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The vision of the company’s CSR is to strengthen community relationship

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– Vinita Singhania, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, JK Lakshmi Cement

What are the activities you are involved under CSR commitment and how the government mandate is prescribing various benchmarks?
The mission statement of the company unequivocally state to be a socially responsible corporate citizen. This commitment had given our organisation to adopt an effective CSR approach to implement multiple interventions in the surrounding regions of our business and plant locations, to bring transformational changes in the lives of the marginalised and vulnerable communities and groups. The CSR policy of the company strongly reflects the commitment towards inclusive growth and development. The vision of the company’s CSR is to strengthen community relationship and to bring sustainable change in quality of life of neighborhood community through innovative solutions in education, health, livelihoods and community development.

The company is undertaking multiple CSR projects like NayaSavera – a family integrated welfare programme, which focusses on reducing maternal and infant’s mortality; project Aarambh aimed at bringing back drop-outs and never-been-to-school children to the school; Gyan Lakshmi; Arogya Lakshmi; Anna Lakshmi; support to"Savera School" for differently-abled children; VamaLakhsmi for skilling of women and girls and various others projects in the thematic area of health, education, livelihoods; environmental conservation; water and sanitation and rural development.

Under thematic area of livelihoods and skills development, the company implements various activities for the purpose of creating employability for unemployed youths,women and girls, through training on stitching, beautician, embroidery and two-wheeler repairing. Income generation projects like stitching and embroidery, broom, paper plate/dona, phenyl making, pickle/papad making, cotton bags, sanitary napkins are being implemented for women for generating additional income. Apart from the vocational training, other key intervention has been to support small and marginal farmers with high yielding varieties seeds to increase production and income. The company also implements"Vidya Scholarship" project for the purpose of supporting education of children of masons and petty contractors.

The government CSR mandate has resulted into various companies taking up the social development projects around their business facilities which is creating a "win-win" for the business as well as various stakeholders. The companies are bringing business core competencies and learning to the solution of social issues and problems, and which is resulting into high level of social entrepreneurship and innovations. Business approach has replaced "not-for-profit and philanthropic"approach towards larger social and economic issues of health, education, livelihoods, skilling, affordable housing, water and sanitation and host of other challenges which the disadvantaged groups and communities are facing in our country. Last but not the least, the CSR mandate has also brought "Project Management benchmarks" to social and community development projects along with company’s financial commitment to them.

How are the actual and prescribed budgets for the last three years? Please give details of allocations for various activities. How long it will take for you to complete the mission you have undertaken in that particular region?
The actual and prescribed CSR budget for the company for last three is as below: CSR Budget & Actual (2017-20)

CSR Budget & Actual (2017-20)

Figures in Rs Lakh

FY

Budget

Actual

2017-18

89.00

130.78

2018-19

83.48

122.48

2019-20

172.04

181.48

Details ofallocations for various CSR activities for FY 2019-20 is tabulated below:

CSR expenses (2019-20)

Figures in Rs Lakh

Sl.No.

CSR activities

Amount spent

1

Health Care (NayaSavera Project, Aarogya Lakshmi, Ann Lakshmi, medical camps, Covid-19 relief activities)

53.44

2

Education (Project Aarambh, Project Saksham, Gyan Lakshmi, deployment of teachers, computer training, e-Learning, NIOS certification)

83.66

3

Water and sanitation

15.48

4

Vocational skills and livelihoods

17.1

5

Rural development

11.80

Total

181.48

Almost all the CSR projects of the company are aimed at bringing transformational changes in the lives of the disadvantaged and marginalised communities located at remote and or under-served locations. The CSR projects are being implemented to address the issues of low maternal and child health status; lack of quality medical health services for the poor and marginalised communities; high incidence of out -of-school and school drop-out children; poor infrastructure of government schools; lack of skills among youths and women for self and job employment in the villages and communities across plant locations, which benefit the disadvantaged, vulnerable and economically marginalised communities like scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, below poverty line families, small and marginal farmers, landless groups, women-headed families, special children, person suffering with chronic diseases like MDR-TB, and youths with no skills for either employability or resources for small business.

The kind of exclusion and inter-generational deprivation and marginalisation which many of these community’s face, require long-term sustained and multi-stakeholders, multi-dimensional efforts for their development. In this context, while various CSR projects aim at achieving time-bound targets, the company believes that achieving the mission will only happen over medium to long-term.

What has been the impact of various CSR activities in various geographies?What is the criterion adopted in choosing the target group or community for CSR initiatives? The various CSR projects have been able to bring qualitative changes in the lives of the community around the plant location. The impact has been on various facets of life like improving the general health well-being including maternal and child health parameters; education and skills of women and girls;empowering women,girls and youths through skilling and promotion of various livelihoods leading to increase in their income level impacting positively their general familial and societal status. The company initiated project Aarambh with a focus to bring tribal children back to school in the Pindwara block of Sirohi district in Rajasthan. Since beginning number of tribal children-drop-outs and never-been-to-schooluhave been enrolled into various government schools.

Naya Savera-an integrated family welfare programme-with an aim to improve reproductive and child health, has significantly improved mother and child health among the marginalised schedule caste and tribal women living in very difficult terrain. The company has supported number of government schools with libraries; renovation of buildings; construction of toilets and classrooms; provision of additional support teachers; drinking water, etc. across its plant locations, which have improved learning environment and outcomes. More than 3,000 women and girls have attended company training programmes on tailoring; beautician; basic computer; mobile repairing; embroidery nearby its various plants in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, and Chhattisgarh. The company has also done impactful projects for water conservation; differently abled children and other vulnerable groups which have improved their lives.

The company as per its CSR policy, work in partnership with neighborhood communities around its cement plants locations for the purpose of CSR projects designing and implementation. This is

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Concrete

India donates 225t of cement for Myanmar earthquake relief

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On 23 May 2025, the Indian Navy ship UMS Myitkyina arrived at Thilawa (MITT) port carrying 225 tonnes of cement provided by the Indian government to aid post-earthquake rebuilding efforts in Myanmar. As reported by the Global Light of Myanmar, a formal handover of 4500 50kg cement bags took place that afternoon. The Yangon Region authorities managed the loading of the cement onto trucks for distribution to the earthquake-affected zones.

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Concrete

Reclamation of Used Oil for a Greener Future

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In this insightful article, KB Mathur, Founder and Director, Global Technical Services, explores how reclaiming used lubricants through advanced filtration and on-site testing can drive cost savings, enhance productivity, and support a greener industrial future. Read on to discover how oil regeneration is revolutionising sustainability in cement and core industries.

The core principle of the circular economy is to redefine the life cycle of materials and products. Unlike traditional linear models where waste from industrial production is dumped/discarded into the environment causing immense harm to the environment;the circular model seeks to keep materials literally in continuous circulation. This is achievedthrough processes cycle of reduction, regeneration, validating (testing) and reuse. Product once
validated as fit, this model ensures that products and materials are reintroduced into the production system, minimising waste. The result? Cleaner and greener manufacturing that fosters a more sustainable planet for future generations.

The current landscape of lubricants
Modern lubricants, typically derived from refined hydrocarbons, made from highly refined petroleum base stocks from crude oil. These play a critical role in maintaining the performance of machinery by reducing friction, enabling smooth operation, preventing damage and wear. However, most of these lubricants; derived from finite petroleum resources pose an environmental challenge once used and disposed of. As industries become increasingly conscious of their environmental impact, the paramount importance or focus is shifting towards reducing the carbon footprint and maximising the lifespan of lubricants; not just for environmental reasons but also to optimise operational costs.
During operations, lubricants often lose their efficacy and performance due to contamination and depletion of additives. When these oils reach their rejection limits (as they will now offer poor or bad lubrication) determined through laboratory testing, they are typically discarded contributing to environmental contamination and pollution.
But here lies an opportunity: Used lubricants can be regenerated and recharged, restoring them to their original performance level. This not only mitigates environmental pollution but also supports a circular economy by reducing waste and conserving resources.

Circular economy in lubricants
In the world of industrial machinery, lubricating oils while essential; are often misunderstood in terms of their life cycle. When oils are used in machinery, they don’t simply ‘DIE’. Instead, they become contaminated with moisture (water) and solid contaminants like dust, dirt, and wear debris. These contaminants degrade the oil’s effectiveness but do not render it completely unusable. Used lubricants can be regenerated via advanced filtration processes/systems and recharged with the use of performance enhancing additives hence restoring them. These oils are brought back to ‘As-New’ levels. This new fresher lubricating oil is formulated to carry out its specific job providing heightened lubrication and reliable performance of the assets with a view of improved machine condition. Hence, contributing to not just cost savings but leading to magnified productivity, and diminished environmental stress.

Save oil, save environment
At Global Technical Services (GTS), we specialise in the regeneration of hydraulic oils and gear oils used in plant operations. While we don’t recommend the regeneration of engine oils due to the complexity of contaminants and additives, our process ensures the continued utility of oils in other applications, offering both cost-saving and environmental benefits.

Regeneration process
Our regeneration plant employs state-of-the-art advanced contamination removal systems including fine and depth filters designed to remove dirt, wear particles, sludge, varnish, and water. Once contaminants are removed, the oil undergoes comprehensive testing to assess its physico-chemical properties and contamination levels. The test results indicate the status of the regenerated oil as compared to the fresh oil.
Depending upon the status the oil is further supplemented with high performance additives to bring it back to the desired specifications, under the guidance of an experienced lubrication technologist.
Contamination Removal ? Testing ? Additive Addition
(to be determined after testing in oil test laboratory)

The steps involved in this process are as follows:
1. Contamination removal: Using advanced filtration techniques to remove contaminants.
2. Testing: Assessing the oil’s properties to determine if it meets the required performance standards.
3. Additive addition: Based on testing results, performance-enhancing additives are added to restore the oil’s original characteristics.

On-site oil testing laboratories
The used oil from the machine passes through 5th generation fine filtration to be reclaimed as ‘New Oil’ and fit to use as per stringent industry standards.
To effectively implement circular economy principles in oil reclamation from used oil, establishing an on-site oil testing laboratory is crucial at any large plants or sites. Scientific testing methods ensure that regenerated oil meets the specifications required for optimal machine performance, making it suitable for reuse as ‘New Oil’ (within specified tolerances). Hence, it can be reused safely by reintroducing it in the machines.
The key parameters to be tested for regenerated hydraulic, gear and transmission oils (except Engine oils) include both physical and chemical characteristics of the lubricant:

  • Kinematic Viscosity
  • Flash Point
  • Total Acid Number
  • Moisture / Water Content
  • Oil Cleanliness
  • Elemental Analysis (Particulates, Additives and Contaminants)
  • Insoluble

The presence of an on-site laboratory is essential for making quick decisions; ensuring that test reports are available within 36 to 48 hours and this prevents potential mechanical issues/ failures from arising due to poor lubrication. This symbiotic and cyclic process helps not only reduce waste and conserve oil, but also contributes in achieving cost savings and playing a big role in green economy.

Conclusion
The future of industrial operations depends on sustainability, and reclaiming used lubricating oils plays a critical role in this transformation. Through 5th Generation Filtration processes, lubricants can be regenerated and restored to their original levels, contributing to both environmental preservation and economic efficiency.
What would happen if we didn’t recycle our lubricants? Let’s review the quadruple impacts as mentioned below:
1. Oil Conservation and Environmental Impact: Used lubricating oils after usage are normally burnt or sold to a vendor which can be misused leading to pollution. Regenerating oils rather than discarding prevents unnecessary waste and reduces the environmental footprint of the industry. It helps save invaluable resources, aligning with the principles of sustainability and the circular economy. All lubricating oils (except engine oils) can be regenerated and brought to the level of ‘As New Oils’.
2. Cost Reduction Impact: By extending the life of lubricants, industries can significantly cut down on operating costs associated with frequent oil changes, leading to considerable savings over time. Lubricating oils are expensive and saving of lubricants by the process of regeneration will overall be a game changer and highly economical to the core industries.
3. Timely Decisions Impact: Having an oil testing laboratory at site is of prime importance for getting test reports within 36 to 48 hours enabling quick decisions in critical matters that may
lead to complete shutdown of the invaluable asset/equipment.
4. Green Economy Impact: Oil Regeneration is a fundamental part of the green economy. Supporting industries in their efforts to reduce waste, conserve resources, and minimise pollution is ‘The Need of Our Times’.

About the author:
KB Mathur, Founder & Director, Global Technical Services, is a seasoned mechanical engineer with 56 years of experience in India’s oil industry and industrial reliability. He pioneered ‘Total Lubrication Management’ and has been serving the mining and cement sectors since 1999.

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Concrete

Charting the Green Path

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The Indian cement industry has reached a critical juncture in its sustainability journey. In a landmark move, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has, for the first time, announced greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity reduction targets for 282 entities, including 186 cement plants, under the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme, 2023. These targets, to be enforced starting FY2025-26, are aligned with India’s overarching ambition of achieving net zero emissions by 2070.
Cement manufacturing is intrinsically carbon-intensive, contributing to around 7 per cent of global GHG emissions, or approximately 3.8 billion tonnes annually. In India, the sector is responsible for 6 per cent of total emissions, underscoring its critical role in national climate mitigation strategies. This regulatory push, though long overdue, marks a significant shift towards accountability and structured decarbonisation.
However, the path to a greener cement sector is fraught with challenges—economic viability, regulatory ambiguity, and technical limitations continue to hinder the widespread adoption of sustainable alternatives. A major gap lies in the lack of a clear, India-specific definition for ‘green cement’, which is essential to establish standards and drive industry-wide transformation.
Despite these hurdles, the industry holds immense potential to emerge as a climate champion. Studies estimate that through targeted decarbonisation strategies—ranging from clinker substitution and alternative fuels to carbon capture and innovative product development—the sector could reduce emissions by 400 to 500 million metric tonnes by 2030.
Collaborations between key stakeholders and industry-wide awareness initiatives (such as Earth Day) are already fostering momentum. The responsibility now lies with producers, regulators and technology providers to fast-track innovation and investment.
The time to act is now. A sustainable cement industry is not only possible—it is imperative.

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