Idea Cellular invests Rs. 18.6 crore on CSR in FY 2015-16

Idea Cellular, one of the leading telecom operators in the country, has invested Rs 18.6 crore on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in FY 2015-16.

In addition, Idea CSR mobilized resources from Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) and state government for mid-day meals and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for the Polio Programme.

Idea's CSR activities reached 9 states, 33 districts and 3,250 villages providing support for education, healthcare and sanitation.

Himanshu Kapania, Managing Director, Idea Cellular said, “Sustainability at Idea Cellular is the holistic pursuit of a vision to be the most admired telecom company that creates long-term value for all stakeholders by balancing economic growth with environmental and social development.”

“Access to information has a significant impact on livelihoods, better healthcare, education, environment and community empowerment. Being at the centre of this transformation, Idea has a significant opportunity to bring technology, networks and expertise of our people to create sustained value for all our stakeholders, customers, community and the society at large,” added Kapania.

Idea has initiated distribution of Solar ‘Urja’ lamps in partnership with IIT Bombay with the objective of providing clean energy to students for studying at night as well as skill development through learning assembling of the lamp. Under the project Idea has planned to assemble and distribute 3.25 lakh lamps in 26 rural blocks of MP, Rajasthan, Odisha and Maharashtra. The pilot phase has started with the training and distribution of lamps in Mohgaon and Mawai blocks of Mandla district in Madhya Pradesh.

Idea has partnered with Pratham Education Foundation to initiate the Angrezi Seekho project through the use of IVRS system on a cell phone. The objective of the project is to test the effectiveness of cell phone as an English-learning tool for underprivileged children, motivate students to read and comprehend simple sentences, enable students to understand syntax and grammar and learn new words. The project is running in seven locations: Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow, Pilani, Pune, Talasari and Vikramgad.

In order to contribute to the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and make Gram Panchayats Open Defecation Free, Idea Cellular has partnered with the Department of Rural Development, Government of Jammu & Kashmir, for the construction of 2,010 toilets in 10 Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana Gram Panchayats.

Idea Cellular has supported Akshaya Patra Foundation in providing hygienic and nutritious mid-day meals to school children in nine locations - Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Cuttack, Puri, Jaipur, Lucknow, Bengaluru and Mysore.

The Idea Tamil Nadu and Chennai Circle Team have supported infrastructure restoration such as civil structure, furniture, computers and printers, books and journals. Renovated toilets, provided water purifiers and water storage tanks in 19 schools in Chennai. The company has partnered with Rotary International’s India National Polio Plus Society (RIINPS) to continue vaccination of children, organize camps and launch awareness campaigns across India.

Idea Cellular's subsidiary companies ITL, ICISL, ABTL aligned with ENT World LLP to provide support in pre-operation counselling to the family and pre-evaluation of the child, pre-operative vaccines to prevent infection, Cochlear implants and post-operative rehabilitation including switch on and auditory verbal therapy. The children (mostly under 5 years of age) identified for the Cochlear implant are from the weaker sections of the society and are mostly drawn from the special schools.

Idea’s sustainability roadmap and execution covers 13 of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), the key framework for responsible businesses across the world.

Pravin Prashant
pravin@varindia.com