Udaipur, 6 May, 2020.

As people and organisations from all walks of life are pitching in to help the government in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the two Rajasthan based Vedanta companies, Cairn Oil & Gas and Hindustan Zinc, have extended an INR 10 crore contribution to the Rajasthan CMRF COVID-19 Mitigation Fund. This contribution is over and above approximately INR 8 crore that the two companies are spending to ramp up community outreach in their operational areas.  

The hon’ble Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Shri Ashok Gehlot too acknowledged the Vedanta group’s efforts to support the state during these challenging times.

The two companies, operational in Barmer and Udaipur respectively, have steadfastly continued operations with a focus on Only Safe Production in these trying times, with minimal personnel and amidst stringent health and safety protocols. In addition, they have reached out to help local people and communities by spreading awareness and through CSR interventions in the areas of healthcare and sanitation to aid the efforts of local administration.

Rajasthan government and district administration have been working diligently to fight Corona virus. Many steps have been taken by the state government to ensure safety of people and adopted precautionary procedures across Rajasthan. The Vedanta group has always been a partner in the state’s progress and aims to do its bit in this endeavour.

“It is time to make collective efforts to fight the Corona virus pandemic to bring a significant change.  We are facing multiple challenges but it’s the country that comes first and it is our duty at a critical time like this to give back to society. Vedanta has had a long and fruitful association with the state of Rajasthan. Our commitment towards the people and growth of Rajasthan is unwavering. We look forward to supporting the state and district administrations in fighting this pandemic and restoring at the earliest” said Mr. Anil Agarwal, Chairman, Vedanta Limited.

Model resource centre for the community

State-of-the-art Anganwadis in the form of Nand Ghars are a transformative leap dedicated to benefit rural children and women in India. In Rajasthan, already 914 Nand Ghars, modern Anganwadis are running across 11 districts. These Nand Ghars aim to impact more than 36,500 children and over 27,000 women.

In addition, theVedanta Foundation led Post-Graduate Girls’ College is a not-for-profit institute established in 1995 in Reengus, Rajasthan. The 3,000 students who benefit from the college have relentlessly worked in the battle against Corona crisis by distributing groceries, homemade sanitizers, and masks to thousands of people within the community.

Adding mettle to the nation’s development

Being the largest taxpayer in Rajasthan, and as a responsible corporate, Hindustan Zinc has always been a frontrunner in supporting the nation’s development, generating employment and helping eradicate poverty. As per government directives, Hindustan Zinc has begun its operations while adopting all protocols related to theCovid-19 pandemic. There is no compromise on employee safety and hygiene while the company continues operations for the welfare of the people, and to help mitigate the economic slowdown.

HZL has been working across 189 villages and 6 districts in Rajasthan and Pantnagar in Uttarakhand to combat the coronavirus pandemic.It is extending relief measures to the community in the form of dry rations to more than 30,000 families and has mobilised about 20,000 SHG women to contribute grains within the community under The Grain Bank initiative.It has so far supplied more than 80,000 masks (including N95 masks, 3-ply masks and cloth masks), 10,000 PPE Kits and 10,000 goggles, and 2,000 disposable thermometers and 5,000 face shields for strengthening medical facilities.

Continuing to power India’s economy

Oil and gas production falls in the mission-critical economic activity category, which the country must continue to run the economy. Therefore, the company’s “Energy Warriors”, currently a seventh of the usual workforce onsite, are going beyond their regular shift of duty to keep up production for India’s energy security. For its home state and most prolific oil fields in Rajasthan, this means keeping crucial jobs, production, revenues, and therefore the regional economy going.

Cairn’s awareness and sensitization campaigns have reached 525 villages in Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh. In Barmer, it is working across 69 villages under the ‘Sanjeevni’ project against coronavirus. Apart from handing over the Cairn Centre of Excellence (CCoE) in Jodhpur to district administration as a quarantine facility with a 120-bed capacity, it has also contributed an ambulance, 20 ventilators, 33,000 face masks and 2,535 liters of hand sanitizer.