CSR: Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail: Engaging, Uplifting and Empowering villages under the Janla Panchayat

Bhubaneswar: A unique Village Development Project in Odisha taken up by Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL), reaches out to the underprivileged and helps raise ‘empowered communities’. The pathway is through a holistic programme, inclusive of skills training to ensure self-reliant communities.

Says Mrs. Rajashree Birla, Chairperson, Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives and Rural Development – “Our vision is to actively contribute to the social and economic development of the underserved communities, lifting the burden of poverty and helping bring in inclusive growth. In so doing, build a better, sustainable way of life for the weaker sections of society and raise the country’s Human Development Index. Our goals are aligned with the UNSDGs. Odisha is among our priority state”.

All of the Aditya Birla Group’s CSR projects are executed under the aegis of the Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives and Rural Development, the apex body.

ABFRL is engaged in three villages of Janla panchayat in Odisha. The project, in sync with the Centre’s SansadAdarsh Gram Yojna (SAGY),is in operation for over 2 years and reaches out to 20,000 people in Ogalapada, Dhakinamundhamunha and Uttaramundamunha villages. Its avowed objective is holistic development. Hence it factors social, environment and economic aspects. Furthermore, it is aligned to the UNSDGs.Among the notable programmes afoot are mushroom cultivation,which assures sustainable livelihoods, watershed management towards bolstering farm productivity and setting up of academic support centres, including the Ama Library.

Incidentally, during this pandemic ABFRL supported 20 SHGs in Janla panchayat, to enable them stitch masks. Along with the fabric, the SHG members were trained to make the masks. Over 6,000 masks were distributed to these villages.

Furthermore, the Aditya Birla Group is actively engaged in Odisha through its Group companies, Hindalco in Hirakud, its subsidiaries Aditya Aluminium in Lapanga and Utkal Alumina in Doraguda, UltraTech Cement in Jharsuguda, Grasim Industries in Ganjam, Essel Mining and Industries in Keonjhar, Aditya Birla Capital in Bhubaneswar and Vi (Vodafone Idea) pan Odisha, to cite a few. These projects centre around education, healthcare, sustainable livelihood, and infrastructure.It includes a centralised mid-day meal kitchen in Keonjhar district, solar lamps to school children, construction of community toilets, triple layer vegetable cultivation through the ‘machan’ system, among others.

The Aditya Birla Group has a significant base in Odisha with a long-standing presence. The Group is committed to help make a difference to the underprivileged besides partnering the State on the path to progress.