Company: Tata Chemicals Ltd.
Income 2005-2006 = Rs 3000 Cr (rounded off)
Net profit after tax (05-06) = Rs 300 Cr (rounded off)
Karmayog CSR Rating- 2/5
CSR activities:
Central to the corporate philosophy of Tata Chemicals is its passionate commitment to the social development of the communities in which it operates
Improving the quality of life and fostering sustainable and integrated development in the communities where it operates is central to Tata Chemicals’ corporate philosophy.
This objective of social responsibility is equally well-entrenched in the minds of its employees, who play an active part in providing financial support and empowering rural communities to chart their own development.
Tata Chemicals Limited (TCL) set up the Tata Chemicals Society for Rural Development (TCSRD) in 1980 to promote its social objectives for the communities in and around Mithapur and Babrala, where its facilities are located.
The Society works to protect and nurture the rural populations in and around TCL’s facilities, and helps people achieve self-sufficiency in natural resource management, livelihood support and the building of health and education infrastructure.
Taking into account the different geographical spread of the two regions and their individual subcultures, different agricultural, economic and development programmes have been implemented in Mithapur (in Okhamandal) and Babrala.
Though it has initiated a slew of programmes, the main elements of Tata Chemicals’ community development policy are:
Designing, evolving and implementing sustainable, replicable and scaleable development models, that lead to measurable socio-economic development of the community and ecological development in its area of influence.
Involving the community in all stages of the process, in the true spirit of participatory development having focused and transparent processes, that provide for equal opportunity, while improving the quality of life.Partnering and networking with governments, development agencies, corporate bodies and NGOs to implement appropriate community development programmes.Creating knowledge resource centres to transfer and share information and help build capacities of partners and the community.
Involving the employees in volunteering for community development programmes.
In addition to the Society’s relief and infrastructure activities, a host of programmes have been initiated to encourage self-sufficiency and to ensure that the Tata tradition of dedicated social responsibility is carried forward. Some of the initiatives that TCSRD is involved in are:
Agricultural development
Education
Women’s programmes
Animal husbandry
Rural energy
Training
Watershed development
Relief work
Infrastructure
Agricultural development
The Tata Chemicals Society for Rural Development has undertaken a number of programmes in Okhamandal and Babrala to propagate new farming techniques and enhance agricultural productivityOkhamandal Although Okhamandal is a drought-prone area, agriculture dominates the economic lives of its people. Drought aside, the region suffers from having a shallow soil cover that is alkaline and saline, a condition that is worsened by irrigation that uses water containing dissolved solids.All these factors, plus the effect of saline sea winds, makes agriculture extremely difficult here. But farmers have braved the conditions to raise bajra (pearl millet), jowar and fodder and, in pockets where water for irrigation is available, groundnuts and chillies. Among the various programmes undertaken to improve the returns from agriculture, introducing farmers to new crop varieties and technology has been the most important.TCSRD educates farmers on soil composition, new farming techniques and the most appropriate crop varieties, crop inputs and methods of pest management. Training and awareness programmes are also carried out to ensure that agricultural production is maintained at a profitable and sustainable level. The Society runs a land-reclamation programme, strongly promotes horticulture, and works at increasing the productivity of land by making use of better irrigation techniques.Among those who have interacted with the farmers are experts on agronomy, entomology, petrology, pathology and horticulture from the Gujarat Agriculture University, Junagadh, representatives from the Gujarat Agro Industries Corporation and private seed companies.Babrala TCSRD’s main objective in this region is to promote the systematic and organised development of agriculture. Many farmers here have small or marginal land holdings. This makes it imperative that output be increased.A number of programmes have been taken up for the benefit of the farmers. Among the more important are improving the quality of the land under cultivation, and using quality seeds and inputs to enhance agricultural returns.The agriculture growth scheme seeks to set standards in productivity and adopt growth measures, which include the use of high-quality seeds, the balanced use of fertilisers, implementation of modern methods of irrigation, pest and weed control, and modern sowing techniques.A land-reclamation initiative has also been introduced in Babrala. This involves changing the character of saline or alkaline soil to make it fit for farming. The project, which was kicked off in 1993, has seen nearly 400 acres of land that was never tilled being brought under cultivation.The process of this land consolidation, as it is known, is regularly monitored and the reclamation treatment is a continuous programme. The long-term objective of the programme is to make nearly all of the non-productive land around the Babrala complex cultivable.
Education and health
Education and health are crucial indicators of the wellbeing of any people. The initiatives by the Tata Chemicals Society for Rural Development in these sectors have been many and varied
Okhamandal
Awareness programmes: A number of awareness programmes and video shows are conducted on topics such as the responsibilities and duties of the village panchayat and villagers in the development of their village, the concepts of small savings and micro-credit system, healthcare and self-help groups.
Village libraries: To promote adult education and sustain the knowledge of newly literate people and school dropouts, a library, managed by village youths, has been opened at Poshitra village. Following the success of this library, two more village libraries have been set up, in the villages of Arambhda and Bhimrana.
Pulse-polio drive: To promote the goal of a polio-free world, TCSRD extended its support to primary health centres involved in the pulse-polio drive. It sent out volunteers for campaign drives and for administering the pulse-polio dose. About 1,500 children benefited from this initiative.
First-aid training: This was provided at the Mithapur hospital to nine volunteers from the Bhimrana, Tupni and Poshitra villages. The volunteers were provided with first-aid boxes containing 17 types of medicines, and the first-aid kits are kept at a central location in the village to ensure easy and timely access.
Babrala
Education: TCSRD believes that basic education for village children will result in rural development Towards this end, it has distributed school bags with educational material. In Mehua Hasan Ganj, the Society has provided furniture for students and teachers in the secondary school.
Eye camps: Every February, TCSRD, in association with the Dr Mohanlal Memorial Gandhi Eye Hospital, Aligarh, conducts eye checkup camps. The hospital provides the expertise and doctors, while TCSRD provides the infrastructure. In 1997-98, 341 patients were examined and 64 operations were successfully performed. In 1998-99, 400 patients were examined and 57 operations were conducted with success.
Intensive reproductive health and family-welfare programme: This programme was taken up in the Raipura block (covering 84 gram panchayats) and in five villages of the Gunnor block in collaboration with the Population Foundation of India.
The target groups of the programme, which is a three-year operation, are couples, women and children. The project aims at providing, among other things, ante-natal and post-natal care services, family planning services, immunisation and general healthcare to children, and creating healthcare awareness among people.
It also aims at increasing the number of primary health centres. The programme makes use of government infrastructure and the services of the local staff (especially auxiliary nurses and midwives).As part of the project, village-level midwives are identified and comprehensive training is given to them. For the efficient management of the project, the target area is divided into seven groups. Each group is led by a youth volunteer who motivates people in his/her area towards family planning and guides them to mobile camps.
Watershed development
Rain water harvesting and its conservation and management are vital for integrated development of Okhamandal, an extremely drought-prone regionThe initiatives that the Tata Chemicals Society for Rural Development (TCSRD) has taken in this sphere are aimed at:
Arresting ground-water decline and improving its levels
Improving the water quality in aquifers
Stopping seawater from seeping into ground water
Enhancing the availability of ground water at specific places and times
Under the Indian government’s desert development programme, TCSRD was selected as the project-implementing agency for an integrated watershed-development project for five villages in Okhamandal. The District Rural Development Agency, Jamnagar, funded the programme and the five selected villages were Poshitra, Samlasar, Dhinki, Tupni and Beyt Dwarka.The first year of the project was spent in contact programmes, putting in place watershed committees, and evaluating suitable sites. The successful implementation of the project led to a sixth village, Mojap, being assigned to TCSRD. In a marked departure from conventional projects, the management and ownership of the watershed structures (check dams, recharge tanks, tidal regulators, etc) rests with villagers. The participatory environment thus created becomes a launching pad for further downstream projects. Training: Training villagers for the effective implementation of the watershed project is a continuous process. A special two-day training programme was organised for the watershed committee of Beyt Dwarka to identify potential entry-point projects selected for implementation by villagers. Medium water-harvesting structures: During this period, village-level watershed committees constructed six medium-sized check dams in five villages.The success of the watershed development programme has changed agriculture from being a marginal source of income to a major one for land-holding villagers. With the assurance of irrigation, farmers have initiated double cropping and ventured into growing cash crops. The gross irrigated area in the area has increased by 150 per cent.In two villages, user groups have also formed irrigation cooperatives to ensure an equitable distribution of water. The committee decides the quantity of irrigation water which may be drawn from the dams according to the crops sown by farmers.As part of the downstream activities, 10,000 freshwater fish were purchased and released in two dams on an experimental basis. Small water-harvesting structures: In Okhamandal soil moisture stress hampers the growth of crops. To overcome this small water-harvesting structures like farm ponds and farm bunds help in conserving rainwater in the fields, thereby increasing the soil moisture content. Towards this end, a total of 46 farm ponds and 78 farm bunds were constructed.
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http://www.tatachemicals.com/0_sustainability/0_community/overview.htm
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Contact details : Tata Chemicals Ltd
Bombay House (Registered corporate office)
Bombay House,
24 Homi Mody Street,
Fort, Mumbai 400 001.
Tel: (022) 6665 8282
Fax: (022) 6665 8143 / 44
Web address : http://www.tatachemicals.com