Jaipur, February, 2022.

The Anil Agarwal Foundation on Tuesday signed an MOU with the Government of Rajasthan to develop 25,000 Nand Ghars across 13 districts. The MOU signing ceremony was attended by Rajasthan Chief Minister, Shri Ashok Gehlot and the Founder & Chairman of Vedanta Mr. Anil Agarwal.

The initiative to establish 25,000 Nand Ghars is aimed to impact more than 10 lakh children and 7.5 lakh women across the State of Rajasthan. This modernization and service provisioning will be done jointly by Anil Agarwal Foundation and ICDS under WCD Rajasthan.

Project Nand Ghar began its journey in the year 2015 with the vision to transform the lives of 7 crore children and 2 crore women across the 13.7 lakh Anganwadis in India and are established in the partnership with the Union Ministry of Women and Child development. Nand Ghars are modernized Anganwadis which aim to eradicate malnutrition among children, provide pre-primary education, healthcare, and economic empowerment for rural women. Nand Ghars are extensively working at the grassroots level in the communities aiming to bridge the urban-rural gap with best-in-class services through modernized Anganwadis; working as a catalyst towards transforming the Anganwadi ecosystem of the country.

Since the start of its operations, project Nand Ghar emerged as a focal point for socio economic development of the communities. With more than 1300 Nand Ghars developed in Rajasthan, Nand Ghars are directly impacting the lives of 52,000 Children and 39,000 women across the state.

Vedanta’s Chairman Anil Agarwal expressed his happiness at the rapid transformation being brought about by Nand Ghars in the state. “It gives me immense pride to see Vedanta’s flagship project, Nand Ghar, making a big difference at the grassroots. We are delighted to have signed an MOU for developing 25,000 Nand Ghars in the state of Rajasthan. These Nand Ghars will be the catalyst for change which will empower women and children, thereby changing the rural landscape to create self- reliant communities.”, he said.

On this occasion, the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Shri Ashok Gehlot said, “Today is an important day for Rajasthan's development journey, with Anil Agarwal Foundation signing an MoU with GoR for converting 25,000 anganwadis into Nand Ghars. This partnership will pave the way for renewed vigor in driving women and child development in the state”

Nand Ghars use state-of-the-art technologies and infrastructure and are a model resource centre for the community. Some of the key features are:

●       Solar Panels: 24 x 7 electricity for essential facilities

●       Clean Hygienic toilets: For healthy sanitation and inculcating behavioural changes

●       Smart TV: E Learning through 40 weeks of scientific curriculum for children

●       Water Purifiers: Access to safe drinking water for Nand Ghar children and women

Nand Ghars offer a holistic set of services to its community members, including e-learning for children, primary healthcare, economic empowerment for women. Nand Ghars have partnered with best-in-class organizations and working closely with ICDS to upgrade the Anganwadis services so that the community can utilize it to the best capacity and develop as resource centres for villages.