ANIL AGARWAL FOUNDATION PLEDGES INR 5,000 CR FOR RURAL INDIA
4 min readUnveils ambitious roadmap to strengthen India’s social development in the next 5 years
- Launches ‘Swasth Gaon Abhiyaan’ initiative to provide end to end healthcare services including vaccines for 1000 villages impacting 2 million lives
- Anil Agarwal Foundation to focus on women and child development, aims to impact 7 crore children and 2 crore women
New Delhi/Mumbai, July 1 2021: The Vedanta Group, India’s leading natural resources producer, today announced a Rs 5,000 crore social impact programme focussed on nutrition, women & child development, healthcare, animal welfare and grass root level sports, including major investments in a Corona-free village project across several States to combat the pandemic.The first of its kind social impact programme will be run under the aegis of the Anil Agarwal Foundation which will be the umbrella entity of Vedanta’s social initiatives and provide all-round development to work towards these goals over the next five years.
The company strongly believes in growing with the communities and Mr. Anil Agarwal has already pledged to give 75% of his wealth towards social good and upliftment of the masses.
‘Swasth Gaon Abhiyaan’ will be a mega project which will enhance ‘immunity in community’ to ensure minimum impact of Covid, as part of their overall objective of providing social development and infrastructure as an essential service to the nation. In addition, this will also enhance job opportunities, reskill the youth and bring in stabilityand progress which is key to economic growth for India.KPMG will be a strategic partner of Anil Agarwal Foundation in implementing this massive programme.
Announcing theRs 5000-crore holistic initiative for the development of rural India, Chairman Anil Agarwal said, “We aim to strengthen our efforts and facilitate sustainable and inclusive growth, which is the need of the hour to protect and provide for our communities. The Swasth Gaon Abhiyaan initiative is the first step in our journey to provideend to end healthcare solutions across the rural landscape covering1000 villages. This program will also complement Vedanta’s flagship NandGhar project which aims to impact 7 crore children and 2 crore women.”
He added “Our emphasis is on ‘building back better’ to collaborate and ensure social recoverywhich is backed by requisite healthcare infrastructure.”
Under theflagship initiative, ‘Swasth Gaon Abhiyaan’, Anil Agarwal Foundation plans to support and strengthen healthcare services across 1,000 villages within 24 districts and 12 states in the country, impacting over two million lives.The initiative will follow a model of interventions at the district level, such as Oxygen Generation Plants, Telemedicine services, Upgradation of Medical and Diagnostic infrastructure and Mobile Medical Van/Ambulances. The pool of interventions will be planned as per specific needs and availability of Specialist doctors at the various district hospitals in order to make the facility functional.
Major investments will be made under‘Swasth Gaon Abhiyaan’ to mitigate the impact of Covid-19, in collaboration with state governments/districts to provide a safety net for communities and invest in healthcare services. Efforts are being made to promote vaccination through special medical & wellness camps being held in remote areas. Provisions of medical amenities are also being made in district wise hospitals and health care centres to ensure quality treatment.
The new areas of focus for Anil Agarwal Foundation will be to provide shelters and aid for Animal welfare.
The flagship project NandGhar for women and child development will continue to scale up significantly, aiming to impact 7 crore children and 2 crore women across the country.
With the well-defined roadmap and a commitment to invest Rs5,000 Crore,Anil Agarwal Foundation together with Vedanta aims to take this mission ahead and achieve the dream of creating strong &resilientcommunities in India.
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, Namibia, and Australia. 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. Giving back is in the DNA of Vedanta, which is focused on enhancing the lives of local communities. Under the aegis of Vedanta Cares, the flagship social impact program, NandGhars have been set up as model anganwadis focused on eradicating child malnutrition, providing education, healthcare, and empowering women with skill development. The company has been featured in Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and was conferred CII-ITC Sustainability Award, the FICCI CSR Award, Dun & Bradstreet Awards in Metals & Mining, and certified as a Great Place to Work. Vedanta Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange in India and has ADRs listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
About Anil Agarwal Foundation
The Anil Agarwal Foundationis the umbrella entity for Vedanta’s community and social initiatives. The focus areas of the Foundation are Healthcare, Women and Child development, Animal Welfare Projects and Sports Initiatives. Anil Agarwal Foundation aims to empower communities, transform lives and facilitate nation building through sustainable and inclusive growth.
Anil Agarwal Foundation has teamed up with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to achieve United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2, which aims to end all forms of hunger and malnutrition by 2030. Under the Anil Agarwal Foundation, NandGhars remain the flagship project for women and children development which is transforming the lives of 7 crore children and 2 crore women by providing them holistic development opportunities.
For more information please visit www.vedantalimited.com
For further information please contact:
- Ms. Roma Balwani Mr.Abhinaba Das
Director, Communications and Brand Abhinaba.das@vedanta.co.in
Vedanta Limited
- Mr. Anirvan Bhattacharjee / Lennon D’Souza
Adfactors PR
Tel: +91 22 67574444 / +91 11 40565100
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