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

– 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)

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

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