New Opportunity for Supporting Higher Studies odafone Idea Foundation – the CSR arm of Vi, has invited applications Vfrom Teachers and Students for the ‘Learning with Scholarship’ programme for the year 2021-22. The Vi CSR initiative aims to bridge the social and fiscal divide that teachers and students Editor face in terms of availability and accessibility to the necessary resources Dr. Mousumi Sharma to help them excel. In this issue Launched in 2020 these scholarships entitle teachers as well as students to access Direct Beneficiary Transfer (DBT) covering a list of New Opportunity for permissible expenses. The scholarships are merit based for teachers Supporting Higher Studies and merit-cum-means based for the students. The selection process is entirely online, overseen by an independent jury, including eminent Top 20 Companies educators, representatives of civil society organization Funding CSR in Education Vodafone Idea Foundation is offering Rs. 1 Lakh cash Scholarship to Teachers and Rs. 20,000 to Students to help them avail necessary NTPC resources for quality education. Pexels : Mahanadi Coalfields Limited Photo by Armin Rimoldi HDFC Bank Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited Mahindra and Mahindra Ultratech Cement Tata Consultancy Services Corporation Limited BhartiAirtel Eligibility Criteria: ITC Group Full time teachers from government/government-aided schools or low Northern Coalfields Limited income private schools with 3+ years of experience can apply for the Larsen & Toubro scholarship. They must be teaching standards 8 and above and possess Hero Motocorp credentials in the form of recognized academic awards, papers, teaching- learning innovations and content creation, to be eligible. Students from government/government-aided schools from 6th to 12th 100 New Sainik Schools class with recognized academic or extra-curricular achievements can to Come up in Partnership apply for the Vi CSR Scholarship. Scholarship winners can use the with NGOs money to procure IT equipment (laptop, printer) and pay for course fees, educational books, magazines, school tuition fees, amongst other school related essentials. To know and to apply, please visit: www.learningwithvodafoneidea. in/vi-scholarships (Excerpts from indiaedcationdiary.in) Indian companies funding CSR in education orporate social responsibility in education has always taken the lion’s share Cof the funding. Although there is a bigger focus on health projects due to the COVID-19 pandemic, funding CSR in education is still top priority for Indian companies if we look at the latest sustainability reports and annual declarations. Access to quality education is fundamental to the growth of , and India Inc. has not forgotten that.

1. Reliance Industries RIL tops the list when it comes to funding CSR in education. Reliance Foundation Education and Sports for All supports the education of underprivileged children by partnering with 14 NGOs and working at the grassroots level. These NGOs focus on encouraging sports, literacy, and life skills among the children. Under this initiative, a Digital Learning Van, embedded with technology, has been providing quality education to more than 4,000 children from 10 government schools in and Thane districts.

2. NTPC Educating tomorrow’s bright youngsters is a duty that NTPC deeply cares about. The annual NTPC Utkarsh scholarship is given out to 7,300 students every year from the secondary school to the engineering and medical college level. Mobile

EDUCATION science labs ignite a passion for science in government school students. Personal computers with academic materials for standard VIII to X were given to poor students of standard VIII in selected schools in Mumbai.

3. Wipro Wipro spends a major portion of its annual CSR budget towards education and skilling initiatives as well as scholarships and grants. Systemic Reforms in School Education is the first-ever corporate social responsibility initiative by the IT major back in 2001. The programme supports organisations doing good work in primary education and also pushes other social organisations to implement education projects. Another education initiative is tailored for children with disabilities. It integrates not only tutoring but also assistive technology, health and nutrition. Top 20 Companies 4. Infosys Infosys has been the flag-bearer of improving education standards in the country. The dropout rates in primary schools are very high as children from low-income Funding CSR in families need to earn to feed themselves. Infosys foundation collaborated with Sri Ramakrishna Vidya Kendra in the Bannerghatta Forest area in Bengaluru to provide free meals to children belonging to BPL (Below Poverty Line) families and hence promote education among them.

5. Mahanadi Coalfields Limited It appears to give importance to the government’s Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Andolan by supporting girl child education in various backward districts. Most of the programmes are conducted at the primary and lower secondary levels in government schools in regions where the company operates. 6. Tata Steel Tata Steel has been funding CSR in education for decades. The award-winning 1000 Schools project was launched in January 2015, with the goal of creating a replicable and scalable model of universalisation of elementary education within the Right to Education Framework. The 1000 Schools programme has demonstrated success by bringing more than 8000 children from two tribal blocks, Noamundi and Jagannathpur, of Jharkhand back to school. The bridging programme that takes children out of labour and puts them back in school presents the best stories of transformation. Girls and boys whose lives were once broken, have regained their dignity, health, and education, and this has sparked in each one of them a fierce aspiration to build a brighter future.

7. Hindustan Zinc Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL) is funding CSR in education through multiple CSR projects for primary, secondary and higher education students. Flagship project Khushi is a unique tri-partite Public–Private–People initiative. The project is in its fourth year and directly reaches 60,000 children in 3,089 Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) in select Blocks of Ajmer, Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand and Udaipur districts. The AWCs are important grassroots village level institution that cater to the health, nutrition and pre-school needs of children.

8. HDFC Bank HDFC Parivartan, the CSR umbrella of the bank, puts focus on inclusive and quality education for all. Efforts in the area of education include teacher training, HDFC Bank CSR Parivartan scholarships and career guidance, infrastructural support, such as building toilets in schools and improving classrooms.

9. Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited HDFC Ltd. implements its CSR initiatives through the HT Parekh Foundation, named after Founder Chairman, H T Parekh. The foundation goes the whole hog for education, from pre- school to PG degrees, to teacher training modules. The company spent 33% of its CSR budget on education this year. With the goal of better learning outcomes, HDFC Ltd. was a resource for social organisations involved in e-learning and holistic development, those identifying school dropouts and mainstreaming girl child education, since children tend to drop out of school as they move to higher secondary. The company’s CSR offered scholarships and career guidance to students from underprivileged households. Children with special needs got the benefit of a specially designed curriculum and assistive therapy. 10. Mahindra and Mahindra Mahindra & Mahindra has been funding CSR in education for three decades. The programmes range from vocational courses for youth from low-income families, to allowing meritorious students to pursue higher studies at reputed universities abroad, to scholarships for remarkable students at Mahindra United World College in Pune.

11. Ultratech Cement Ultratech Cement is an company that’s engaged in the manufacture and marketing of cement. Education is a core area of focus for corporate social responsibility there. Their units support the cause of Girl Child education through their engagement with the Kasturba Gandhi BalikaVidhyalayas (KGBV) – residential schools for girls. So far, 532 girls who had dropped out from their schools in the villages were re-enrolled. The company distributed uniforms, books and bags to 14,546 children in rural areas while schools received visual educational aids and lab equipment. Other interventions include the school enrollment programmes, talent search programmes, free coaching classes and computer education.

12. Tata Consultancy Services Tata Consultancy Services runs Best in Class literacy programmes like ALP, Launchpad and Project InsighT. Lab on Bike is a quality education programme for government school kids, run in partnership with Agastya International Foundation. An instructor goes around schools on his bike with a compact kit to conduct science experiments. In the process, children learn new concepts in Physics, Biology and Chemistry.

13. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited Hindustan Petroleum Corporate Limited supports Unnati, Project Adapt, Nanhi Kali and STEM education as part of CSR in education. Unnati takes computing knowledge to students in semi-urban and rural schools. It works in partnership with NIIT Limited for promoting computer education. Project ADAPT supported 300 Children living with Special Needs to pursue their education, skill development and therapies in 2019.

14. BhartiAirtel Bharti Foundation, the CSR arm of BhartiAirtel, implements and supports all the programmes in primary, secondary, and higher education. The flagship SatyaBharti School Programme, launched in 2006, provides free quality education to underprivileged children in rural India across six states, with a focus on the girl child. Since 2013, the Foundation has also been working in partnership with the government to improve the quality of overall schooling experience for students in government schools through the SatyaBharti Quality Support Program.

15. ITC Group The ITC Group’s Primary Education Programme is directed at kids from weaker sections of society in ITC Group’s factory catchments. The programme covered 1.15 lakh children in 24 districts of 14 states last year. In all, around 6.91 lakh children have been impacted. The education programme improved the infrastructure in 199 government primary schools. Boundary walls, additional classrooms, toilets and furniture were installed. As of last year, a total of 1,802 primary schools have benefited. 16. Northern Coalfields Limited Northern Coalfields conducts CSR activities in its surrounding areas based on the needof the hour. Constructing a school building is not enough when the quality of teachers is poor. Scholarships and bicycles will improve access, and hence attendance, so that getting to school is not a struggle. The company undertakes education under the Sab Sakshar Project. Interventions include deficit grant, constructing aanganwadis, classrooms, conference halls and laboratories. Northern Coalfields CSR also develops playgrounds and supplies furniture and lab equipment to government schools.

17. Larsen & Toubro Larsen and Toubro’s CSR projects in the field of education are focused on ensuring sustainable development of communities and contribute to strengthening education and social infrastructure. These initiatives, which mostly cater to children from 3-18 years belonging to marginalized sections of society, provide support for better learning abilities of young minds and supplement learning in schools. The projects not only cover academics but also touch various other facets of education which includes nutrition at the pre-primary level, setting up of basic infrastructures such as smart classrooms and soft skills to supplement textbook education. They also help train teachers in STEM education and hence make a difference in the entire education cycle of the child.

18. Cadila Healthcare Cadila Healthcare has a wellness-oriented approach to corporate social responsibility, so some of the initiatives for education may overlap with health and wellness programmes. Either way, all the education programmes are clubbed under the ‘Shiksha’ chapter. Cadila makes Mid Day Meal contributions to the NGO, AkshayaPatra Foundation, for government primary schools in , . The purpose is to eradicate malnourishment among rural children and ensure their retention in schools.

19. Hero Motocorp Hero Motocorp aces funding CSR in education because Team Hero works in tandem with the Indian government’s schemes to ensure barrier-free access to education. Most schools see 100% attendance, zero dropout rate and regular attendance from teachers as well. The CSR team’s partner organisations conduct remedial classes for students who cannot cope with the demands of the curriculum. These classes are helping students learn better and improve their performance across subjects.

20. Grasim Industries Corporate social responsibility at Grasim Industries considers education a great leveller. The focus is on inclusive and equitable quality education. Through the schools in and around its facilities, the company provides quality education, scholarships, technical and vocational education to children. Grasim is educating almost 49,061 students through schools, scholarships, adult education programmes. (Excerpts from : The CSR Journal article by Kasmin Fenandes) 100 New SAINIK SCHOOLS to Come up in Partnership with NGOs

inance Minister of India in her budget speech announced that 100 new Sainik Schools will Fcome up across the country in partnership with NGOs, private schools, and states. The main objective of Sainik Schools is to prepare cadets for entry into the armed forces. The Committee on Demands for Grants of the Ministry of Defence prepared its first report in the year 2019-20 and raised several issues regarding the paucity of funds and the lack of centers. It also highlighted the past recommendations and concerns about the participation of girls and the reach of such schools in tribal areas. The first report available on the website of the Lok Sabha Secretariat apprises that although the performance and standard of Sainik Schools had improved, the main constraint is paucity of funds due to rise in salary of teachers and staff and non-contribution of share by some state governments. The report brought to the fore the issue of expansion of the schools and recommended the “expansion of Sainik Schools in remote and far flung areas such as Tribal belts, remote hills and geographical areas where no Sainik School has been hitherto established.” The Committee was of the opinion that the country does not lack talent in its remote areas and all that inhabitants of these regions need is an opportunity “to prove their worth and serve the country by joining the Forces.” With the consultation of the states and in partnership with NGOs, the areas will be identified to strengthen the sainik school network. Sainik schools prepare the students who enter through the All India Sainik School Entrance Examination to lead as officers in the defence services of the country. The Sainik Schools Society is an organization under the Ministry of Defence functioning under the chairmanship of the Defence Minister. (Excertpts : News 18 India report)

Photo credit : Sainik School, Gopalganj website