On National Girl Child Day, Vedanta Aluminium renews commitment to empowering girls in rural India
25th January 2024
- As part of its celebrations, the company’s units in Odisha and Chhattisgarh organized several activities focussed on improved education and health for young women and girls
New Delhi; 25th January 2024: On the occasion of National Girl Child Day (24 January), Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest producer of aluminium, has renewed its commitment to empowering girls and young women living in the vicinity of its operations in rural Odisha and Chhattisgarh. The company has implemented several initiatives with a thrust on ensuring access to better education, improving healthcare, eradicating child malnutrition, and creating wider avenues for skill development. Together, they are helping bridge the gender divide and ensuring an equitable future for young women and girls across rural India.
As part of this year’s celebrations, the company undertook several initiatives focused on building financial independence among young girls and also imparting greater community awareness on health and gender issues. These included a collaboration with bank representatives to conduct financial awareness sessions for over 100 young girls around the Jharsuguda unit in Odisha, explaining the several savings and deposit schemes for girl children in India.
An expert session on greater awareness of the rights of girls and the importance of female health and hygiene was conducted for more than 200 students at Lanjigarh, Odisha in collaboration with government medical staff. Employee volunteers from the company’s world-class alumina refinery in Lanjigarh also organized activities such as singing, painting, and essay writing competitions at local schools.
Meanwhile, at BALCO, India’s iconic aluminium producer in Korba, Chhattisgarh, special activities such as a tree plantation were organized, where the unit planted one sapling each for every community member and employee raising a girl child. Over 100 saplings were planted under this initiative. In addition, health and wellness workshops for new mothers were also organized, focused on imparting essential knowledge about infant care practices, childhood nutrition, and ensuring the overall well-being of the child.
Highlighting the importance of creating opportunities for girl children to progress, Mr. John Slaven, CEO, Vedanta Aluminium said, “Women are the real architects of society, leading the development of their independent family units and through them, their entire communities. By educating girls, providing them with the best possible healthcare facilities, and empowering them with the right skill sets, we support their journey towards developing into independent women who contribute to building a truly inclusive society. At Vedanta Aluminium, we are not only committed to building strong sustainable industries but also strong societies, backed by strong and empowered women.”
A standout among the company’s slew of community initiatives oriented towards children is its flagship social impact program, Nand Ghar – which are modernized anganwadis that function as vibrant community hubs for holistic women & child development, providing quality healthcare and proper nutrition to children, pregnant women, and lactating mothers.
In line with its vision to empower rural women, Vedanta Aluminium has also recently launched the third phase of Project Panchhi, a unique recruitment initiative, earlier this month in Jharsuguda, Odisha. Conceptualized under the visionary leadership of Vedanta’s Chairman, Mr. Anil Agarwal, the project is focused on meeting the needs of girls from marginalized communities. Through Project Panchhi, the company seeks to extend support to those high- potential girls who are likely to opt out of pursuing further studies and a fulfilling career due to financial constraints. The company is also empowering nearly 10,000 girls through its Nayi Kiran project in Chhattisgarh, focused on enhanced Menstrual Health Management (MHM) practices. Further, it is also unlocking avenues for growth through comprehensive trainings in grassroots sports, such as archery and karate.
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. www.vedantaaluminium.com
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.
