CSR Dashboard

Tag: #DigitalLiteracy

  • Aries Agro CSR initiatives empower rural girls, disabled Indians with tech

    Aries Agro CSR initiatives empower rural girls, disabled Indians with tech

    Aries Agro Limited, a specialty plant nutrition company, said on Sunday it is expanding its Aries Agro CSR initiatives in 2026 through two technology-driven programmes designed to empower underserved communities in education and healthcare.

    The company said the initiatives would directly reach more than 2,000 rural students, 55 visually impaired individuals and 90 upper-limb amputees across India, combining digital infrastructure, assistive devices and rehabilitation support.

    Rural Education Push

    Under the first programme, Aries Agro is setting up computer labs with laptops across eight rural schools in Rajasthan where digital access previously did not exist. Working with IndiVillage Foundation, the company said the initiative will empower 600 girls aged 6 to 16 with training in coding, artificial intelligence, software design and game development, while 1,500 additional students will receive foundational digital literacy training.

    Company officials said the goal is to close the rural digital and gender divide and build workforce-ready skills among young girls in technology fields.

    Assistive Technology for Disabled

    The second programme, according to the company, will empower 55 visually impaired college students and professionals in Lucknow and Ahmedabad with AI-powered smart glasses that convert printed text to audio in 20 languages and support object, currency and sign recognition.

    Separately, Aries Agro is distributing electronically functional prosthetic hands, capable of lifting up to 10 kg, to 90 farmers and daily wage workers in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra who lost limbs in workplace accidents. The programme includes physiotherapy and counselling to help beneficiaries adapt long-term.

    Key partners include Dr. Shakuntala Misra National Rehabilitation University in Lucknow, Torchit Foundation and Inali Foundation, the company said.

    Aries Agro said its broader CSR strategy aims to build lasting capability and infrastructure rather than provide one-time assistance, reinforcing its Aries Agro CSR initiatives as a long-term model for inclusive development.

  • SOS Children’s villages launches mobile digital learning bus

    SOS Children’s villages launches mobile digital learning bus

    SOS Children’s Villages India has launched its second Mobile Digital Learning Centre in the capital, in partnership with Informa Exhibitions India Pvt Ltd, part of Informa Markets in India, as part of efforts to expand digital literacy in underserved neighbourhoods.

    Children from a vulnerable community in North-West Delhi boarded the bus, fitted with desktops and a projector screen, at the inauguration of the new Mobile Digital Learning Centre.

    The initiative currently operates in three cities — Delhi, Pune and Raipur — reaching more than 800 beneficiaries, including 152 children. With the new centre, Delhi alone is targeting over 800 additional beneficiaries in the coming year.

    The Mobile Digital Learning Centre programme provides free digital skills training, job-readiness support and confidence-building for youth and women from marginalised communities.

    “Digital inclusion is a necessity for education, employability, and social mobility,” said Sumanta Kar, CEO of SOS Children’s Villages India.

    “Through our Mobile Digital Learning Centres, we are taking technology directly to their neighbourhoods, ensuring that learning is not limited by geography or economic circumstances.”

    Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director of Informa Markets in India, said the company’s continued partnership with SOS Children’s Villages India was helping expand access to digital learning and future-ready skills for children from vulnerable communities.

    North-West Delhi was selected for the second Mobile Digital Learning Centre as the area is home to a large share of the capital’s estimated 60,000 street children, spread across roughly three lakh slum households in 675 clusters.

    Officials said 45% of government school students in the area lack access to smartphones or stable internet, while 77% of youth in the area had no prior exposure to digital literacy.

    The centre offers training across five areas: digital literacy, cyber safety, financial literacy, life skills and certified assessments. In its first year, the programme helped five beneficiaries secure job placements, enabled eight children to re-enrol in school, and facilitated 28 scholarship links and 32 links to higher studies.

    The Mobile Digital Learning Centre initiative is part of a broader network run by SOS Children’s Villages India across seven states and eight cities, encompassing mobile units, standalone vocational training centres for ages 18-27, and after-school centres for ages 14-17. More than 2,610 young people participate in the programme annually.

  • VISL skilling initiatives transform 1 lakh lives in India

    VISL skilling initiatives transform 1 lakh lives in India

    Vedanta Iron and Steel Limited (VISL) said on World Youth Skills Day that its skilling programmes have reached more than 100,000 people across India, as part of a broader push to build a future-ready workforce through technical education, digital learning, entrepreneurship and sports development.

    The VISL Skilling Initiatives, aligned with this year’s World Youth Skills Day theme of “Skills for a Shared Future,” span operations in Goa, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Odisha, the company said.

    In Goa, the Sesa Technical School has trained more than 2,100 youth over three decades with a near 100% placement record, the company said, adding that the programme places particular emphasis on encouraging girls to pursue technical training. In Bokaro, the Vedanta ESL Skill School has trained over 700 youth since 2022 in trades including solar photovoltaic installation and home appliance repair, with more than 400 placed in formal sector jobs.

    The company also operates 25 Vedanta Computer Centres and Computer Labs across Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka, alongside learning hubs under Project AAS Vidyalaya in rural Jharkhand. Combined, the digital literacy initiatives have benefited more than 80,000 students and young people, the company said.

    “The youth of our Nation are the driving force behind India’s growth story, and investing in their skills is an investment in the nation’s future,” said Pankaj Kumar Sharma, Chief Executive Officer of VISL.

    “At VISL, our approach to skilling goes beyond employment by enabling aspiration, nurturing potential and creating pathways to long-term socio-economic progress,” he said in a statement.

    Sports development remains a core pillar of the company’s youth outreach. The Sesa Football Academy in Goa has produced over 230 graduates through its residential training programme, including 14 international players, while engaging more than 8,000 young footballers through grassroots initiatives.

    Its men’s and women’s teams compete in national leagues including I-League3 and the Indian Women’s League. Separately, the Vedanta ESL Archery Academy in Bokaro has trained more than 50 young archers who have collectively won over 200 medals at district, state and national competitions.

    On women’s economic empowerment, the company’s Project JIVIKA has supported more than 280 self-help groups and benefited nearly 4,000 women across five states through vocational training in tailoring, handicrafts, mushroom farming and footwear manufacturing.

    VISL operates iron ore and steelmaking assets across India and Liberia, including Sesa Iron Ore, ESL Steel Limited and Western Cluster Limited, alongside associated industrial businesses.