Vedanta Aluminium Motivates Students In Rural Odisha To Come Back To School Post COVID

Sundargarh: Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest producer of aluminium, is actively encouraging students in the hinterlands of Odisha to avail educational opportunities through its initiatives aimed at bridging learning gaps and enabling continued access to quality education. Recently, the company conducted a week-long campaign to spread awareness of the importance of sustained learning among the youths of Sundargarh district, Odisha. As part of the campaign, Vedanta Aluminium also felicitated distinguished student achievers and conducted various competitions for more than 700 students from schools in Jamkhani and Ghogarpalli.

Since April 2022, the company has been motivating students to come back to school, as the COVID pandemic declined, through a school-kit distribution program in 22 schools in the remote villages of Jharpalam, Bilaimunda and Mendra in Sundargarh district in 55 schools of Laxmipur block, Koraput district. The initiative reached out to more than 7000 students in these regions. Additionally, Vedanta Aluminium’s employee volunteers have helped carry out several career counselling sessions for secondary school students from the region.

Speaking about the education interventions, V. Srikanth, CEO – Mines (Vedanta Aluminium) said, “Vedanta Aluminium firmly believes in enabling access to quality education for all. Our developmental initiatives are tailored to the needs of the regions where we operate. With these programs, we aim to work towards improving the quality of education in the areas surrounding our operations, bringing a sustainable transformation in the quality of life of our community members and unlocking new growth opportunities for our youth.”

Appreciating the company’s efforts, Nabanita Naik, Headmaster, Luabahal High School, said, “Vedanta Aluminium’s innovative and progressive educational programs motivate our students to be more innovative & proactive in classes and create campuses conducive to learning. I thank Vedanta for their efforts in this regard.”

Vedanta Aluminium’s social interventions are focused on the domains of education, health, livelihood, community infrastructure, bio-investment, water and sanitation, with a focus on women and child development. Through its interventions, the company is positively impacting the lives of the communities in its areas of operations and beyond, making community members vital partners in the shared growth and progress of the state. The company has been spurring a socio-economic transformation in rural Odisha by identifying the needs of communities and working to fulfil them in close partnership with local administrations, welfare groups and community members.

Vedanta Aluminium, a business of Vedanta Limited, is India’s largest producer of aluminium, manufacturing more than half of India’s aluminium i.e., 2.26 million tonnes in FY22. It is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. Vedanta Aluminium ranks 4th in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) 2021 world rankings for aluminium industry, a reflection of its sustainable development practices. With its world-class aluminium smelters, alumina refinery and power plants in India, the company fulfils its mission of spurring emerging applications of aluminium as the ‘Metal of the Future’ for a greener tomorrow.