at making bicycles easily accessible to poorer households through the availability of microfinance facilities, an official statement said.

Under the scheme, Hero Cycles has made separate bicycle models available for women and men.

Through this arrangement, Muthoot Microfin’s over 6,00,000 clients across 150 branches in Tamil Nadu will have access to affordable mobility through Hero Cycles.

Hero Motors Chairman and Managing Director Pankaj M Munjal said: “Bicycles are often an underrated yet powerful tool of empowerment for the marginalized. Making bicycles easily accessible to a large number of people can bring about significant improvement in the state of their livelihoods and earnings.”

Unfortunately, gathering enough money to spend on buying a bicycle remains a challenge for a large number of households despite it being the most affordable mode of transport, he said, adding that providing microfinance is therefore one of the most viable ways to increase penetration of bicycles among the rural and urban poor.

For micro entrepreneurs, owning a bicycle can boost their earnings by expanding their catchment areas for work, he said.

“We have had similar arrangements with microfinance providers in the past. We are happy to be part of another such initiative that will empower the rural and urban poor,” Munjal added.

Speaking on the initiative, Muthoot Microfin CEO Sadaf Sayeed said: “Together we aim to empower our clients with access to mobility. Muthoot Microfin has been fostering a spirit of entrepreneurship by providing timely credit to more than 1.8 million women across India and with this partnership we are further enabling clients to earn their livelihood.”

A study undertaken by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and All India Cycle Manufacturers’ Association estimated that for marginal unskilled workers who walk to work every day, a 50 per cent substitution of walking trips above the average distance of 3.5 km can result in travel time savings worth Rs 112 billion collectively.