Bharti Foundation is the implementation agency for carrying out CSR initiatives on behalf of Bharti Airtel Ltd.

Bharti Foundation, the CSR arm of Airtel Limited contributed Rs. 1.643 Cr to CSR and social development activities in FY 2022.

While, in terms of applicable provisions of Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013, the Company was not obligated to contribute towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities during the financial year 2021-22, the Company has made a voluntary CSR contribution of Rs. 1.643 Crore during the financial year 2021-22 and also contributed Rs. 1.468 Crore to various other charitable institutions.

The direct subsidiaries of the Company have contributed Rs.32. 4 Crores and associates or joint venture entities have contributed Rs. 35. 62 Crore towards various CSR activities, which is in addition to the voluntary CSR contribution of the Company under Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013.

In line with its commitment to address socio-economic and environmental challenges, our subsidiaries in Africa spent approx.

USD 2.2 Mn in the previous financial year.

The above voluntary and other contribution reflects the Company’s commitment to pursue socio-economic and cultural objectives for benefit of society at large.

The Company is committed to building its CSR capabilities on a sustainable basis and undertaking CSR activities as and when the opportunity arises.

Airtel has engaged Bharti Foundation, a non-profit trust, as the implementation partner for its CSR initiatives. As a good corporate citizen, Airtel is cognisant that aligning social activities with our business purpose and values is crucial and influences economic growth.

Bharti Foundation, supported by its telecom circle offices, is undertaking programs on behalf of Airtel to promote access to quality education and sanitation for underserved communities.

Airtel and its subsidiaries have been working relentlessly with Bharti Foundation and other NGOs for the last two decades to pursue wider socio-economic and cultural objectives and have always endeavoured to not just meet, but try and exceed the expectations of the communities in which it operates.

Airtel has been an early adopter of CSR initiatives and it established, the Bharti Foundation the philanthropic arm of Bharti Enterprises back in 2000, to transform the lives of children and youth by proactively implementing and supporting programs in primary, secondary and higher education as well as sanitation.

The flagship programme of the Bharti Foundation, the Satya Bharti School Program aims to impact the lives of children and youth by providing access to primary, secondary, and higher education.

› To promote the good health and well-being of neighbouring communities, Airtel supported Bharti Foundation in undertaking the Satya Bharti Abhiyaan program, which supports the government’s Swachh Bharat Mission for Clean and Open Defecation Free India.

The program aimed at providing access to individual toilets to households in Ludhiana and rural Amritsar, separate toilets for girls in government schools and ladies’ toilets for staff and visitors in various police premises.

Thus, we have been actively undertaking community development initiatives toward realisation of a prosperous society by collaborating with diverse stakeholders.
Airtel has formulated a robust CSR Policy and framework that identifies key focus areas for community development and welfare activities.

Bharti Foundation, the Group’s philanthropic arm is undertaking programs on behalf of Airtel and acting as a strong institutionalised body for uplifting communities by supporting holistic education programs at multiple levels.

The programs of Bharti Foundation are aligned with Sustainable Development Goals – Quality Education (Goal 4), Gender Equality (Goal 5), Clean Water and Sanitation (Goal 6) and Partnership for the Goals (Goal 17).

The initiatives of Bharti Foundation are in synergy with National Programs and Government Missions which include programs such as Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Beti
Bachao Beti Padhao, National Nutrition Mission and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

Bharti Foundation wasn’t behind the pack in leveraging digital for its philanthropic work in the area of education.

Whether it was video call lessons for students impacted by school closures, online self-paced teacher training modules, or using ed-tech enabled platforms like digital classrooms and robotic labs – the Foundation continued on the path of digitisation and delivering long-term value to society.

At Bharti, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a way of life. Employees seek opportunities to incorporate CSR within work-related areas and are driven by the core values to proactively look after the needs and interests of all stakeholders, including those of the communities and environment in which we operate.

A Caring Touch (ACT) – Bharti’s Employee Philanthropy Program, is a product of this culture.

It encourages employees to engage in terms of their time, skills, money or knowledge with either Bharti Foundation or other charities empanelled under The ACT program like National Association for Blind, CRY, Helpage India, SOS Village, Save Life Foundation, Alliances for People and Animals and The Banyan.

Satya Bharti Quality Support Program

The Satya Bharti Quality Support Program was started to support government schools in becoming holistic institutions of learning. The good practices of Satya Bharti Schools are shared with the Education Department and school leadership and collectively the processes are implemented in government schools to achieve the following in 3-5 years:

› Integrate a whole-school approach with the school leader’s vision.
› Introduce co-scholastic activities.
› Dedicated pace and trajectory to bring about sustainable change.

691: Government schools supported in 11 states.
200,000: Students supported (49.7% girl child and 55.6% SC/ST and OBC communities)
9,177: Teachers enrolled.

Key achievements and highlights

› Collaborated with Christ University, Bengaluru and developed a white paper on Quality Support Program, taking structured feedback from education departments
of intervention states, principals, teachers and students from partner government schools.

› Education departments of six states (Karnataka, Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Delhi and Telangana) provided formal evaluation reports on the Quality Support Program, highlighting core areas of interventions and appreciating the outcomes.

› Quality Support Program was completed in 212 schools; 112 were added to the program.

› Learning with Leaders, a sharing platform for teachers, educationists and officials from partner states was re-instated; two webinars organised, reaching out to over 500 teachers.

› School excellence program (for developing school leadership and action-oriented school development planning) for principals from 100 partner schools was
initiated in Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Assam.

› Teaching Learning Material (TLM) booklet based on innovative material developed by teachers launched – Jharkhand, J&K (Government of Jammu and Army Goodwill Schools) in partnership with education departments.

› 153 Career Guidance Workshops organised covering over 1,500 students.

› Students lecture series organised in which nearly 80 employees of Bharti Group conducted 70 sessions on the ‘career paths’ on selected themes, sharing their own
life experiences.

Sanitation

Inspired by the Government’s drive for cleanliness and sanitation, the Foundation launched Satya Bharti Abhiyan in August 2014, to improve sanitation conditions by constructing toilets free of cost for households without any toilets across rural & urban areas of Ludhiana and Amritsar to help improve sanitation conditions while encouraging a behavioral change in communities through Information, Education and Communication (IEC).

Under this program, separate toilets for girls in government schools in rural Ludhiana, and ladies’ toilets for staff and visitors in various police premises under Ludhiana Police Commissionerate were also constructed.

217,129: Beneficiaries.

32,149: Toilets constructed.

Satya Bharti School Program

Jodhpur in Rajasthan, Amritsar, Ludhiana and Sangrur in Punjab, Kaithal, Kurukshetra, Rewari, Mahendergarh, and Jhajjar in Haryana, Farrukhabad and Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu.