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  • RAHI supporting 5 FPOs in Odisha to create end-to-end value chain for millet farmers

    RAHI supporting 5 FPOs in Odisha to create end-to-end value chain for millet farmers

    NGO Rise Against Hunger India (RAHI) today said it has launched a project for creating end-to-end value chain for millet farmers in Bargarh district, Odisha and is supporting five Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs)

    NGO Rise Against Hunger India (RAHI) today said it has launched a project for creating end-to-end value chain for millet farmers in Bargarh district, Odisha and is supporting five Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs).

    Bengaluru-based RAHI is supporting 800 farmers under these five FPOs to improve yield through agri-tools, equipments and other inputs, it said.

    This kind of rural projects will bring resilience in the rural farmers who are now left with no option but to migrate to the cities, it added.

    “Hunger and lack of income is the biggest enemy for the rural poor. We are trying to make the vulnerable people in the villages self-sufficient and self-reliant. With adequate income available in villages, the need for migration can be stopped and the cycle of poverty reversed,” RAHI Executive Directr Dola Mohapatra said in a statement.

    As part of its COVID-19 response, few projects have been launched. One of the projects, focused on creating end to end value chain for millets, has been initiated in Bargarh, Odisha, the NGO said.

    For the past few years, some farmers have shifted from paddy to finger-millet cultivation and it is now receiving wider acceptance in the area, it said.

    RAHI said that FPOs have become a common vehicle to share resources and inputs and they also provide an assured market platform in the absence of which an individual farmer would be subject to whims and fancies of private vendors.

    Farmers are expecting 80-100 per cent growth in production and 100 per cent increase their income per acre of land. With an assured income, these farmers will have better resilience with less dependence on migrant income, it added.

    In the past, RAHI programmes were carried out in Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya to create value chains for pineapple and banana farmers.

    Currently, RAHI is working in four tribal villages of Bhil tribes in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh to create end-to-end value chain for goat farmers.

    While the immediate short-term goal of such rural projects is to support the migrant labourers from the cities and towns to cultivate their lands, the broad objective is to enable farmers generate enough income in villages so that distress migration is minimal, RAHI said. PTI LUX

  • Use CSR funds for reskilling, upskilling of workforce to tackle post-COVID world: CII panel

    Use CSR funds for reskilling, upskilling of workforce to tackle post-COVID world: CII panel

    As unemployment concerns have shot up in India off late due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a CII panel today pitched for effective use of CSR funds for re-skilling and up-skilling of workforce in the country in order to restart the economy

    As unemployment concerns have shot up in India off late due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a CII panel today pitched for effective use of CSR funds for re-skilling and up-skilling of workforce in the country in order to restart the economy.

    The panel outlined ways for India Inc to utilise its CSR funds to undertake skilling programs that are vital to restart the economy.

    It also examined the relevance of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Law for skill building and the importance of creating an ecosystem that enables new age skills for a sustainable future.

    Dicussing on “Skill Development through CSR” in a webinar organised by industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the panelists said digital platforms across verticals like healthcare, education, retail are expected to generate significant employment in coming quarters and the pace at which innovation in skill building is adopted to such online models is critical in the wake of new emerging realities.

    Batting for strong inter-agency partnerships and bridging the digital divide, the panelists agreed that Covid has changed the way resources are allocated in CSR. The renewed focus is on employability that leads to employment which further leads to economic upliftment.

    India is aiming to become a 5 trillion-dollar economy and enjoys a strong advantage of vast and young demographic that stands at a crossover of digital leap.

    By 2023, 70 million more people will have entered India’s workforce (data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2017-2018. Unemployment concerns have shot up in India off late due to the Covid-19 pandemic, they said in a statement.

    “Covid-19 poses special challenges for skill development. Today when the world faces a crisis, the government, corporates and implementing agencies are turning to CSR,” Former Director General and CEO Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs Bhaskar Chatterjee said addressing a webinar on organized the industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

    Asserting that promoting employment-enhancing vocational skills is the need of the hour, he said there is a need to address the challenges like difficulty in skilling, re-skilling and people employment.

    “The government must now act as a facilitator and encourage corporates to go more into the skill development,” he said.

    Noting that there is meet the dynamic needs of the employers, Chatterjee suggested that this can by done by offering flexibility in the courses being designed, certifications being offered and the way resources are trained.

    The need of the hour is to tap into technology to leap-frog youth of today into employability, he added.

    Brigadier P K Goyal (Retd), Conference Chair and Member, Regional Committee on Skill Development and Livelihood, CII Northern Region said: “Covid-19 and the global lockdown has impacted the skills ecosystem, resulting in imbalance in the skills landscape. There is a dire need to skill, upskill and multi-skill a huge workforce so there is suitable employability. An effective means to do this is through CSR funds. Govt of India, the corporate industry with their funds and the implementing agencies along with consulting agencies are the umbilical link to an effective skilling programme.”

    Lt Gen. Dr S P Kochhar, Director General – COAI (Cellular Operators Association of India) added: “A good thing, at present, is that the government has accepted that skilling is a challenge and they are trying to address the gap. We have been advising a skilling program which is Cooperative, Collaborative, Inclusive and Adaptive. If we use technology, such an initiative becomes easier.”

    Stating that training can be normalised across the country, using technology, Kochhar said,” We can combine Make in India, Digital India, and Skill India, as complementary models and CSR plays a major role in supporting this initiative. We can create co-skilling spaces, with soft and IT skills at the entry-level segment, generic sector skills at the next level of the segment, and the third level being the vaulted training centres where domain knowledge is imparted by industry experts.”

  • Timely support for mkt access helped 14 FPOs in Andhra offset COVID-19 impact

    Timely support for mkt access helped 14 FPOs in Andhra offset COVID-19 impact

    About 17,500 farmers of 14 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) in three districts of Andhra Pradesh could sail through the COVID-19 crisis and find new buyers for their produce because of the timely support for market access, according to non-profit body TechnoServe India

    About 17,500 farmers of 14 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) in three districts of Andhra Pradesh could sail through the COVID-19 crisis and find new buyers for their produce because of the timely support for market access, according to non-profit body TechnoServe India.

    Gradually, the 14 FPOs — located in Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts and engaged in turmeric coffee, cashew, black pepper, coconut and pineapple farming — were able to turn the ongoing COVID-19 crisis into an opportunity and scaled up operations, it said.

    TechnoServe India has been working with 17,500 farmers under the Sustainable Livelihoods for Smallholder Farmers programme with the support of Walmart Foundation.

    “COVID-19 has presented many challenges for small farmers from disrupted and shorter supply chains, to communications breakdowns, and a scarcity of available services. The need for timely and accurate information and secure market channels is paramount to support farmer livelihoods,” Walmart Foundation Spokesperson Sherry-Lee Singh said.

    The Foundation works with partner NGOs in India with an aim to improve farmers’ incomes and promote sustainable farm practices. During the COVID-19 crisis, the Foundation is extending support to the NGO partners to help with necessary interventions to sustain farmer livelihoods in this challenging time, he said.

    TechnoServe and the FPOs are supporting the farmers during this period not only to help them secure their market access and sustain their livelihoods but also to rapidly learn, adapt and make adjustments in support of future resilience,he added.

    “Supply chain saw huge disruptions amid the pandemic, which broke down the conventional linkages on which the producers relied to access markets. However, this presented as an opportunity to build the capacity of community embedded resources for FPOs,” TechnoServe India Country Director Punit Gupta said.

    During the COVID-19 lockdown, TechnoServe continued to support farmers by shifting their operating model to digital means and formalising existing digital systems of support. Timely support was provided to ensure liquidity and incomes during the crisis, he said.

    “…We explored linkages with buyers in local markets within the state as well as other states to market produce of varying qualities. Post this, we helped finalise terms of trade as well as assist the FPOs with quality control and in raising purchase orders from different buyers,” he noted.

    Through on-ground presence of TechnoServe’s resources and 24/7 virtual guidance, Gupta said the FPOs not only strengthened their own operations but also filled the procurement gap.

    To help smallholder farmers navigate through the COVID-19 impact, TechnoServe facilitated fortnightly virtual board meetings to continue the training and encourage social distancing measures, he said.

    It also disseminated market price information for cashew farmers via WhatsApp groups to ensure greater transparency and reduce information asymmetries besides introducing post-harvest management support on drying, sorting and processing for cashew and turmeric farmers through community-embedded resource people.

    The NGO also supported FPOs and farmers market linkages for crops like turmeric, black pepper and cashew during the lockdown to prevent farmers from distressed sale. It also supported the FPOs in securing working capital loans from various financial institutions.

    “We also assisted individuals to find labour work in farm fields to ensure they have some revenue source, amid the crisis. For example, individuals engaged in polishing, sorting and grading the turmeric were able to earn daily wages in the absence of other regular work activities,” Gupta said.

    That apart, all training programmes for farmers were shifted to online and trainers visited individual farmers, on request, in nearby villages to provide guidance when the lockdown was relaxed. Farmers were also encouraged to grow organic kitchen gardens to meet their food needs.

    As a result, Gupta said, “They (FPOs) successfully sailed through the COVID-19 crisis and scaled up their operations.”

    TechnoServe is now working towards enhancing the usage of digital tools as well as other farm technologies to support FPOs and make the entire process more transparent and efficient, he added.
    Source: Agency

  • India testing 3 corona vaccines; awaiting nod from scientists for large-scale production: PM

    India testing 3 corona vaccines; awaiting nod from scientists for large-scale production: PM

    Addressing the nation from ramparts of Red Fort on 74th Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said three corona vaccines are in various stages of trial in India and a large-scale production will begin after getting nod from scientists

    Addressing the nation from ramparts of Red Fort on 74th Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said three corona vaccines are in various stages of trial in India and a large-scale production will begin after getting nod from scientists.

    The roadmap to bring corona vaccine to all Indians in shortest possible time is also ready, he said and hailed ‘corona warriors’.

    “Everyone has one question, when will corona vaccine be ready? This question is there in the hearts of everyone across the world. But I want to tell you, our scientists are working hard like ‘rishi muni’ (saints) in the labs ,” Modi said.

    “In India, not one or two but three vaccines are in various stages of trial. Large scale production will begin after getting approval from our scientists. The preparation for this is fully ready,” he said.

    The Prime Minister also said a roadmap to bring corona vaccine to all Indians in shortest possible time is also ready.

    “We are going through a unique situation because of coronavirus pandemic. ..We will achieve victory over coronavirus with resolve of people of country,” he added.

    India’s COVID-19 caseload surpassed 24 lakh on August 14 after 64,553 more people tested positive and the recoveries rose to over 17 lakh, according to the Health Ministry.

  • CG Foundation distributes 10,000 ‘Wai Wai’ food packets to flood hit people in Assam

    CG Foundation distributes 10,000 ‘Wai Wai’ food packets to flood hit people in Assam

    CG Foundation India, the CSR arm of CG Corp Global, today said it has distributed 10,000 ‘WAI WAI’ food packets to flood-hit 2,000 underprivileged families stranded in relief camps in Upper Assam. The incessant rainfall in Assam has created

    CG Foundation India, the CSR arm of CG Corp Global, today said it has distributed 10,000 ‘WAI WAI’ food packets to flood-hit 2,000 underprivileged families stranded in relief camps in Upper Assam.

    The incessant rainfall in Assam has created a grim situation in the state with painful displacement and impact on humans and wildlife. The rising water level has severely affected the Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts as the villagers have been evacuated to relief camps, it said.

    “CG Foundation India is extending its disaster response by providing WAI WAI food packets which is pre-cooked food to multiple relief camps. …In addition to the 10,000 WAI WAI packets being provided, we are determined to continue to collaborate to provide relief in all possible ways to the impacted state,” CG Corp Global Executive Director Varun Chaudhary said in a statement.

    The foundation has partnered with CII Young Indians and Round Table India who have helped identify the worst hit areas and reach the camps for food distribution, he added.

    The volunteers spearheading the distribution are regularly interacting with the affected people in Assam and prioritizing those requiring immediate support.

    Varun Jain, Chair, CII-Young Indians, Delhi Chapter stated, “Covid19 had already made 2020 a challenging year and the situation has now been massively exacerbated by extreme weather events and it is particularly impacting those, who are at the bottom of the pyramid. In these times, we are thankful to the leadership of CG Corp Global for coming forward, to provide support and relief.”

    Nitin Agarwal, Area Chairman, Area 14, Round Table India, said, “The condition in upper Assam, especially in areas near Tinsukia and Dibrugarh is very grim due to floods.”

    CG Foundation India, set up this year, is the regional extension of ‘Chaudhary Foundation’ which is the veteran CSR arm of Nepal-based CG Corp Global that manufactures WAI WAI instant noodles.

  • BBG Foundation donates face masks & hand sanitizer in 45 villages

    BBG Foundation donates face masks & hand sanitizer in 45 villages

    Hyderabad-based BBG Foundation, a CSR arm of south India’s land developer Building Blocks Group (BBG), today said it has donated face masks and hand sanitizer to vulnerable people in 45 villages

    Hyderabad-based BBG Foundation, a CSR arm of south India’s land developer Building Blocks Group (BBG), today said it has donated face masks and hand sanitizer to vulnerable people in 45 villages.

    As many people lost their jobs during the COVID-19 lockdown, the Foundation has also created livelihood to Self Help Groups (SHG) in the villages by ordering masks, it said in a statement.

    For instance, the Foundation was able to ensure remuneration of about Rs 15,000 to each members of Sri Anjaneyam Self Help Group (SHG) belonging to Sri Sai Village Organization (VO) that was engaged in stitching masks.

    Sanitizer was also provided to all Anganwadi Centers. ANM sub-centers too were provided with the sanitizer bottles by the foundation.

    BBG Managing Director and the Foundation Chairman Mallikarjun Reddy said that the company believes in adding value and giving back to the society. “We presume contributing to society is an extension of our core practices,” he said.

    Meanwhile, the Foundation has collaborated with ANM, ASHA workers and Anganwadi teachers to help people during the COVID-19.

  • Vodafone India Foundation launches digital literacy portal for marginalised communities

    Vodafone India Foundation launches digital literacy portal for marginalised communities

    Vodafone India Foundation, the CSR arm of mobile service provider Vodafone Idea, today launched a portal ‘Digisakshar.org’ to help marginalised communities become digital literate and self-reliant. The portal, which has ben developed

    Vodafone India Foundation, the CSR arm of mobile service provider Vodafone Idea, today launched a portal ‘Digisakshar.org’ to help marginalised communities become digital literate and self-reliant.

    The portal, which has ben developed in partnership with IT and business consulting services firm CGI and NASSCOM Foundation, was launched at a virtual event.

    In addition to offering digital literacy to communities, Vodafone India Foundation said that the self-learning portal also drives them towards better job and entrepreneurship opportunities helping them become self-reliant.

    The web platform curates personalized content from different sources in Hindi and English and will soon also be available in Kannada, Oriya and Marathi.

    The free to use portal provides over 40 courses in both Hindi and English, designed for all age groups and curated to cover basic, intermediate and advanced knowledge on digital skills, it said in a statement.

    The courses range from basics of computer operations, handling mobile phones, using internet securely, digital payments, finding jobs and livelihood opportunities, accessing common and government websites and many more.

    Vodafone India Foundation launches digital literacy portal for marginalised communities

    According to Vodafone India Foundation, NASSCOM Foundation has program managed the creation of the portal, while the CGI will be developing self-learning content in multiple languages to augment the digital skills curriculum.

    Commenting on the intiative, Vodafone Idea Ltd Chief Regulatory and Corporate Affairs Officer P Balaji said the company has transformative initiatives in the domains of agriculture, education, health, women empowerment which are positively impacting millions of Indians every year.

    “Today, as part of our commitment to increase digital literacy and help communities learn digital skills, I am delighted to announce launch of Digisakshar – which I am sure will contribute to a resilient and skilled India,” he said.

    NASSCOM Foundation CEO Ashok Pamidi said, “With digital literacy through physical centres taking a huge hit due to the current crisis, Digisakshar hopes to provide a safe online learning environment for Digital Novices to learn new skills.”

    CGI Asia Pacific Global Delivery Centers of Excellence President George Mattackal, CSC e-Governance Services India CEO Dinesh Tyagi, and National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) Head Learning Resources and Technology Preet Arora were among others present at the launch.

  • Reliance Foundation to partner W-GDP, USAID to bridge gender digital divide in India

    Reliance Foundation to partner W-GDP, USAID to bridge gender digital divide in India

    Reliance Foundation, the CSR arm of Reliance Industries Ltd, today said it has forged a new partnership with US Agency for International Development and W-GDP to bridge the gender digital divide in India. The partnership was announced

    Reliance Foundation, the CSR arm of Reliance Industries Ltd, today said it has forged a new partnership with US Agency for International Development and W-GDP to bridge the gender digital divide in India.

    The partnership was announced at a Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) event hosted by Deputy Secretary of State of the United States Stephen Biegun and with special guest, Ivanka Trump, Advisor to the President of the United States, and Deputy USAID Administrator Bonnie Glick, it said in a statement.

    Ivanka Trump said that the W-GDP Fund was created to source and scale the most innovative programmes to advance women’s economic empowerment.

    “We are leveraging the resources and expertise of the US government and the private sector so that activities have enduring, deep effects on the communities they reach,” she said.

    Whereas USAID Acting Administrator John Barsa said, “Global prosperity will remain out of reach if we exclude half the population. At the US Agency for International Development (USAID), we believe investment in women is key to unlocking human potential on a transformational scale.”

    The W-GDP Fund at USAID is financing innovative solutions to close the economic gap between women and men and help our partners advance on their Journeys to Self-Reliance, he said.

    At the event, through a virtual video message, Nita M Ambani, Founder and Chairperson, Reliance Foundation, said, “I am delighted and proud to announce that Reliance Foundation is joining forces with W-GDP, through our partnership with USAID. Together, we shall launch the W-GDP WomenConnect Challenge across India, in the fall of 2020. At the heart of this partnership, is our shared goal to help bridge both the gender divide and the digital divide in India.”

    The W-GDP Women’s Connect Challenge (WCC) supports private sector-led approaches that close the gender digital divide, expands business opportunities, and empowers women. As part of programme, W-GDP will partner with the Reliance Foundation to create an India-specific expression of the WCC and incorporate the lessons of previous W-GDP WCC Rounds.

    This year Reliance Foundation is celebrating its 10th anniversary, and over the last decade has impacted the lives of 36 million Indians.

    “Together, Jio and Reliance Foundation will make a tremendous contribution to the W-GDP Initiative in India to help bridge the gender digital divide,” the statement added.

    In February 2019, the White House established the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative, the first whole-of-government approach to women’s economic empowerment.

    W-GDP seeks to reach 50 million women in the developing world by 2025 by focusing on three pillars of women prospering in the workforce, women succeeding as entrepreneurs, and women enabled in the economy.

    In its first year alone, W-GDP programs reached 12 million women across the globe. It leverages a new innovative fund, scaling private-public partnerships that address the three pillars.

  • Usha Int’l & SIDBI to set up 700 Usha Silai Schools in 3 states

    Usha Int’l & SIDBI to set up 700 Usha Silai Schools in 3 states

    Consumer durables major Usha International and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) today announced setting up of 700 Usha Silai schools in aspirational districts and calamity prone areas of Himachal Pradesh

    Consumer durables major Usha International and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) today announced setting up of 700 Usha Silai schools in aspirational districts and calamity prone areas of Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand in the phase II of its flagship initiative ‘Mission Swavalamban’.

    Under the Phase I of the initiative, 1000 Usha Swavalamban Silai Schools were set up in five states – Bihar, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana. 200 schools were up and running in each state in 2019, it said.

    “We are sure these 700 new Silai Schools in the Government of India shortlisted aspirational districts/ calamity affected areas will go a long way in making a real impact by training thousands of people, improving their lives and the lives of their families,” Usha International CEO Dinesh Chhabra said in a statement.

    These schools will pave the way for a better tomorrow by developing rural women as entrepreneurs in their own right, and an earning power that helps them meet their aspirations. It underscores the company’s commitment to skill people in order to create a more equitable world, he said.

    The objective of these school is to skill rural women in sewing and stitching to financially empower them and make them ‘homepreneurs, it added.

    SIDBI Chairman and Managing Director Mohammad Mustafa, said, “In 2nd phase besides tailoring skills, we shall impart exposure on entrepreneurship and life skills. This aligns with our Mission Swavalamban which intends to spread entrepreneurship culture, family being the focal point.”

    The bank will continue to leverage partnership for including the excluded as also serving the unserved. “We firmly believe that strengthening villages through enterprise enabler steps is important for national mission of Aatmanirbhar Bharat,” he added.

    In Usha Silai Schools, the training will be imparted on various aspects of stitching along with maintenance and repairing of sewing machine by expert trainers of Usha International in these Silai Schools.

    The women entrepreneurs successfully completing the training program will be provided with Usha Sewing machine (leg paddle driven), a certificate, a training-kit, and a Usha Swavalamban Silai School Signage board, the company added.

    The Silai School program, initiated in 2011, is a pan India community based rural initiative of Usha International Ltd. This social initiative is aimed at empowering women from marginalized sections of the communities residing in the remote hamlets, habitations and villages of India.

    Presently, there are 23,000 Silai Schools across India, 100 in Nepal and 20 in Sri Lanka and 3 production centers in Bhutan.

  • UP CM visits HCL’s COVID control centre in GB Nagar

    UP CM visits HCL’s COVID control centre in GB Nagar

    Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today visited the IT firm HCL Technologies supported, 24×7 Integrated Control Centre in Gautam Buddha Nagar that has responded to 2.5 lakh citizen queries on COVID-19 in the last four months

    Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today visited the IT firm HCL Technologies supported, 24×7 Integrated Control Centre in Gautam Buddha Nagar that has responded to 2.5 lakh citizen queries on COVID-19 in the last four months.

    The Centre which has been operational since April 3, 2020 is one of the first such centres in Uttar Pradesh and has played a critical role in responding to citizen queries in the wake of the pandemic, the company said in a statement.

    HCL set up the “all in one” control room, reachable on toll free number 18004192211, at one of its facilities in Noida, with support from the GB Nagar district administration, the police, the health department and both Noida Authority and Greater Noida Authority.

    The centre has responded to 2.5 lakh citizen queries since it began operations,it said.

    The data analysis of the call volume, the company said reveal that over majority of the calls received have been food related (60 percent) with callers requesting for information on ordering groceries online or dry ration and cooked meals support.

    The Control Room also responded to 15 percent queries related to Health Services, including questions around e-pass for hospital visits, ambulance related services and pharmacy options.

    About 21 percent of the total calls were related to other queries including information on masks and sanitizer availability, ATM accessibility etc. Remaining 4 percent calls were police related.

    HCL employees have been supporting the call centre operations on 24×7 basis while keeping in mind the required social distancing norms.

    According to HCL, the centre’s focus has also been on screening callers and queries before referring them to a team of doctors appointed by the government for further course of recommendation.

    About 12 percent of the total health related calls received were therefore, referred for doctor consultation.

    The control Centre also included processes for following up and reporting of all unconfirmed, suspected, foreign return cases as well as mobile tracking and monitoring for all home and hotel quarantine cases basis inputs from official government authorities, it added.