Vedanta Aluminium’s Sports Initiative Sends Odisha’s Young Archers to National Stage
14th November 2024
- 7 students qualify for prestigious School Games Federation of India championship
Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, November 14, 2024: Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest aluminium producer, proudly announces that seven young archers—five of whom are girls—from its grassroots sports initiative have qualified for the renowned 68th national-level School Games Federation of India (SGFI) Championship, to be hosted by the Sports Authority of Gujarat. This accomplishment highlights the company’s commitment to nurturing young talent from local communities, providing them with the skills and support needed to shine on a national stage.
Since its inception in 2018, Vedanta’s Sports Initiative has offered comprehensive training in archery and other sports to young athletes from underserved communities in Kalahandi district of Odisha. The programme not only provides rigorous coaching but also ensures access to essentials such as uniforms, sports equipment, and expert-led coaching camps. Through this initiative, more than 100 archers have been trained, with many excelling in state and national competitions, winning a total of 40 medals last year alone. Approximately 50% of the programme’s participants are girls, reflecting Vedanta’s dedication to inclusivity at the workplace as well as in community development programmes.
The SGFI Championship is one of India’s most respected platforms for school sports, aimed at fostering physical fitness, teamwork, and healthy competition among young athletes.
Reaffirming the company’s dedication to supporting young talent, Mr. Sunil Gupta, COO – Vedanta Aluminium said, “Our commitment to grassroots sports goes beyond developing athletic skills; it’s about shaping well-rounded individuals equipped with essential life skills. By investing in grassroots programs, Vedanta Aluminium not only strengthens the foundation of sports within communities but also fosters a culture of inclusivity and opportunity, opening doors for local youth to realize their potential. We are dedicated to discovering and nurturing talent from the ground up, helping to bring India’s vision to life by cultivating champions who can proudly represent our nation on the world stage.”
Simanchal Majhi, archery coach, congratulated them, “I’m happy to witness our students perform so well. The students exhibit earnest sincerity towards their practice session because of the robust sports ecosystem that supports students with equipment, advance coaching along with participation in various championships. This has helped these students, who belong to underserved areas, build their confidence, hence resulting in such extraordinary performance.”
Vedanta Aluminium believes in nurturing young talent especially belonging to the underserved communities and through its sports initiative across the entire state of Odisha, it has trained more than 500 youth in sports like- archery, hockey, karate, and football. Additionally, through the implementation of various social impact initiatives, Vedanta Aluminium has served more than 500 villages benefiting 4.5 lakh people. It encapsulates areas such as livelihood, education, health and infrastructure, grassroots sports and culture. As part of their flagship project, Nand Ghar, the company has established around 531 Nand Ghars in Odisha, which are modernised anganwadis, for women and child 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
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.
