Vedanta Aluminium extends support to ‘Machan’ festival, promoting and preserving Odisha’s cultural legacy
4th March 2024
Jharsuguda, Odisha; 4th March 2024: Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest aluminium producer, extended its support to ‘Machan – Belpahar Uchhab’, a drama, literary, and cultural festival held annually in Belpahar in Jharsuguda district, Odisha. The festival brought together 450 artists from across the country, providing them with a platform to showcase traditional dance forms and classical folk music. Drawing over 4000 patrons, Machan showcased various dance forms like Odissi, Sambalpuri and Bihu as well as unique dance forms such as Paiki, a martial folk dance that reminisces Odisha’s tales of valour from ancient times, and Dasakathia, a folk ballad singing performance of mythological tales.
This is the latest initiative by the company to nurture traditional art forms at the grassroots level, thereby preserving and promoting the rich culture and heritage of Odisha among the present and future generation of India. Last year, Vedanta Aluminium’s Mines division supported the world’s longest Sambalpuri theatre production, spanning 49 hours and promoted ‘Suravi’, a children’s festival, fostering young talent from Sundargarh district in Odisha.
Speaking on the initiative, Mr. V. Srikanth, CEO (Mines), Vedanta Aluminium, said, “At Vedanta Aluminium, our social impact endeavours also extend to the promotion and preservation of local art and culture, exemplified by our support for cultural festivals like Machan. These events, deeply rooted in the cultural tapestry of the region, attract significant audiences annually. Through initiatives like this, we aim to not only celebrate the uniqueness of Odisha’s artistic legacy but also nurture an enduring appreciation for ancient cultural art forms. In doing so, we aim to instill a sense of pride within the community, contributing to the preservation of these invaluable art forms for generations to come.”
Expressing his gratitude, Mr. Motiram Meher, Community Member, Belpahar, stated, “I thank Vedanta Aluminium for its unwavering commitment to uniting artists and providing a platform to showcase centuries-old art forms. Through this support, Vedanta is actively promoting the rich cultural heritage of Odisha, fostering a vibrant environment that celebrates and preserves the artistic legacy of our region.”
Vedanta Aluminium’s Mines Business is at the forefront of driving community development through strategic interventions in education, healthcare, sustainable livelihood, rural infrastructure, and grassroots sports and culture. A notable initiative among these is the establishment of Vedanta Nand Ghars, modernised anganwadis serving as dynamic community hubs for the comprehensive development of children, pregnant women, and lactating mothers by offering quality healthcare and nutritional support. These efforts underline the company’s commitment to positively impact lives within and beyond its operational areas, fostering a sense of community contribution towards the overall growth and advancement of the state. Through close collaboration with local authorities, welfare organisations, and community members, Vedanta Aluminium actively steers a socio-economic transformation in rural Odisha.
Vedanta Aluminium, a business of Vedanta Limited, is India’s largest producer of aluminium, manufacturing more than half of India’s aluminium i.e., 2.29 million tonnes in FY23. 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 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.
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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This press release contains “forward-looking statements” – that is, statements related to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “should” or “will.” Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. For us, uncertainties arise from the behaviour of financial and metals markets including the London Metal Exchange, fluctuations in interest and or exchange rates and metal prices; from future integration of acquired businesses; and from numerous other matters of national, regional, and global scale, including those of a political, economic, business, competitive or regulatory nature. These uncertainties may cause our actual future results to be materially different than those expressed in our forward-looking statements. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements.
