CSR Dashboard

Blog

  • Women artisans get American Express grant

    Women artisans get American Express grant

    American Express, the credit card major has announced a grant of Rs 1 crore to support women artisans across India. The grant will be disbursed through Dastkar, a society that will use the funds to support over 12,000 women artisans from 19 states

    American Express, the credit card major has announced a grant of Rs 1 crore to support women artisans across India. The grant will be disbursed through Dastkar, a society that will use the funds to support over 12,000 women artisans from 19 states, financially impacted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    As part of the company’s CSR initiative, the grant to Dastkar’s Artisan Support Fund will take care of financial needs towards wages and raw materials along with marketing assistance to craftswomen involved in varied arts and crafts, including mirror-work embroiderers, weavers, basket makers, fibre craft artisans, block printers, among others, it said.

    American Express said in a statement that craftswomen from Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Assam, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Odisha, Jharkhand, Manipur, Telangana and Bihar will be covered for assistance.

    Speaking about the initiative, American Express Banking Corp India Senior Vice President and CEO Manoj Adlakha said: “Through our funding to Dastkar, we will support the sustenance of India’s craft community in the wake of the pandemic. We are proud to contribute towards mitigating the impact and conserving the country’s diverse cultural heritage…”

    Dastkar Chairperson and Founder member Laila Tyabji said, “Locked out of earnings and employment, these craftswomen require assistance – both financial and marketing. The corporate sector has a crucial role to play here. We thank American Express for recognizing the urgency of the situation and providing much-needed capital to help our women artisans recover from the devastating impacts of the pandemic and rebuild their livelihood.”

  • SEBI sets up technical committee on social stock exchanges

    SEBI sets up technical committee on social stock exchanges

    The technical committee would prescribe disclosure requirements related to performance, financials and governance and dwelling upon aspects related to social impact and social audit.

    Markets regulator SEBI has constituted a technical committee, under the chairmanship of Harsh Kumar Bhanwala, former chairman of Nabard, following the recommendations of a working group on social stock exchange.

    The technical committee would prescribe disclosure requirements related to performance, financials and governance and dwelling upon aspects related to social impact and social audit.

    The committee will comprise of members including Vikram Gandhi faculty at Harvard Business School and founder of Asha Impact; Ingrid Srinath, founder director, Centre for Social Impact and Philanthropy at Ashoka University; Pushpa Aman Singh, CEO of Guidestar; and Santhosh Jayaram, partner and head (Sustainability) and CSR advisory at KPMG.

    In addition, Roopa Kudva, managing director of Omidyar Network India; Shaji Krishnan V, deputy MD of Nabard; Sanjeev Singhal, chairman of sustainability reporting standards board at ICAI; representatives of BSE, NSE and Sebi are also part of the technical group.

  • Harvest Gold launches spl edition bread to thank team members’ services in this pandemic

    Harvest Gold launches spl edition bread to thank team members’ services in this pandemic

    Leading bread manufacturer Harvest Gold today announced a special edition bread in 700 grams in north India to thank its team members for serving people amid the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown. The special edition bread will feature 30

    Leading bread manufacturer Harvest Gold today announced a special edition bread in 700 grams in north India to thank its team members for serving people amid the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown.

    The special edition bread will feature 30 photographs and 250 names of team members.
    Harvest Gold is the largest manufacturer of bread in north India, and supplies 6 lakh loaves of bread every day, serving equal number of families daily.

    “Titled #ThanksTeam, the program acknowledges the selfless and passionate efforts of the Team of Harvest Gold,” the company said in a statement.

    The team members have worked hard with dedication and ensuring that the bread is produced under high safety and hygiene standards and delivered fresh every day at all neighbourhood stores, it said.

    These represent associates from various departments like from manufacturing, purchase, R&D, sales, marketing, distribution, finance, human resources and information technology.

    “Working day and night with production of bakery products and their distribution to the consumers, Team Harvest Gold reinvented safety and hygiene measures to ensure that there were no lapses and only the healthiest and safest product was delivered,” Harvest Gold Executive Director Sales Vikas Gupta said.

    Even extra efforts were taken to provide doorstep delivery to the elderly who could not step out.

    From working round-the-clock with precision, focus and perseverance, to getting out onto the field to deliver fresh bread to various shops and homes, the Harvest Gold Team has truly proved its mettle beyond doubt, he said.

    “Their commitment to quality, safety and hygiene has been universally appreciated and applauded – they are truly Sabki Bread ke secret superstars,” he added.

    According to the company, the team members have always put their best foot forward in making Harvest Gold the most loved bread of Delhi NCR, whether they are working from home, from office or on the field.

    The last few months have been specially trying, putting everything and everyone to test.
    During the lockdown, Harvest Gold served the people of Delhi NCR and other parts of North India with its products that includes breads and buns, flat bread varieties such as roti, kulcha and pizza base, and rusk, it added.

  • 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.”

  • Amway India’s disinfection drive covers 1.30 lakh sq ft area so far

    Amway India’s disinfection drive covers 1.30 lakh sq ft area so far

    Direct selling FMCG firm Amway India has so far conducted sanitization and disinfection drive in the premises of 12 NGO partners across India, nine Anganwadi centers in Delhi, 15 villages in Dindigul district in Tamil Nadu

    Direct selling FMCG firm Amway India has so far conducted sanitization and disinfection drive in the premises of 12 NGO partners across India, nine Anganwadi centers in Delhi, 15 villages in Dindigul district in Tamil Nadu.

    The drive covered an approximate area of 1,30,000 square feet benefiting the lives of more than 3000 less-privileged children and adults, the company said in a statement.

    In Delhi, the sanitization drive was done at nine Anganwadi centrs in North-West Delhi’s Kirari Suleman Nagar covering 5,000 sq.ft. area of their premises under Amway’s Power of Five campaign.

    Commenting on the initiatives, Gursharan Cheema, Senior Vice President, North and South, Amway India said: “Amway India has always been committed to supporting the community by coming forward in the face of adversity. These testing times are not just a trial of our strength and resilience, but also an opportunity for us to demonstrate the might of collective effort.”

    During the unprecedented lock-down period, Amway India had stepped up its efforts by supporting its NGO partners in their initiatives towards training, education, skill development and assessments of the beneficiaries through various digital tools to ensure consistency in their learning and development.

    Amway facilitated MAMTA-Health Institute for Mother and Child and conducted bulk message service to spread awareness, counter myths and misconceptions among the community members of the project area. Over 10,000 beneficiaries are receiving the health and nutrition related advice every week.

    The company also has identified and trained over 170 individuals from the targeted community called ‘Poshan Mitras’ who are sustaining the program on-ground. They are playing a critical role in sensitizing and educating the community.

    MAMTA Executive Director Sunil Mehra said, “With this support we could integrate hygiene and sanitation along with addressing malnutrition in the intervention area – these two are the most evident determinants of COVID-19.”

    Amway India also contributed Rs 2.36 crores towards the PM CARES FUND, Tamil Nadu CM’s public relief fund, Kerala, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh CM’s public relief funds and support for government’s on-ground health and sanitation services.

    Additionally, the funds also provided Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as gloves, gowns, shoe covers, head covers, masks, respirators, and eye protection gear to public health service workers through the company’s NGO partners.

    Further as part of the fight against COVID-19, Amway India also developed ‘Personal Hand Sanitizer Gel’ to support the frontline workers, it added.

  • Central Bank of India donates 1,000 raincoats to Maha Police

    Central Bank of India donates 1,000 raincoats to Maha Police

    Central Bank of India today said it has in collaboration with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance donated 1,000 raincoats to the Maharashtra Police to protect from monsoon rains. In a statement, Central Bank of India Managing Director and CEO

    Central Bank of India today said it has in collaboration with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance donated 1,000 raincoats to the Maharashtra Police to protect from monsoon rains.

    In a statement, Central Bank of India Managing Director and CEO Pallav Mohapatra said the small contribution is an attempt to express gratitude to the “unwavering hard work of the Maharashtra police”.

    Bajaj Allianze General Insurance Head (Bancassurance) Alpana Singh lauded efforts of the police department during the COVID-19. “We are with them and will be there to support in any manner possible.”

    Thanking the two companies for goodwill gesture, Mumbai Deputy Commissioner of Police Sangramsinh Nishandar said the raincoats will be a great aid in keeping the force dry as they follow out there duties through the rain riddled season.

    “Central Bank of India has always been a great supporter to the Maharashtra Police Department and we look forward to strengthening bonds in the future as well,” he said.

  • 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.