Indus Valley Times

By A K Sahoo

Bhubaneswar/ Lanjigarh (Odisha); Jan. 12; Vedanta Limited, Lanjigarh, India’s premier producer of metallurgical grade alumina, bagged the Odisha CSR Forum Award in three categories: healthcare and hygiene, women empowerment, and production of alumina and community development initiatives during COVID-19, for the year 2022. The company’s developmental interventions in these fields have had a transformative impact on the socio-economic advancement of its surrounding communities.

Receiving the award on behalf of the company, Mr GG Pal, Dy. CEO – Alumina Business, Vedanta Limited, said, “Vedanta Lanjigarh strives to create a tangible and sustainable social impact through its operations. Towards this end, we have undertaken deep community development interventions on the five pillars of education, healthcare, livelihood, grassroots sports and art & culture, with a special focus on women and child development. We are focused on partnering with the community towards our shared progress. These recognitions are an immense boost to our unceasing journey to bring sustainable development to Kalahandi and its surrounding areas.”

Healthcare is one of the core pillars of community development at Vedanta Lanjigarh, implemented under ‘Project Arogya’. Annually, the company is helping over 60,000 people access quality healthcare, through grassroots initiatives such as the Mobile Health Unit, Mega Health Camps and Cataract Camps, where services are provided in underserved areas, free of cost. In the recent past, the company has undertaken several new projects such as the introduction of a digital health card for enhanced patient services, and a collaboration with the Employee State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) to boost quality healthcare access for shopfloor employees and business partners. In FY23 alone, over 3,300 people from 9 gram panchayats have benefitted from the mega health camps.

Vedanta Lanijgarh’s women empowerment initiative, under the ambit of Project Sakhi, is focused on promoting access to better livelihood opportunities. The Shaktimayee Federation, a group of women entrepreneurs supported by Vedanta Lanjigarh, recently marked the 6th anniversary of its commencement of operations.  So far, the company has supported over 4,000 women from Kalahandi and Rayagada districts in taking up entrepreneurial activities like farming, kirana shops, sewing shops etc. with an aim to promote women in business. The project also links its members with beneficial government schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Yojana, and the Sukanya Yojana.

Vedanta Aluminium, a business of Vedanta Limited, is India’s largest producer of aluminium, manufacturing half of India’s aluminium i.e., 2.26 million tonnes in FY22. It is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. Vedanta Aluminium ranks 4th in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) 2021 world rankings for aluminium industry, a reflection of its sustainable development practices. The company has operated a 2 MTPA (million tonnes per annum) capacity alumina refinery in Lanjigarh (Kalahandi district, Odisha), India since 2007 and an associated 75 MW captive power plant. With its world-class aluminium smelters, alumina refinery and power plants in India, the company fulfils its mission of spurring emerging applications of aluminium as the ‘Metal of the Future’ for a greener tomorrow.