Vedanta Lanjigarh receives three accolades in Odisha CSR Forum
Badal Tah,Odishabarta
Rayagada, January 14: Vedanta Limited, Lanjigarh, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Limited & 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 & India’s premier producer of metallurgical grade alumina, has bagged Odisha CSR Forum Award in three categories: healthcare and hygiene, women empowerment and production of alumina and community development initiatives for the year 2022. The company’s developmental interventions in these fields, during Covid-19, have had a transformative impact on the socio-economic advancement of its surrounding communities.
Receiving the award on behalf of the company, Mr GG Pal, Dy. CEO – Alumina Business, Vedanta Limited, said, “Vedanta Lanjigarh strives to create a tangible and sustainable social impact through its operations. Towards this end, we have undertaken deep community development interventions on the five pillars of education, healthcare, livelihood, grassroots sports and art & culture, with a special focus on women and child development. We are focused on partnering with the community towards our shared progress. These recognitions are an immense boost to our unceasing journey to bring sustainable development to Kalahandi and its peropheral areas.”
Healthcare is one of the core pillars of community development at Vedanta Lanjigarh, implemented under ‘Project Arogya’. Annually, the company is helping over 60,000 people access quality healthcare through grassroots initiatives such as the Mobile Health Unit, Mega Health Camps and Cataract Camps, where services are provided in underserved areas free of cost. In the recent past, the company has undertaken several new projects such as the introduction of a digital health card for enhanced patient services and a collaboration with the Employee State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) to boost quality healthcare access for shop floor employees and business partners. In FY-23 alone, over 3,300 people from 9 gram panchayats have benefitted from mega health camps.
Vedanta Lanijgarh’s women empowerment initiative, under the ambit of Project Sakhi, is focused on promoting access to better livelihood opportunities. The Shaktimayee Federation, a group of women entrepreneurs, supported by Vedanta Lanjigarh, recently marked the 6th anniversary of its commencement of operations.
So far, the company has supported over 4,000 women from Kalahandi and Rayagada districts in taking up entrepreneurial activities like farming, grocery shops, sewing shops etc. with an aim to promote women in business. The project also links its members with beneficial government schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Yojana, and the Sukanya Yojana.
Vedanta Aluminium, a business of Vedanta Limited, is India’s largest producer of aluminium, manufacturing half of India’s aluminium i.e., 2.26 million tonnes in FY22. It is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. Vedanta Aluminium ranks 4th in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) 2021 world rankings for aluminium industry, a reflection of its sustainable development practices. The company operates a 2 MTPA (million tonnes per annum) capacity alumina refinery in Lanjigarh (Kalahandi district, Odisha), India since 2007 and an associated 75 MW captive power plant. 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.
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.
