Vedanta’s flagship CSR project Nand Ghar rolls out 1500th centre in Varanasi
5th September 2020
Nand Ghar aims to transform 4 million lives in rural India
Lanjigarh: 5th Sep 20: Nand Ghar on Saturday rolled out its 1500th centre at Surahi village in Kashi Vidyapeeth block of Varanasi, marking an important milestone for the Vedanta Group’s flagship corporate social responsibility project.
Union Minister for Women & Child Development and Textiles, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani virtually inaugurated the new centre at Varanasi and also interacted with Anganwadi workers and Nand Ghar beneficiaries from Barmer district of Rajasthan and Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district of Odisha.
Speaking on the occasion, Smt. Irani complimented Vedanta for making a difference to the lives of women and children at the grassroot level.
“It gives me immense pleasure to be inaugurating the 1500th Nand Ghar project by Vedanta. It is one of the finest examples of CSR , an important milestone for Vedanta which has transformed the lives of rural women and children across India through its network of Nand Ghars, a modern, state of the art version of the Anganwadi model. I was there for the first Nand Ghar launch four years back and the project has indeed come a long way since then. Congratulations to the Nand Ghar team on this special occasion” she said.
The Nand Ghar journey began in 2015 with a vision to transform the lives of 8.5 crore children and 2 crore women across 13.7 lakh anganwadis. A dream project of Vedanta Chairman, Shri Anil Agarwal, Nand Ghar is a network of model anganwadis where the thrust is on inclusive development of children, women and local communities. The Nand Ghars are set up in collaboration with the Union Ministry of Women & Child Development.
Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal said: “I am delighted to see that Vedanta’s flagship project, Nand Ghar, is transforming the lives of rural women and children across the country. We are committed to fulfilling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of eradicating child malnutrition, providing education and healthcare, and empowering rural women through skill development, and Nand Ghar will be the change agent. I have no doubt in my mind that Nand Ghar will continue to create a better tomorrow for the mother and the child at the grassroots level.”
With the rollout of 1500 centres, the Nand Ghar project is now spread across 7 states – Rajasthan, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. The project aims to touch the lives of 4 million community members while directly impacting around 2lakh children and 1.8 lakh women on an annual basis.
Nand Ghars are equipped with solar panels to ensure 24X7 electricity, water purifiers, clean toilets and smart television sets, and have become a model resource centre for the local communities. Pre-school education is provided to children in the age group of 3-6 years. Nutritious meals and take-home rations are being provided for children, pregnant and lactating women.
Primary healthcare services are rendered through mobile health vans and women are empowered through skilling, credit linkage and enterprise development.
About Vedanta Limited:
Vedanta Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Limited, is one of the world’s leading Oil & Gas and Metals company with significant operations in Oil & Gas, Zinc, Lead, Silver, Copper, Iron Ore, Steel, and Aluminium & Power across India, South Africa and Namibia. For two decades, Vedanta has been contributing significantly to nation building. Governance and sustainable development are at the core of Vedanta's strategy, with a strong focus on health, safety, and environment. Vedanta has put in place a comprehensive framework to be the ESG leader in the natural resources sector. Vedanta is committed to reducing carbon emissions to zero by 2050 or sooner and has pledged $5 billion over the next 10 years to accelerate the transition to net zero operations. Giving back is in the DNA of Vedanta, which is focused on enhancing the lives of local communities. The company’s flagship social impact program, Nand Ghars, have been set up as model anganwadis focused on eradicating child malnutrition, providing education, healthcare, and empowering women with skill development. Under the aegis of the Anil Agarwal Foundation, the umbrella entity for Vedanta’s social initiatives, the Vedanta group has pledged Rs 5000 crore over the next five years on social impact programmes with a thrust on nutrition, women & child development, healthcare, animal welfare, and grass-root level sports. Vedanta and the group companies have been featured in Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and was conferred Frost & Sullivan Sustainability Awards 2020, Golden Peacock Award for excellence in Corporate Governance 2022 and certified as a Great Place to Work 2022. Vedanta Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange.
For more information, please visit www.vedantalimited.com
About Vedanta Aluminium Business:
Vedanta Aluminium, a business of Vedanta Limited, is India’s largest producer of aluminium, manufacturing more than half of India’s aluminium i.e., 2.37 million tonnes in FY24. It is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. Vedanta Aluminium ranks 1st in the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment 2023 world rankings for the aluminium industry, a reflection of its leading sustainable development practices. With its world-class aluminium smelters, alumina refinery and power plants in India, the company fulfils its mission of spurring emerging applications of aluminium as the ‘Metal of the Future’ for a greener tomorrow.
For more information, please log on to www.vedantaaluminium.com
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