ET Awards: Mahindra & Mahindra wins Corporate Citizen award for empowering the girl child

Mahindra & Mahindra: Transforming the country by empowering the girl child

Corporate Citizen contenders: Axis Bank, Dr. Reddy’s, HDFC Bank, HUL, Mahindra & Mahindra

The ET Awards jury picked Mahindra & Mahindra as Corporate Citizen of the Year for its pioneering Project Nanhi Kali, which aims to keep girls from poor families in school, and its watershed development programme among other corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

In the first round of voting, M&M and its nearest rival received five votes each. In the second round, M&M got five as against two for the rival, while one jury member abstained.

“The jury recognised the company’s long-standing contribution through the Nanhi Kali project and also its work in the area of water conservation,” it said.

Project Nanhi Kali volunteers seek to ensure that girls from economically disadvantaged families get primary and high school education. The programme, at the first level, provides academic support and educational kits. It also engages with the community to ensure that girls are not forced to drop out of school. Counselling and sensitising the community on gender issues are also an important element of the project. Mahindra & Mahindra chairman Anand Mahindra founded Project Nanhi Kali in 2005.

“To me, CSR is more about creating the conditions for inclusive growth where every person feels empowered to create a better future for themselves and their families,” he said. “So, it’s really not about writing a cheque and then forgetting about the issue, rather it’s about applying strategic thought to the social challenges and then developing programmes that are executed with the rigour normally associated with businesses, to create real and lasting social impact.”

In 2006, the programme’s reach was just about 14,000 girls across a few states. Today, it supports 1,30,000 underprivileged girls across the country. The programme is being managed by the KC Mahindra Education Trust and Naandi Foundation.

“I am particularly passionate about the cause of girl child education through our initiative. Education is an important focus area that I believe can transform India by unleashing the tremendous potential of its people,” Mahindra said.

Mahindra & Mahindra spent more than Rs 83 crore in FY17 on various CSR initiatives. The watershed development programme covers 83 villages of Damoh and Bhopal districts, benefiting 12,679 households.