Guwahati News Desk: India’s leading automobile company Tata Motors published its 7th Annual Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report on Wednesday describing the intensive and holistic efforts undertaken during FY20-21 towards becoming a more responsible corporate citizen by driving inclusive growth with social equity in communities; strengthening sustainable development; and actively participating in the nation building process.
In an extraordinary year marked by the pandemic causing suffering of unprecedented proportions to individuals, institutions and communities at large, Tata Motors expanded its CSR footprint to cover all 28 states and 8 union territories across the country.
The Company supported Covid-19 relief efforts by providing assistance to over 1.4 lakh people including migrants, daily wage earners, those who lost livelihood, and those who were left stranded or forced to seek shelter in transit camps. Food, masks and sanitizers along with information kits on precautions to be taken for safety, health and hygiene, were arranged for thousands of truck drivers, the unsung frontline heroes who played a stellar role in ensuring that the wheels of nation kept running with seamless transportation of supplies, even as the nation remained suspended in lockdown. Additionally, the company donated Rs 7 Cr towards Covid-19 relief, 50 per cent of which was contributed by the company’s employees.
Tata Motors also remained steadfast in its efforts to address some of India’s most pressing developmental challenges through its flagship welfare programmes in the areas of Health (Aarogya), Education (Vidyadhanam), Employability (Kaushalya), and Environment (Vasundhara). Its progress on the pledge to make the impact of CSR self-sustaining gained momentum with beneficiary communities increasingly owning the programmes. Cumulatively, the company’s efforts positively impacted over 7.5 lakh lives during the year, with over 45 per cent beneficiaries coming from SC and ST communities.
Speaking on the occasion, S J R Kutty, Chief Sustainability Officer, Tata Motors, said, “CSR is deeply engrained in our DNA. The scope and depth of our engagement with communities have become richer, more holistic and self-sustaining with time. While the pandemic demanded an immediate response to support communities, we embraced new models and formats to gain scale and momentum with higher levels of empowerment and self-sustenance across all projects in our key thrust areas in Health, Education, Employability and Environment. I am grateful to the Board and leadership at Tata Motors for their encouraging guidance, the CSR teams and colleagues nationwide for their dedication, our developmental sector partners and communities for their faith, resolve and resilience that ensured this accelerated progress in such trying times.”
Key Highlights of Tata Motors CSR report for FY21 include are:
Extending COVID relief: Provided pan-India assistance to close to – 1.4 lakh individuals, including migrants, daily-wage earners, those who lost livelihoods or were left stranded in transit camps, as well as thousands of truck drivers who selflessly kept the nation running with uninterrupted supplies
Served over 3.4 lakh cooked meals to 30,000 people, provided over 100 tonnes of dry ration to 20,000 families, and 30,000 units of safe drinking water to 24 police chowkis
More than 1 lakh certified masks, and 1,000 litres of hand sanitiser were disseminated amongst the community
Helped improve health infrastructure by donating ventilators, 100 beds and 40 oxygen cylinders to government hospitals and specially set-up COVID-19 treatment centres.
Securing health and wellness through ‘Aarogya’ :
Over 3.8 lakh people have benefited from Tata Motors’ health programs
60 per cent of undernourished children treated under their programme are now healthy
All of the programs implemented under this program have collectively led to a positive shift in community attitudes and knowledge about health.
Fostering excellence in education through ‘Vidyadhanam’ :
Almost 1.2 lakh students gained access to quality education through Tata Motors’ educational programs
Partnership with Jawahar Nehru Vidyalaya (JNVs) to introduce online coaching for JEE and NEET aspirants also achieved impressive results. During the year, 81per cent of students qualified for JEE Mains, 59per cent qualified for JEE Advanced and 80per cent of those successfully enrolled in leading institutions of engineering and medicine including IIT and NIIT.
Enhancing employability through ‘Kaushalya’ :
Close to 18,000 youth and farmers were trained and 69per cent of them are now gainfully employed with each adding a Rs. 1 lakh increase to their respective household income annually.
Cultivating sustainability with ‘Vasundhara’ :
Planted 1.1 lakh saplings of indigenous varieties resulting in an 87per cent survival rate and transforming some areas into micro-habitats for varied species of flora and fauna.
Sensitised close to 1 lakh children about the benefits of a clean and green environment and steps they could take for its preservation
Solving water-related issues through ‘Amrutdhara’:
Over 8,000 people living in water-stressed areas of the country have benefited from this programme. Each family was given 30 litres of potable water/capita/day on a sustained basis. This programme has significantly reduced the drudgery of women in families who previously had to travel long distances to procure water.
The initiative has also significantly improved water and sanitation practices in communities, reducing their contraction of seasonal diseases such as scabies and dysentery.
Promoting rural development :
Collaborated with Sahabhag, the CSR cell of the Government of Maharashtra, to improve the quality of life of 9,000 tribal communities of Pathardi and Chauk gram panchayat of Palghar. Successfully carried out a similar project in Devedthal, a village in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
70 per cent of the resources assigned to the development of these villages were committed by the government.
Enhancing CSR through ‘Volunteering’ :
Over 37per cent of the employees and their families participated and invested more than 38,400 volunteering hours for social causes, across projects.