Vedanta Aluminium Empowers Youth through Martial Arts Colour Belt Promotion Exam
28th October 2025
Jharsuguda, Odisha, 28th October 2025: Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest producer of aluminium, recently organised a martial arts colour belt promotion exam at the Vedanta Martial Arts Centre in Jharsuguda, marking a significant milestone in its mission to empower children and youth from local communities. The initiative, which forms a key part of Vedanta’s youth development and skill-building programmes, reflects the company’s commitment to fostering holistic growth through grassroots sports and skills training.
The exam brought together 130 young martial artists, who showcased their skills through a series of rigorous performance tests assessing physical fitness, technique, focus, and spirit. As a result, 108 students earned promotion to the next colour belt, marking a significant step forward in their martial arts journey. The event was graced by several distinguished guests, including Biwalochan Bhoi, Secretary, National Karate Federation (NKF); Bibekananda Mishra, Founder, District Disabled School; Nibodito Pani, Headmaster, Vikas Techno School, and was conducted under the expert supervision of L. Nageswar Rao, Head Examiner for the Belt Promotion exam, Highlighting the significance of the initiative, C Chandru, CEO, Vedanta Jharsuguda, said, “At Vedanta Aluminium, we believe true empowerment lies in equipping the youth with skills and tools they need to chart their own progress in life. Through the Vedanta Martial Arts Centre, we are equipping our future generations not only with physical training but also with important values such as discipline and perseverance that will help shape them into confident individuals and responsible citizens.”
L. Nageswar Rao, Head Coach and Examiner, lauded the participants for their commitment, stating, “Every belt earned today symbolises the culmination of months of hard work, patience and persistence. Martial arts is not just about combat or competition, but also about exploring the full extent of one’s abilities. These students have shown that with focus and determination, excellence is attainable at any age.”
The Vedanta Martial Arts Centre was established under the company’s community development initiatives to provide structured martial arts training to children and youth in and around Jharsuguda. Today, it has evolved into a transformative programme that now benefits over a hundred students regularly. The Centre aims to channel youthful energy into productive pursuits, helping cultivate mental resilience, teamwork and leadership skills. Under the guidance of trained coaches, students engage in regular training sessions with their peers.
The students’ parents and guardians were also present in large numbers, adding warmth and encouragement to the day’s proceedings. Many parents expressed gratitude for Vedanta’s efforts to bring structured extracurricular opportunities to their children, which not only enhance fitness but also instil confidence and discipline that benefit them in academics and life.
Through initiatives like the Vedanta Martial Arts Centre, the company continues to empower youth and promote inclusive community development. Alongside sports-based programmes, Vedanta Aluminium’s community development interventions in Jharsuguda span areas such as education, healthcare, skill development, women empowerment, and livelihood creation, positively impacting more than 3.5 lakh people.
Vedanta Aluminium, a business of Vedanta Limited, is India’s largest producer of aluminium, manufacturing more than half of India’s aluminium i.e., 2.42 million tonnes in FY25. It is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. Vedanta Aluminium ranks 2nd in the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment 2024 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.
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
Follow us on LinkedIN, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
Disclaimer:
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.
