Even as we in India have made a mark on the globe as a reservoir of intellectual capital, as a nation we are grappling with quality of life challenges. More so in the hinterland where poverty continues to stalk nearly 26 crore of our rural populace. From independence to date, we have come a long way and we have to go long way as well. Regrettably our human development index is at an abysmally low - 127.

For over several decades, your company has been engaged in community work, concentrating largely in the rural areas close to your company’s plants. Your company’s social projects are carried out under the umbrella of the
Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives and Rural development, under the leadership of Mrs. Rajashree Birla, your Director. The Centre is the apex body. It provides the strategic direction for the Group’s community work, ensuring performance management and measurement of the impact of its initiatives as well.

In working with the communities, we gauge what are their real needs. What we discovered is that people’s first need is to have potable water, second is agriculture and ways of sustainable livelihood, third is health care
facilities, fourth is education and fifth is infrastructural facilities. So these are our areas of focus. Within it, we have prioritised education and water projects.

For the year 2004-05 we have made significant progress, a summary of which is provided below.

Healthcare

• Conducted 616 medical camps at which over 85,000 villagers were medically examined and those who were afflicted treated for their ailments.
• 5,470 villagers were checked for their eye sight of which 1,232 senior citizens were provided with intra ocular lens and 552 were given spectacles for better sight.
• 206 patients diagnosed with tuberculosis were treated and cured.
• We put the smile back on the face of 196 children through cleft-lip surgery.
• 132 physically impaired persons were provided with artificial limbs fitment, while reconstructive surgery enabled 385 polio afflicted persons walk on their feet again.
• In collaboration with the Indian Red Cross Society, blood donation camps were organised at the various plants.
• 293 persons were provided with oral health care.
• AIDS awareness camps built greater awareness amongst hundreds of students.
• At the company run hospitals at its various plants, over two lakh people are given medical care at extremely subsidised rates.

Mother and child care

• Immunised 48,904 children against polio and 1,500 children for Hepatitis B.
• 46,657 couples have taken to planned families. 1500 persons opted for family planning operations.

• The drop out rate has lowered significantly. Over 1045 children between the ages of 3 to 6 have been enlisted in balwadis run by your company.
• 205 girls participated in a residential camp for college-going girls, focused on character building.
• 115 students enlisted in the pragnya shibirs.
• Merit scholarships were earned by 302 students.
• Training programmes were organised for 660 school children.
• Training programmes were organised for 660 school children.
• The Bal Sanskar Kendras are growing and currently have 250 children.
• Midday meals are being provided to 6000 children in 35 schools in the interiors.

Sustainable livelihood

• Agriculture through farm-based programmes, farmer training, nursery raising, setting up of vermin compost units, seed multiplication and intercropping has benefited thousands of farmers.
• Immunised 23,800 animals in 22 animal husbandry camps.
• As part of dairy development, 18 milk collection centres have been set up, benefiting 1,200 families.
• The Gokul Dairy project at Aditya Cement boasts of a total turnover of Rs.54 lakh since its inception accrued through the processing of 3,96,985 litres of milk.
• Water harvesting structures, such as hand-pumps installation, erecting check-dams, ponds, roof-water harvesting and digging wells support thousands of families.

Women self-help groups

• Tailoring training centres specially catering to widows, single mothers, physically challenged, scheduled castes and other women from the weaker sections of the society, have enabled over 3,900 women eke a
  livelihood for themselves. Many of them have also been provided sewing machines at subsidised rates.
• 100 self-help groups have enabled the empowerment of nearly 600 women through skills-training and income generation.
• 20 women weavers are engaged in carpet weaving at the carpet-making centre in Rajasthan. What is most encouraging is the fact that these carpets are exported by a Jaipur Export House to the western world.
• Over 60 sewing and embroidery training centres benefit 1000 women. Other income generation activities, such as agarbatti making, mushroom cultivation, blanket weaving, knitting and earthworm cultivation provide 800 women with sustainable livelihood.

Social welfare

• At Harihar at a mass marriage programme 102 scheduled caste couples were united.
• 75 smokeless chulas have been provided.

Infrastructure

• Infrastructure development is supported by your company through the construction and repair of approach roads, setting up troughs and drinking water structures, health centres and facilities for the under-served communities, including construction of low cost toiletries.
• Your company has also begun training programmes in Panchayati Raj for the villagers to motivate them to participate more actively in the development of their villages.

Your company treats its social projects with the same seriousness as its business projects. Your company has a one year plan and a three year rolling plan, with milestones, timelines and measurement mechanisms. At the
plant level, the head of the plant is responsible for the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities. He and his team constantly apprise the Centre and the Business Director of the progress made.

In a sense, CSR at your company is very much on the radar of the top management. Our board and all of our employees are fully committed to the CSR programme. In our own small way, we are endeavouring to build a
better, sustainable way of life for the weaker sections of society, making a real difference. In doing so, our endeavour is also to raise our country’s human development index.