Education

3rd December 2024: Milaan Foundation’s Girl Icon program has achieved groundbreaking success, reducing child marriage rates by over 98% in rural Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka. A recent study reveals that child marriage rates have dropped to less than 1% in these regions, compared to state averages of 15-23%. This achievement highlights the effectiveness of community-led efforts in empowering adolescent girls and reshaping their futures. Since 2007, Milaan has reached over 100,000 young people, with a focus on breaking cycles of poverty, challenging deeply rooted cultural norms, and promoting education. The foundation’s interventions have provided adolescent girls with the tools to defy early marriage and build brighter futures, particularly in India’s most disadvantaged rural communities. “We’ve seen firsthand the

28 November 2024: Virtusa Foundation, the CSR arm of Virtusa Corporation, has launched a large-scale Miyawaki plantation Drive at Gitam University and Guru Nanak University, planting over 11,500 native saplings. This initiative promotes biodiversity, combats climate change, and fosters sustainable urban ecosystems, further strengthening Virtusa’s leadership in corporate environmental responsibility. Spread across 3.1 acres of land in Hyderabad, 8,000 saplings at Gitam University and 3,500 at Guru Nanak University were planted through the widely known Miyawaki method. The Miyawaki method, a Japanese afforestation technique, fosters rapid growth, enhances biodiversity, and improves soil stability. The 50 native species selected for this plantation drive are expected to grow over seven feet within two years, creating a dense, self-sustaining ecosystem that will benefit

25 November 2024:  Milaan Foundation’s Girl Icon Program has been officially recognized as part of the HundrED Global Collection 2025 during a ceremony held at Helsinki City Hall, Finland on November 14, 2024. The program was celebrated as one of the top 100 education innovations worldwide, chosen for its transformational impact and potential to scale. The award was presented during the HundrED Innovation Summit, an annual gathering of global changemakers in education. The event provided a unique opportunity to share the story of the Girl Icon Program on an international platform and connect with leaders and innovators dedicated to reimagining education for a better future. “This recognition isn’t just an award. It’s a testament to the hard work, determination, and

25 November 2024: The Indian School of Business (ISB) today announced a major CSR gift of ₹30 Crores by the Ramoji Foundation towards aiding infrastructure development at the school’s Hyderabad campus. The funds received through this generous gift will support the construction of a state-of-the-art 430-seater auditorium as part of the upcoming Executive Centre. Upon completion, the facility will boost the school’s capacity to host international conferences, research seminars, distinguished lectures, and other prominent academic events.   Recognizing the impact of the gift, Harish Manwani, Chairperson of the ISB Board, said, “The largesse of our donors has played an important role in ISB’s ability to stay true to its vision of being a world-class institution for learning and research. We

November 21, 2024: Hindware Limited, India’s leading bathware brand, continues its mission to empower young girls and uplift communities through its ‘Build a Toilet, Build Her Future’ program. Launched in 2020 under the aegis, #HygieneThatEmpowers CSR initiative, the program takes on a new dimension with the ‘Dare to Dream’ theme this year, leveraging the power of safe and accessible sanitation to empower girls to stay in school, pursue their dreams, and build a brighter future. Inadequate sanitation facilities remain a critical issue in rural areas, significantly affecting girls’ education, and contributing to the dropout of 23% of girls from school upon reaching puberty. Another survey from Sulabh International highlights that girls in rural areas avoid school toilets during menstruation due