In an an exclusive interaction with Rusen Kumar of India CSR; Raj Kumar, CMD, Rodic Consultants Pvt Ltd shared details of Covid-19 relief projects and the way forward. The company has also donated a 20MT cryogenic container, imported from Dubai to Bihar Foundation for transportation/storage of liquid oxygen in Bihar. The company is leveraging the ‘hub and spoke’ model to streamline the oxygen supply. The model requires intensive manpower to ensure a hassle free supply across the state. For this, over 100 national shooters volunteers have come forward to augment Rodic Consultants’ efforts with an aim to combat oxygen shortage in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
Kindly elaborate on the recent CSR initiatives undertaken by Rodic amidst the second wave of COVID-19.
At Rodic Consultants it is our constant endeavour to give back to society through our various CSR initiatives. We believe that our business exists for reasons that are bigger than ‘making profits’. We show respect to our employees and focus on stewardship relations withclients and communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. For our COVID relief activities, we are leveraging the power of collaboration and resilience of our team members to create tangible impacts. In the wake of the deadly pandemic that has affected our lives, we developed an oxygen monitoring system, the first-of-its-kind in Uttar Pradesh, to tackle the acute shortage of liquid oxygen. It was a critical step towards bolstering the efforts of local administration through collaboration and advanced technology to combat the shortage of liquid oxygen supply in UP. Recently, we donated one empty 20MT cryogenic container to the Bihar Foundation, which was imported from Dubai, for transportation/storage of liquid oxygen in Bihar. At Rodic, we consider it our responsibility to use our resources to augment society’s collective efforts against COVID-19 across the country.
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Can you briefly describe the impact that this initiative had and what were the challenges faced?
Our initiative of a 24×7 oxygen monitoring system has been executed in coordination with the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA), medical education, medical health and family welfare, transport and home departments, Govt of UP. It has proved to be an effective resource for Covid-19 positive in-home isolation and requiring liquid oxygen. Through this monitoring system, the state government conducted an oxygen audit to match the demand with supply and facilitate oxygen delivery to hospitals.
What motivated you to develop an oxygen monitoring system for the government of Uttar Pradesh as part of your CSR initiative?
The recent coronavirus pandemic has taken our healthcare systems by surprise.The second wave of Covid-19 proved to be a formidable challenge, with hospitals grappling with the shortage of oxygen supply, thereby putting several human lives at risk. The initiative in Uttar Pradesh is a part of our endeavour to augment government efforts in tackling the second wave of coronavirus cases across the country. As a responsible organization, we are committed to bolstering nation’s capacity building in whichever way we can. We worked closely with the local administration in Uttar Pradesh to monitor liquid oxygen supply on a real-time basis, which resulted in streamlining the oxygen supply to hospitals and provided timely supply.
How was this oxygen monitoring system developed by Rodic is different from others?
The oxygen monitoring system was different from others as this was built ground up based on the requirements that our team was receiving and perceiving based on our teams participation in the COVID Command Control Center in Lucknow. Our team was working with the UP Leadership to develop the optimal supply chain solution to manage the evolving dynamic situation due to pandemic’s massive outbreak as wave 2. Rodic’s team’s ability in understanding the dynamic and nuanced nature of supply chains helped them to design the Oxytracker at speed and scale to stay ahead of the challenges where the supplies are far flung and demand is evolving constantly. Our Oxytracker platform addresses this dynamic nature of supply chains. It’s an organic platform that was custom developed at a rapid pace in agile methodology to address the real problems on the ground.
Rodic Consultants also mobilized the Shooter Community to volunteer for the management of oxygen supply in Uttar Pradesh. Please elaborate upon this.
To combat the shortage of liquid oxygen monitoring system in UP, we developed and deployed the oxygen monitoring system for seamless supply of oxygen. We leveraged the ‘hub and spoke’ model to streamline the oxygen supply. The model requires intensive manpower to ensure a hassle-free supply across the state. As we needed a lot of manpower to support this monitoring system, I, being a part of the Shooters Community, thought of approaching them to volunteer for this cause. It was overwhelming to see the shooters community turn up in huge numbers to support the efficient management of the oxygen monitoring system in UP.
The volunteers were engaged to conduct data gathering and entry, GPS Web application monitoring, oxygen tanker location tracking and monitoring with the Regional Transport Office and Medical Department of Uttar Pradesh. It was also deployed at the oxygen manufacturing facilities to ensure that tracking devices are installed and enabled on every vehicle to ensure minimum turnaround time of the incoming tankers and facilitate end-to-end coordination between multiple departments for seamless movement of tankers. The initiative helped in efficient and timely monitoring of transportation of liquid oxygen to combat the deadly second wave of Covid-19 in UP.
Do you think CSR will play a pivotal role in combating Covid-19 and its implications?
This pandemic offers great opportunities for corporates to actively engage in various CSR initiatives during the crisis, and potentially catalyse a new era of CSR development in the long run. Corporate Social Responsibility has assumed significance for leading firms who have become conscious of their responsibility towards making a difference in society through their various initiatives.
Unprecedented crisis such as COVID-19 has reaffirmed the role of corporates towards nation-building and underscored the significance of CSR to augment government efforts in addressing key challenges. It will have a significant theoretical application and practical implications on business duty towards society and future research on CSR as a strong arm to deal with a critical disaster like the COVID-19 pandemic. We foresee social responsibility as an intrinsic component of the corporate ethos as firms strive to maintain credibility and secure customer loyalties.
(CopyRight@IndiaCSRNetwork)
