India CSR News Network
NEW DELHI: Oil and gas exploration and production major Cairn India has bagged the ‘Bureaucracy Today – CSR Excellence Award’ in the Skill Development category. The award was given by the Chief Guest, Anant Geete, Union Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises to Manoj Agarwal, Head – Business Development & Public Affairs, Cairn India, at an event held here, today. .
The event witnessed a tough competition with over 350 companies pitching for the prestigious BT-CSR Excellence Awards 2016. Besides Cairn India, some of the other winners include TATA BSS, Lafarge, Hindustan Petroleum, Essar Foundation and Cochin Shipyard Limited.
The eminent jury members for BT-CSR Excellence Awards-2016 program comprised Sunil Kanoria, President, ASSOCHAM, Dr Arbind Prasad, DG, FICCI, Ajay Shriram, President, CII (2014-2015) Sunil Arora, IAS (R), former Secretary Information and Broadcasting Ministry RS Sharma, former CMD, ONGC Khurshid Ganai, IAS, Chairman J&K Public Service Commission.
Cairn India was conferred with the award for its outstanding CSR initiatives including skill development of youth of Rajasthan and nearby States. With a view to train local youth and provide them with employment opportunities, the company established the Cairn Enterprise Centre (CEC) in partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank, and the Dept. of Technical Education (DTE), Govt. of Rajasthan in 2007.
Over 12,000 youth have been trained at the centre, in Barmer.
This year’s awards function was a platform to celebrate excellence and best CSR practices in the sector and recognized the contribution of those who have driven social change in India through their unique CSR initiatives. The BT- CSR excellence awards are one of the most significant awards that recognise the social initiatives of the corporates.
“We are delighted to receive this prestigious BT-CSR Excellence Award. Young population, with a can do attitude, is India’s strength and potential. To strengthen this further, we need to put in place a well-designed skills development ecosystem. Skilling India is the perfect opportunity and platform to build a skill-focused, industry-ready and job-ready workforce. It is time we invest in skilling, re-skilling, and up skilling our youths and make them integral part of the progress story of India,” said Sudhir Mathur, acting CEO, Cairn India Limited.
Building upon its success, Cairn has established a number of satellite training centres including in the border areas and a state-of-the-art skills training centre at Jodhpur called the Cairn Centre of Excellence (CCoE). This centre at Jodhpur has equipment sourced from across the world, a fully furnished residential hostel and incorporates considerable industry interaction through guest lectures and site visits. In a short time, this centre has made its presence felt through quality placements of the trainees.
The CCoE aims to provide training to the youth of India to reduce the skill gap faced by industry in the country today. The state-of-the-art centre will combine a range of training courses focusing on three vertical models – vocational training, educational training and technical training & seminars. Linkage to placements has been robust with renowned companies.