The Madras Chamber of Commerce & Industry awarded the prestigious MCCI TAFE CSR AWARDS 2022 to HCL Foundation and Thuvakkam NGO on 31, January 2023. The award was given in recognition of the innovation, collaboration and social impact created in the Field of Environmental Sustainability & Ecological Balance through the “Greenery – Urban Forest” project.

Thuvakkam, in collaboration with the HCL Foundation, under the HCL Harit greenery initiative, created a stretch of forest between the Indra Nagar MRTS and Kasturba Nagar MRTS stations. The first sapling was planted on August 11th, 2021, with the help of volunteers and the general public. Nearly 0.85 acre of land now houses 7,050+ grown saplings. Having over 40 species, the plants are all indigenous to the soil, and are of different varieties, such as flowering, shrubbery, and shade-giving plants. The Greater Chennai Corporation has lain a bicycle path along the forest, which has proven to be a great attraction for the general public.

HCL Foundation extended its partnership with the Gautam Buddha Nagar Police Commissionerate and NGO partner CHETNA by establishing an additional multidimensional mobile classroom under its ‘Nanhe Parinde’ initiative. ‘Nanhe Parinde’ is an initiative of HCL Uday, HCL Foundation’s urban flagship program, through which five mobile vans are currently operating in the Gautam Buddh Nagar area. The mobile vans will offer academic support to the children in mathematics and science, English language skills, art lessons and digital literacy. They will also provide children sports and recreational opportunities to help reduce school dropout rates and juvenile crime rates in the community.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a period of five years was signed between HCL Foundation and the Gautam Buddh Nagar Police Commissionerate for this initiative. Ram Badan Singh (IPS), DCP Headquarters, GB Nagar Police Commissionerate, and Dr. Nidhi Pundhir, Vice President, Global CSR, HCL Foundation, signed the MoU. Bharati Singh (IPS), Additional Commissioner of Police (HQ), flagged off the initiative in the presence of Dr. Pundhir and Sanjay Gupta, Director, CHETNA.

Commemorating the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, HCL Foundation organized the second edition of YUVA MELA to mark the National Youth Day in the presence of Dr. Nidhi Pundhir, Vice President, Global CSR, HCL Foundation and Mr. Veera Raghva Rao (IAS), Commisioner of Training and Employment, Govt. of Tamil Nadu. HCLF also inked a partnership with the Directorate of Employment and Training of Tamil Nadu to introduce new-age courses in four Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in Chennai and flagged off the ‘Skill Rath’, a mini-ITI van which will visit all the parts of the Chennai city to promote technical education and enrolment in ITIs.

The event, held in HCL SEZ Chennai Campus brought together 300 participants physically from the Chennai location and almost 1,000+ young minds connected virtually who are a part of the various interventions supported by HCL Foundation. The participants celebrated the day with cultural events including the fashion show and group dance performance.

HCL Foundation is currently working with 58 Yuva Kendras or Skill Development Centers across the country, offering knowledge on more than 70 varieties of technical and non-technical trades that help in the placement opportunities. These centers, under the Skill Development and Livelihood vertical, have impacted nearly ninety thousand youth across and have ensured more than 80% placements in diverse trades.

Tamil Nadu Forest Department (TNFD) has joined hands with HCL Foundation, in a timely step towards marine and coastal conservation to resolve the ghost net and marine debris problem in the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park, Tamil Nadu. In alignment with SDG 14, HCL Foundation will be supporting TNFD to take up a 3-year action for the removal of ghost nets and marine debris. We will work together for a mass awareness campaign towards debri free Gulf of Mannar for the coastal communities.

An MoU was signed on December 19, 2022, in the presence of Mr. Srinivas Reddy, I.F.S, Chief Wildlife Warden (CWLW); Dr. Naganathan, I.F.S, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (APCCF) – Wildlife; Dr. Nidhi Pundhir, Vice-President, Global CSR, HCLTech; Dr. Santanu Basu, Project Director, HCL Harit and; Mr. Bakan Jagdish Sudhakar, I.F.S, DFO and WLW, Ramanathapuram.

HCL Foundation Sports Scholar, Jerlin Anika has become India’s first woman Deaflympian to receive the Arjuna Award for her achievements in badminton. She received the prestigious honour from the Hon’ble President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu.

A badminton prodigy, 18-year-old Jerlin won three gold medals at the 2022 Deaflympics in Brazil while representing India. She also won six gold medals at the Asia Pacific Youth Badminton Championships and Asia Pacific Deaf Badminton Championships in Thailand this year. Earlier, Jerlin won one gold, two silver, and one bronze at the World Deaf Badminton Championships 2019 in China. 

Since 2019, Jerlin has been supported by HCL Foundation, the corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of HCLTech, under its ‘Sports for Change’ initiative. By providing a high-quality and inclusive sporting experience, the programme aims to enable balanced participation, excellence, and holistic development of children from disadvantaged communities.