Livelihoods and Community Engagement

15th July 2024: AgriWings, a leader in precision agricultural drone spraying services, is making strides to revolutionize the agricultural landscape through its Village Level Entrepreneur (VLE) channel. This initiative aims to empower rural youth, providing them with the tools, training, and support necessary to succeed as entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector. AgriWings is dedicated to equipping VLEs with the knowledge and skills required to thrive. The training encompasses various aspects of agricultural entrepreneurship, focusing on quality management and adherence to Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). By ensuring proper SOPs, AgriWings guarantees that VLEs maintain high standards in their operations, fostering trust and reliability. Recognizing the financial hurdles faced by many aspiring entrepreneurs, AgriWings offers comprehensive loan processing assistance. This support makes

26th June 2024: In response to India’s critical skills gap, the Magic Bus India Foundation has played a pivotal role in training and empowering young people with life and employability skills. Through its Adolescent Programme, the organization has empowered 15 lakh adolescents in 2023-24, equipping them with life skills to achieve school, life, and work outcomes. In the same year, the Livelihood Programme, which is aligned with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and National Occupational Standards (NOS) framework enrolled over 1.25 lakh youth and placed over 80% in sustainable jobs providing them with transferable life and employability skills.  Over the last 25 years, Magic Bus has empowered the lives of nearly 34 lakh young people.  It has its eyes set

18 June 2024: In the heart of Maharashtra’s tribal interiors, Tata Motors has embarked on a transformative mission—the One Million Plantation initiative. This ambitious project aims to sow saplings of hope for local communities in the Palghar district. To date, 1.5 million fruit and forest saplings have taken root, covering 13,000 acres across eight blocks and breathing life into once-barren land. As part of the Integrated Village Development Programme (IVDP), Tata Motors’ initiative not only curbs distress migration but also generates income for local communities by providing sustainable income, leveraging the MNREGs scheme for sapling aftercare, and later through produce sales. So far, more than 1.5 million plantations have benefited 13,000 farmers in the region by transforming 13,000 acres of

7 June 2024: UltraTech Cement Limited, India’s largest cement and ready-mix concrete company, announced today that it has conserved 105 million cubic meters of water in FY24, making it five times water positive. This conservation includes water reused, recycled, harvested, and recharged within its unit premises and through community interventions, marking a significant increase of over 20 million cubic meters from FY23. UltraTech’s water management efforts extend beyond its unit premises into the communities where it operates. The company’s water conservation initiatives underscore its belief in the criticality of water as a shared resource essential for both business operations and community wellbeing. Proactive measures include installing rainwater harvesting systems across site locations and setting up Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) plants

28th May 2024: Recent reports showed that there was about 35% loss in mangroves between 1996 and 2010, showcasing a concerning trend in environmental degradation. Mangrove ecosystems play a significant role in stabilizing coastlines, making their preservations of coastline, making their preservation a crucial, paramount global threat. They can sequester carbon at a rate five times greater than tropical forests. To respond to this urgent need, United Way Bengaluru (UWBe) has launched their aspiring and impactful campaign, called ‘Mangroves Matter’, to re-energize the mangrove ecosystem. The first foot is at Pulicat or Pazhaverkadu, which is a coastal town near Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Known as the ‘jungle of roots’ in Tamil, Pulicat encompasses a vast expanse of 720 sq. km, constituting

May 13th, 2024: PLEXCONCIL, India’s apex trade body for plastics exports, successfully concluded its inaugural beach clean-up drive in collaboration with Greenmyna, a leading clean energy solutions advocate. The event, held on May 12th, 2024, at Carter Road, Bandra, drew 150 volunteers rallying together to combat plastic pollution and preserve the coastal environment. The beach clean-up drive united a diverse group of participants, including PLEXCONCIL COA Members from the Western region, council officials, students from the Institute of Chemical Technology, Indian Institute of Technology, Indian Plastic Institute, Mumbai and other colleges, as well as environmentally conscious citizens. Together, they collected and disposed of significant amounts of plastic waste, restoring the pristine condition of the shoreline. “We are overwhelmed by the

9th May 2024: Delhi: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DSLSA) has completed the first phase of ‘Project Saksham, a chance at new beginnings’, aimed at initiating comprehensive rehabilitation and reintegration of undertrial accused persons into society. The project seeks to equip these individuals with the necessary skills for successful reintegration and decrease the likelihood of recidivism. As part of this initiative, DSLSA organised a ‘Job Mela’ at Rouse Avenue Courts Complex to facilitate job placements for these individuals, specifically within the hospitality industry. 83 Letters of Intent were handed over to deserving candidates by companies in the hospitality, food service, and healthcare sectors today. The issue of undertrial incarceration is multifaceted, with individuals detained awaiting

9th May: ENTOD Pharmaceuticals joined hands with the Rotary Club of Bombay Seacoast, has undertaken a CSR initiative by donating an ambulance to the remote village of Machhal in the Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir, situated just 4 km from the Line of Control (LOC). The symbolic handover of the ambulance occurred at the Sahi Memorial Hospital, amidst the presence of our armed forces, with Mr. Kishore Masurkar, Chairman of ENTOD Pharmaceuticals, presenting the vehicle to the Sarpanch of Machhal village. With a geographical area spanning 212.1 hectares and a population of 1614, Machhal village has long faced dire medical challenges. The absence of adequate healthcare facilities has compelled residents to undertake arduous journeys of over 130 km to