NGOs and partners awarded for their contribution towards COVID relief efforts

New Delhi, Thursday, 11 June 2020: Vedanta Cares, a unique digital initiative was launched and the first e-townhall with partners was hosted by Chairman Anil Agrawal recently to acknowledge & encourage the COVID warriors, who collaborated with the company in combating COVID-19 through community initiatives across 7 locations. Vedanta instituted a special Chairman’s Award to honour its partners, where Mr. Agarwal personally acknowledged each partner company and NGO which contributed significantly to Vedanta’s efforts in reaching out to beneficiaries like dailywage earners and migrant workers who were worst affected by the pandemic. In this acknowledgment session, participants from partner companies and NGOs were awarded.

Addressing the participants, Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal, said, “We have been fighting this crisis together with the nation. By going all out in serving the communities we have reiterated Vedanta’s philosophy of giving back. Our team has left no stone unturned in supporting the communities, working round-the-clock. I am grateful for the support and would like to acknowledge our partners, NGOs and each member of the Vedanta team, who battled this crisis as a family. We will continue working with the communities and the government administration, this will inspire others in serving communities, and hopefully together we can survive this situation.”

Two employees from Cairn Oil & Gas, Avinash Rawal, Lead – Health and Mohd. Mohib, Lead – Education won the prestigious Chairman’s Award for their dedicated efforts for the community through Project Sanjeevani. This project followed a 360-degree approach, in alignment with business continuity framework and covered 4 lakh population, across 1,000+ villages in 4 states.

In addition to our employees, business and NGO partners were also recognized and awarded for their efforts. Global oilfield service provider Schlumberger extended monetary support to the District Administration and participated during sanitizer distribution with Cairn. Speaking on the initiative Suman Talukdar, INM Manager-CSR and Social Performance, Schlumberger said, “To see how Cairn-Vedanta delivered under your leadership during these critical times has been inspiring. Through the initial period of awareness program, essential supplies like ventilators, PPE, Masks, Sanitizer and much needed ambulance and quarantine centre for Covid patients, food for migrant workers, I sincerely believe that Cairn-Vedanta gained immense respect among stakeholders including the administration and the community. As they say, ‘A Friend in need is a Friend indeed’ and Cairn-Vedanta truly emerged as one when it was most needed.”

Engineering and construction conglomerate L&T also supported in creating awareness at the community level and provided 12,000 masks and 600 bottles of sanitizers including monetary support to the District authorities. They also organised support to 2000 of their workforces with healthcare, food and shelter facilities.

Barmer Jan Sewa Sansthan, which partnered with Cairn in its efforts to aid communities in combating COVID was also felicitated. Speaking on the occasion Ramesh Mangal, Managing Trustee, BJSS said “I would like to express our deep gratitude for awarding us the prestigious Chairman’s Award and personally making the time to appreciate our hard work and sincere efforts undertaken during this critical situation of COVID-19 pandemic in Barmer district. We assure you that with your vision, constant support and able guidance from Cairn Oil & Gas team, we will keep on making a transformational and sustainable impact among local communities and generate shared value as well as goodwill for the company.”

YODA, the Maharashtra based animal welfare organization, which partnered with Vedanta in a unique initiative to feed stray animals during the lockdown was also acknowledged for its immense contribution. Speaking on the initiative, Pooja Sakpal, Co-Founder, YODA said “We are grateful to Vedanta for helping both people and animals in need during these times of crisis. Lots of blessings Sensitivity: Internal (C3) to the entire organization. We were able to feed 16,000 hungry animals each day, all thanks to this project and opportunity”

Other NGOs who were felicitated for their extensive contributions are Akshaya Patra Foundation, DNR Foundation, Manjari Foundation, and Social Revival Group of Urban and Rural Tribal (SROUT). Vedanta’s partner companies which were also awarded for their contributions are Tann Singh Chouhan & Company, Barmer, Rajendra Mechanical Private Limited, Chennai Radha Engineering Works, M/s ISS Facility Services, M/s Western Carriers , M/s STEAG, M/s Wellspring Healthcare Pvt. Ltd., Lemon tree Hospitality Services, M/s Dinesh Kumar, NVJK, Drishti Foundation, Unilift Cargo Systems Pvt Ltd, Operational Energy Group India Pvt Ltd, Shrinath Travel Agency, Teknomin Construction Limited TCL.

Vedanta had contributed Rs 201 crores to PM CARES Fund, State funds, and providing relief measures across the country. To support the Government’s efforts, Vedanta employees had contributed one day’s salary to the PM CARES Fund. Under its flagship “Meal-for-all” program Vedanta has so far provided more than 13 lakh meals to less privileged communities across the country. Vedanta has also taken up the initiative to feed more than 50,000 stray animals every day. Under this initiative, Vedanta has so far provided more than 12.70 lakh feedings to stray animals in Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur, and Pune.

In Vedanta’s effort to enhance preventive healthcare, 7 lakh masks and 1 lakh soaps & sanitizers were manufactured and distributed across India. 23 PPE machines were imported in collaboration with the Ministry of Textiles, enabling the production of 40,000+ PPEs per week. A dedicated 24×7 helpline had been set up for employees and families for medical advice, in collaboration with Apollo Hospital.

About Cairn Oil & Gas, Vedanta Ltd.

Cairn Oil & Gas, Vedanta Ltd., is the largest private oil and gas exploration and production company in India, accounting for more than a quarter of India’s domestic crude oil production. It has a world-class resource base, with a current interest in 58 blocks in India, including the 41 blocks under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) Round I auction, five blocks each under Round II and Round III, and two awarded under the Discovered Small Fields (DSF) Round-II. In 2004, Cairn made the largest onshore discovery in more than two decades in India at Mangala, Rajasthan. In its operations of 20 years, Cairn has opened four frontier basins with numerous discoveries, 38 in Rajasthan alone.

Vedanta Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Limited, is one of the world’s leading Oil & Gas and Metals company with significant operations in Oil & Gas, Zinc, Lead, Silver, Copper, Iron Ore, Steel, and Aluminium & Power across India, South Africa, Namibia, and Australia. For two decades, Vedanta has been contributing to India’s growth story, currently contributing 1 percent of India’s GDP. The company is among the top private sector contributors to the exchequer with the highest ever contribution of INR 42,560 Crore in FY 2019. Governance and sustainable development are at the core of Vedanta’s strategy, with a strong focus on health, safety, and environment and on enhancing the lives of local communities. The company has been conferred the CII-ITC Sustainability Award, the FICCI CSR Award, Dun & Bradstreet Awards in Metals & Mining, and certified as a Great Place to Work. Vedanta Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange in India and has ADRs listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

For more information, please visit Vedanta Limited, Cairn India

Contact Details:

• Ms. Madhavi Jha
Chief Communication Officer
Cairn Oil & Gas, Vedanta Ltd.
Madhavi.jha@cairnindia.com

• Mr. Ayodhya Prasad Gaur
General Manager, Corporate Communication
Cairn Oil & Gas, Vedanta Ltd.
Ayodhya.prasad@cairnindia.com

• Mr. Mukul Chhatwal
Senior Manager, Corporate Communication
Cairn Oil & Gas, Vedanta Ltd.
Mukul.Chhatwal@cairnindia.com