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.
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.
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.
HCL Foundation launched 'Sudeva Residential Football Programme' in partnership with Sudeva FC, a Delhi-based professional football club. Sudeva FC coaches have identified 20 girls and 11 boys who have the potential to represent Indian women's and men's national teams. The launch event for HCL Foundation's elite athletes was held on November 24, 2022, at Sudeva FC, Delhi in the presence of the Dr, Nidhi Pundhir, Vice President, HCL Foundation and Mr. Gaurav Saini, Vice President, HCLTech. The programme takes forward HCL Foundation's 'Sports for Change' initiative, aimed at promoting sports as a holistic development for underserved children in rural and urban areas. Till date, the initiative has reached over 27,000 athletes, while 115 sports scholars have been supported through scholarships. Around 89 students got admitted into reputed colleges through sports quota while 104 students got the opportunity to participate in state and national level competitions.
HCL Foundation, the CSR arm of HCLTech, organized a pan-India Excellence Tournament for kabaddi and volleyball at D.B. Jain College in Chennai as part of its special initiative ‘Sports for Change’. The event was aimed at providing competitive exposure to the underprivileged students who are being trained and supported by HCL Foundation. The students participating in the event were identified from the ‘Sports for Change’ competitions at district, state, zonal and national levels. These children are provided daily training, nutrition, high-performance camps, etc. as part of HCL Foundation’s support. Boys’ and girls’ teams from Chennai won in the kabaddi category while the boys’ team from Madurai won in the volleyball event. The boys’ and girls’ kabaddi teams from Bengaluru and the boys’ volleyball team from Chennai were the runners-up in the tournament. Mr. T.S. Murugan, Inspector, Kannagi Nagar, Chennai, and Mr. Reegan, Project Manager, Don Bosco Anbu Illam, felicitated the tournament winners.
HCL Foundation organized a mega event to bring partners from all over India to meet and engage at one platform over a two-day event this month. Investing over ₹91 Cr for urban development initiatives and ₹83 Cr for rural development, HCL Foundation has sharpened its focus on environmental action with an increased outlay of ₹42 Cr. The Foundation's programmes span healthcare, sanitation, poverty eradication, education, skilling and livelihoods, environment, and disaster risk reduction, addressing all 17 social development goals outlined by the United Nations. To date, HCL Foundation has invested over ₹900 Cr in its community programs, making it one of the largest corporate interventions in India. HCL Foundation also released its Annual Report for FY 2022 under the theme 'Source Code in Action'. Inspired by technology, the theme showcases the Foundation's efforts to create high-impact programs that can be source codes for solving socio-economic and environmental problems at scale.
HCL Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Banaskantha District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union Limited, also known as Banas Dairy (Asia's biggest dairy with strong knowledge, skill, execution and financial base), to boost the income of dairy farmers under its flagship programme, HCL Samuday. As a result of this collaboration, the operation of Banas Diary will be extended to 11 blocks of Hardoi which will benefit more than 25,000 dairy farmers and improve their income and livelihoods. The MoU was exchanged in the presence of Mr. G S Priyadarshi (IAS), Commissioner, Rural Development; Ms. C. Indhumathy (IAS), MD, UPSRLM; Brigadier Vinod Bajiya, Executive Director, Banas Dairy; Mr. Kamraj R. Chaudhary, Chief Operating Officer, Banas Dairy; and Mr Alok Varma, Project Director, HCL Samuday (HCL Foundation).
HCL Foundation, the CSR arm of HCLTech has been felicitated at the Ganga Utsav - The River Festival for its exemplary contribution towards the rejuvenation of the Ganga River catchment in Uttarakhand. The felicitation ceremony was in the presence by Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Hon'ble Minister of Jal Shakti, Government of India, and Shri G. Asok Kumar, Director General, National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG). As part of HCL Harit, one of its flagship programs, the HCL Foundation has partnered with NMCG and INTACH for the restoration of the Alakhnanda catchment through plantation of Rudraksha and associated species. To date, the Foundation has planted more than 10,000 saplings across 45+ acres. The project has unleashed multiple ecological benefits including habitat restoration, prevention of soil erosion, ground water recharge, carbon sequestration, and enhancement of climate resilience through community engagement.