27th August 2020, Mumbai: The Vedanta Group bagged 4 awards at the CSR Health Impact Awards organized by Integrated Health and Wellbeing (IHW) council. The awards were for the exemplary work and initiatives undertaken to combat the COVID 19 pandemic and were presented to Vedanta Alumina Lanjigarh, Hindustan Zinc Limited, Vedanta’s flagship Nand Ghar project and the Vedanta group. All the initiatives undertaken by the group were under its ‘Vedanta Cares’ program, a unique project hosted by Vedanta Group Chairman Mr. Anil Agarwal, to support the communities to combat the pandemic.
This recognition is a testament to Vedanta’s commitment towards the welfare of its employees, communities, and nation at large. The awards celebrate the efforts put forth by Vedanta to support the underprivileged groups like migrant workers, daily wage earners, and stray animals who were worst affected by the pandemic. The nominations were evaluated by an eminent jury panel and the winners were chosen through a stringent evaluation process.
Commenting on the awards won, Mr. Ajay Kapur, CEO, Vedanta Aluminium, and Power who is also the Group Anchor for Vedanta’s CSR efforts said, “We are delighted to have won four Gold Awards and this recognition reinvigorates us to continue with our mission of greater good. Vedanta Cares is a lot more than a CSR initiative, it stems from Vedanta Group’s philosophy of ‘Giving Back’ to the communities and the nation. We truly appreciate the jury of IHW Council and the organizers of CSR Health Impact Awards to have conferred us with this honour.”
On receiving the award, CEO Project Nand Ghar – Ms. Ritu Jhingon said, “The award is dedicated to our Nand Ghar frontline warriors who even in difficult COVID times ensured that the essential medical care is taken to the doorstep of our communities”
IHW is a premier think tank, which works towards creating awareness, while advocating for societal well-being, with a focus on national health. The Vedanta Group was awarded Gold for the following in their respective categories:
- Vedanta Group – COVID Relief Efforts
- Hindustan Zinc Limited – Response to COVID-19
- Vedanta Alumina, Lanjigarh – COVID Indigenous Response Project
- Nand Ghar – Health CSR Project Category as a Large Corporate
Vedanta Group, which was one of the first corporates to announce its support to PM-CARES fund, has been proactively serving society during the pandemic under its ‘Vedanta Cares’ initiative, reaching more than 15 lakh beneficiaries, touching 280 villages across 7 states. The group also donated to various state CM COVID relief funds, and through its ‘Meal For All’ program, distributed around 12 lakh meals to the daily-wage earners and fed 12.70 lakh stray animals across the country. Apart from distributing essential PPEs like masks, sanitizers, and gloves, Vedanta joined hands with the Ministry of Textiles to import 23 machines for producing indigenous personal protective equipment (PPEs).
Hindustan Zinc Limited won the award for the special response campaign which was launched for COVID 19 in which it created an interconnected web of stakeholders to create awareness across 6 districts of Rajasthan. The company also served the communities during the unprecedented times through its ‘Food Bank’ initiative, actioned by the women members of HZL’s Self-Help-Group, Sakhi. Over 14,000 Kg grains have been distributed in the vulnerable households in the community, through this initiative. Apart from this, HZL supported its communities through sanitizer, PPE, and packed-meal distribution.
Vedanta Alumina, Lanjigarh located in Odisha won the award for its COVID Readiness Program which was a consistent effort to cater to the increased demand for medical provisions like washable face masks & soaps while creating livelihood opportunities for the community proactively before COVID cases appeared in Odisha. The team enabled & nurtured 83 women SHG members with requisite skills and established an uninterrupted production system of masks, concurrently promoting self-dependency. Within one month, SHG members have produced more than 1.2 lakhs washable masks, and the CSR team directly reached out to each household across 76 villages and various groups of stakeholders.
Vedanta’s flagship Nand Ghar project, which is aimed at providing primary health care services to communities, especially women and children through modern health care facilities, is benchmarked to be one of the most successful community development models. The other phase of Nand Ghar is to empower the women of the community through skill development, education, and self-help groups. Few of the recent projects undertaken being; Mobile health vans with the doctor for free consultation, tests, and medicines, Health camps including Community Management of Acute Malnutrition, Capacity building of frontline workers, and campaigns to create awareness and behavioral change communications, etc.
Vedanta Cares realize the importance of the awards and strive to further enhance their efforts by staying true to its tagline, ‘Desh Ki Zarooraton Ke Liye’ with immense pride and gratitude.
