CSR

Corporate Social Responsibility

SAIL’s Social Objective is synonymous with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Apart from the business of manufacturing steel, the objective of the company is to conduct business in ways that produce social, environmental and economic benefits to the communities in which it operates. For any organization, CSR begins by being aware of the impact of its business on society. With the underlying philosophy and a credo to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives, SAIL has been structuring and implementing CSR initiatives right from the inception. These efforts have seen the erstwhile obscure villages located around SAIL Plants, turn into large industrial hubs today.

SAIL CSR initiatives have always been undertaken in conformity to the CSR provisions (Section 135) of Companies Act, 2013, its Schedule-VII, CSR (CSR Policy) Rules, 2014, and CSR Amendment Rules, 2021 & 2022. SAIL carries out CSR projects mainly in periphery of steel townships and mines in the thrust areas falling in line with the Schedule-VII, namely, Promotion of Education and Health, Women Empowerment, Sustainable Income Generation through Self Help Groups, Assistance to Divyangs (People with Special Abilities), Access to Water and Sanitation facilities, Village development, Environment sustenance, Sports coaching, promotion of traditional Art and Culture, etc.

Swachha Bharat Abhiyaan-Swachha Vidhyalaya Abhiyaan

SAIL participated in the "Swachh Bharat Abhiyan" initiated by the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India. Under the campaign, 672 toilets were constructed in schools falling within the periphery of its Plants and Mines in the States of Chhattisgarh, W.Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, M.P. and Tamil Nadu. These toilets are being maintained by the respective School Management Committees. Awareness campaigns and Cleanliness drive are going on at various rural locations.

SAIL CSR initiatives:

Healthcare: SAIL’s extensive and specialised Healthcare Infrastructure provided specialized and basic healthcare to nearly 183.74 Lakh people living in the vicinity of its Plants and Units during the period 2011-24. Surgeries like Cataract and lens implant, cleft lip and palate disorder, polio-leg correction, etc. are conducted. Treatment of hearing impaired, anemia and identification and counseling of Sickle cell and Thalassemia patients, women with gynecological disorders, Leprosy and Tuberculosis patients is provided free of cost.

In order to deliver quality healthcare at the doorsteps of the needy, regular health camps in various villages on fixed days are being organized for the people living in the periphery of Plants/Units, mines and far-flung areas. Health Camps and 5 Mobile Medical Units have benefitted about 1.80 Lakh in FY 2023-24 at their doorsteps.

24 Primary Health centers at Plants exclusively provided free medical care and medicines to above 84,000 in FY 2023-24.

Education: To develop the society through education, SAIL is supporting about 77 schools providing modern education to more than 40,000 children in the steel townships and is assisting 600 Govt. schools in Bhilai and Rourkela with about 60,000 students by providing Mid-day meals and dry ration kits in association with Akshya Patra Foundation. 22 Special Schools (Kalyan, Mukul & DAV Vidyalayas) benefitting around 12026 BPL category students at integrated steel plant locations with facilities like free education, mid-day meals, uniform including shoes, text books, stationary items, school bags and water bottles, etc., are running under CSR.

• • More than 450 children from tribal and naxal-affected/Aspirational Districts are getting free of cost comprehensive educational facilities viz. Schooling, Meals, Uniforms, Textbooks, Accommodation and infrastructure, etc. at Saranda Suvan Chhatravas and Central School, Kiriburu; Gyanodaya Chhatravas, BSP School Rajhara, Bhilai; Gyanjyoti Yojna, Bokaro DAV schools-Nandini & Kuteshwar Mines, and other schools.

  • Over 1000 school students are awarded annual scholarships in plant peripheries.

  • Gyan Jyoti Yojana: Bokaro Steel Plant has introduced this scheme for providing education and holistic development for the children of Birhor tribe, which is at the verge of extinction. 15 Birhor children were adopted and provided free Education along with boarding, lodging, nourishing and wholesome food, clothing, free medical treatment, sports and cultural opportunities in a conducive atmosphere. They are the first Matriculates and 12^th pass from their community. For Skill Development and better employability, 9 Matriculate Birhor Boys adopted under Gyan Jyoti Yojana had been sponsored for ITI training in ”Welder trade” alongwith stipend of Rs.2500/- each, accommodation and fooding facility at Bokaro Pvt ITI. Inspired from their achievements, 2^nd batch of 15 Birhors adopted have similarly completed their education and ITI trainings. 3^rd batch of 12 Birhor children has been adopted, who have begun their life in new surroundings.

Women Empowerment and Sustainable Income Generation: Vocational and specialised skill development training targeted towards sustainable income generation were imparted to 383 youths and 703 women folks in FY 2020-21, 223 youths and 1306 women in FY 2021-22, 2265 youths and 2315 women in FY 2022-23 and during FY 2023-24 1578 youths and 2369 women have undergone skills trainings, in areas such as Nursing, Physiotherapy, LMV Driving, Computers, Mobile repairing, Welder, Fitter and Electrician Training Improved agriculture, Mushroom cultivation, Goatery, Poultry, Fishery, Achar/Pappad/Agarbati/ Candle making, Screen printing, Handlooms, Sericulture, Yarn Weaving, Tailoring, Sewing and embroidery, Gloves, Spices, Towels, Gunny-bags, Low-cost-Sanitary Napkins, Sweet Box, Bans/Jute Shilp, Smokeless chullah making etc.

• • The above activities are being carried out at various centres located in and around steel plant and Mines locations such as Bhilai Ispat Kaushal Kutir, Swayamsiddha and PG College of Nursing: Bhilai with free Boarding and Lodging, Kishori: Rourkela, Shilpangan and Skill Development and Self Employment Training Institute: Durgapur, Low Cost Sanitary Napkins Unit and JHARCRAFT: Bokaro, Vocational Training Centre and Mahila Mangal Sabha: Burnpur, Garment Technician Training: Salem, Self-Employment Centres ‘KIRAN’: Kiriburu and Meghahathaburu Mines, Aashaye Handloom: Gua, etc. SAIL is also instrumental in marketing of the products manufactured at such centers.

• • Approximately 490 youths have been supported for ITI training at ITCs Bolani, Bargaon, Baliapur, Bokaro Pvt ITI and Rourkela etc. The ITIs at Bolani and Bursua have been adopted for upgradation and operation by SAIL/RSP mines. Also, at Bokaro Pvt. ITI youths from the periphery are being trained in streams of Electrician, Welder and Fitter.

Infrastructure Development in Rural Areas: Over 79.03 Lakh people across 450 villages have been connected to mainstream by SAIL since its inception by constructing and repairing of roads. Over 8176 water sources have been installed and maintained, since inception, thereby enabling easy access to drinking water to over 50 lakh people living in far-flung areas.

Environment Conservation: To promote renewable sources of energy, Solar street lights have been installed in rural areas, Solar Lanterns and smokeless chullahs have been distributed among the rural people of Saranda and other locations. Maintenance of parks, botanical gardens, water bodies, plantation/maintenance of over 5 Lakh trees in its townships is being undertaken.

SAIL has supported setting up and operation of 100 KW Capacity Solar Power Plant at Jari, Gumla in Jharkhand.

Support to Divyangs(Differently Abled) and Senior Citizens: Divyang (children/people) are being supported through provision of equipments like- tricycle, motorized vehicles, calipers, hearing aids, artificial limbs, etc. SAIL supports centers and programs at SAIL Plants like ‘School for blind, deaf and mentally challenged children’, ‘Home and Hope’ Rourkela, ‘Ashalata Kendra’ Bokaro, ‘Handicapped Oriented Education Program’ and ‘Durgpaur Handicapped Happy Home’ Durgapur, and ‘Cheshire Home’ Burnpur. Old age homes are being supported at different Plant townships like ‘Siyan Sadan’ Bhilai, ‘Acharya Dham’ & ‘Abasar’ Durgapur and ‘Sr.Citizens’ Home’ Rourkela, etc.

On ‘International Day of Persons with Disabilities’, i.e. 3^rd December, 2023 SAIL Plants/Units distributed assistive devices to Divyangjans across the country. This priority programme of SAIL is continuing across several locations in the country under “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”. Approx 3,000 Divyangjans have been benefitted with assistive devices like Tricycle, Motorized Vehicles, Calipers, Hearing Aids, Smart Phones, Smart Canes etc., provided through the implementing partner Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO).

SAIL has adopted, developed and is maintaining a Lepers Colony at Kajora through Durgapur Steel Plant wherein all the social and infrastructure facilities have been maintained.

Sports, Art and Culture and Heritage Conservation: SAIL is regularly organizing inter-village sports tournaments, extending support to major national sports events and tournaments. SAIL is also supporting and coaching aspiring sportsmen and women through its residential sports academies at Bokaro (football), Rourkela (Hockey) - with world class astro-turf ground, Bhilai (Athletics for boys), Durgapur (Athletics for girls) and Kiriburu, Jharkhand (Archery).

• Bokaro Steel Plant organised Special Olympics Bharat (SOB) under National sports Preparatory Training Camps and also supported participation expenditure to the selected/trained Divyang athletes for Special Olympics Summer World Games 2023 (SOSWG 2023) at Berlin.

Cultural events like Chhattisgarh Lok Kala Mahotsav, Gramin Lokotsav are organised every year. Conservation and maintenance of National heritage sites such as 5 monuments in the Lodhi Gardens at Delhi, “Ved-vyas” of Mahabharat fame historical site in Rourkela, etc. are supported by SAIL.

Disaster relief: SAIL, as a responsible corporate citizen, supported the rehabilitation initiatives for the people affected by National and Natural Calamities, the recent being Covid-19 pandemic throughout the country, flood ravaged Jammu and Kashmir, Phylin cyclone in Odisha, Flash Floods in Uttarakhand, etc.

SAIL CSR initiatives on CoVID-19: During FY 2021-22 SAIL contributed an amount of Rs.50 crore and Rs. 25.00 crore in FY 2020-21 to the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund.

SAIL Plants have setup separate Jumbo CoVID Care facilities equipped with gaseous oxygen, viz. 1444 bedded CoVID care facilities, in addition to ventilators, ICU beds, manned by qualified doctors and para-medical staff; created 600 beds Quarantine Facilities and developed CoVID-19 testing facilities. Touch-free hand-sanitizers, water dispensers have been installed, spraying disinfectants, using digital thermal recorders at prominent locations, ensuring continuous water supply in all the peripheral villages. SAIL Plants and Units distributed dry ration packets, Milk packets/powder, Khichdi, medicines, sanitary napkins for women, etc. among vulnerable sections of society and facilitated cooked meals and transportation for patients and healthcare workers, stitching of Face Masks, Gamachhas, Aprons, Gloves, etc. through SHGs, and their distribution in peripheral areas.

SAIL Employees Rendering Volunteerism & Initiatives for Community Engagement [SERVICE]: The SAIL supported volunteerism scheme [SERVICE] explicitly encourages and values employee volunteerism to benefit not only the ecosystem of SAIL but is an integral element of the Corporate Social Responsibility of SAIL. SAIL’s investment in community involvement through its own employees also  provide the impetus for building long-term loyalty, enhance legitimacy with the wider public, build trust and brand equity that, in turn, reinforces other strategic objectives of SAIL. Over 29,000 volunteers have registered on the SERVICE portal.

Special CSR Initiatives:

SARANDA Forest Development: In an effort to bring the marginalized masses of the remote forest areas to the mainstream of development, SAIL in association with Govt. of Jharkhand and Ministry of Rural Development, Govt. of India actively participated in the development process of Saranda forest, Jharkhand. SAIL provided ambulances, 7000 each of bicycles, transistors, solar lanterns and established an Integrated Development Centre (IDC) at Digha village in Saranda forest. IDC comprises of facilities like Bank, Panchayat Office, Ration shop, Telecom office, Anganwadi Centre, Meeting room etc. for the local populace.

Model Steel Villages: In order to bridge the gap between rural and urban areas and to provide comprehensive development of both physical and social infrastructure, 79 villages were developed as “Model Steel Villages” across the country (in eight states). The developmental activities undertaken in these villages include medical and health services, education, roads and connectivity, sanitation, community centers, livelihood generation, sports facilities, etc. The facilities developed at these MSVs are being run and maintained regularly.

Awards and Accolades :

• >CSR Times Award 2024 - ‘Silver’ was conferred upon SAIL in recognition of the CSR Project ‘Commitment towards Welfare of Disadvantaged persons (Divyangs, Sr. Citizens, Near-Extinct Tribals, etc.)’. The award was received by Shri KK Singh, Director(Personnel) during 11^th National CSR Summit (23/08/2024), chaired by Chief Guest – Dr Pramod Sawant, Chief Minister of Goa, at Darbar Hall, Raj Bhawan, Goa.

• SAIL: Rourkela Steel Plant has been awarded Golden Peacock Award, 2022 for its CSR endeavors in its periphery.

• SAIL: Rourkela Steel Plant has been awarded 7^th CSR India Award-2020 by Greentech Foundation for outstanding achievements in “Promotion of Health and Healthcare” Category for Comprehensive Water Supply and Sanitation project.

• SAIL bagged CSR Times Awards, 2019 : ‘’Best PSU’’ in Education category award at National CSR Summit,2019. For setting up a ‘’DAV Rowghat Ispat Sr Sec. Public School’’ a CBSE school (Nursery-Class 12th) in Aspirational Districts: Kanker at Antagarh, Rowghat Mining area of BSP. Starting with 59 students in 2015-16, at present 205 tribal children (106: Boys, 99: Girls) are studying in Upper KG -Class III, free of cost at the school.

• >Touching Lives: There is a little bit of SAIL in everybody’s life’ a book comprised of 29 chapters depicting comprehensive view of CSR endeavours across SAIL network has been published by Times Group Books.

• SAIL CSR Cover story, SAIL advertisement and the Chairman’s photograph (on the Coverpage) have been published in the 5th PSU Special Edition – January 2020 of the Magazine “Corporate Social Focus’’. The Special Edition was published on the ocassion of 150th Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhiji.

• SAIL: Rourkela Steel Plant has been awarded Golden Peacock Award, 2018 for its CSR endeavors in its periphery.

• SAIL CSR endeavours have found a proud place in the ‘Building a New India’ a compendium published under the aegis of Department of Public Enterprises showcasing significant CSR initiatives of CPSEs in 2018:

1. Distribution of Mid-Day Meals in schools of Rourkela and Chhattisgarh

2. Training of women in charkha weaving in Kiriburu, Jharkhand

3. Project Vasundhara: Conservation of Bio-diversity park on banks of river Damodar at Durgapur, West Bengal

4. Siyan Sadan: fostering a homely environment for elderly people at Bhilai, Chhattisgarh.