Changing lives,empowering India
Jagannatha
Kumar
Jalaj
Dani
Hemant
Desai
Dhanraj
Nathwani
Reliance has been involved in various initiatives for creating lasting social impact. It recognises that sustainable development is at the core of its business decisions and therefore has aligned its sustainability strategy with its business goals. Reliance’s efforts aim to bring about a paradigm shift and facilitate transformative change towards building an inclusive India.
Reliance’s direct engagement model offers multiple opportunities to empower the marginalised sections of society and make a meaningful difference in people’s lives. Application of technology across programmes and adoption of innovative practices are shaping future strategies and actions through which Reliance is now able to exponentially expand the scale and speed of its reach and impact.
A large constituent of the community with whom Reliance works consists of underserved people who often do not have access to knowledge or information on best practices and continue to be vulnerable.
Through its initiatives in the sphere of Rural Transformation, Health, Education, Sports for Development, Disaster Response, Arts, Culture and Heritage, and Urban Renewal, Reliance is creating sustainable change.
Reliance’s social initiatives have so far touched 26 million people across India in more than 18,000 villages and 200 urban locations.
Reliance Industries Limited is keenly aware of its responsibilities towards the larger community which is India, which has put its trust and faith in the Company to make it the largest private company in the country. As an organisation, Reliance owes its success to the people of India and strives to work for their sustainable development.
CSR activities of the Company are carried out under the aegis of Reliance Foundation (RF). Established in 2010, under the leadership of Smt. Nita M. Ambani, RF has emerged as a leading corporate foundation addressing nation’s multiple development challenges. RF has touched the lives of 26 million people through various platforms.
Reliance’s initiatives in the areas of Rural Transformation, Health, Education, Sports for Development, Disaster Response, Arts, Culture and Heritage, and Urban Renewal are in keeping with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and India’s National Developmental Goals. The Company’s CSR policy and initiatives delineates the vision, mission, thrust areas and key requirements as per the Schedule VII of Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 which lists out various areas in which corporate entities are expected to deploy their CSR funds and implement programmes for social development. During FY 2018-19, Reliance spent `904 crore on CSR initiatives on these focus areas.
RELIANCE FOUNDATION OUTREACH
Reliance’s social initiatives are based on a three-pronged strategy:
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(i) Direct engagement with the community
To generate meaningful change, which is sustainable, Reliance directly engages with the community. A team of trained professionals from Reliance Foundation directly engage and collaborate with the communities, right from understanding their needs, planning and implementing the programmes, and measuring the values and impact they have created.
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(ii) Forging Partnerships and
Collaborations
Reliance Foundation forms strategic partnerships with state and local governments and non-government organisations working at the grassroots level to bring in synergy to various development initiatives. It collaborates with the organisations for sharing technical knowledge, human resources and infrastructure. These partnerships support in delivering Reliance’s commitment by intensively engaging with the communities and penetrate into the critical issues that are physically untouched through direct interventions.
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(iii) Leveraging Technology
Reliance leverages technology to provide sustainable solutions. These technological interventions connect communities on multiple digital platforms for optimum use of resources, informed decision making and capacity building. Through the use of technology, Reliance has made significant progress in reaching out to people with various services such as information advisories, digital classrooms, virtual sports clinics and record keeping of patients, among others.
Reliance encourages its employees to voluntarily contribute to social causes. Periodic inputs are obtained from employees on their interest to contribute to a particular cause. The Company leverages specific skill sets of employees and allocates resources for effective delivery.
Reliance works with some of the most marginalised communities in India to create shared value. Instead of being passive receivers of aid, Reliance empowers the community to take charge of their own development.
Community being the primary stakeholders in the process of development, Reliance engages the community members in planning and implementation of the village development plans, empowers them through trainings, and works towards scaling and sustaining the initiatives. They are partners in the process of social transformation and are deeply invested in the vision of a self-sustained and flourishing village.
75% programme villages
were made water secure
73% families
are food secure throughout the year
80% increase
in daily vegetable intake among children enrolled in anganwadis under the Rajmata Jijau Nutrition Mission, Maharashtra
83% farmers
reported saving in input cost on agriculture
77% farmers
reported enhancement in income levels
75% fisherfolk
reported positive outcomes by following
information advisories
Through the collaborative efforts of the communities and Reliance, rural institutions – Village Associations (VA) - are built and leaders are groomed from among the people to ensure sustainability. The VAs then undertake initiatives to tackle various issues of development such as water scarcity, lack of food and nutrition security, dearth of alternative livelihood options, lack of access to markets and the exclusion of women from financial decision-making.
Reliance partners with grassroots organisations, local government departments and other technical resource agencies to share best practices, create a knowledge platform and leverage resources.
Through its information services programme, Reliance provides critical information to rural populations in the areas of agriculture, animal husbandry, marine/inland fisheries, employment and skilling, government schemes/subsidies, insurance, civic services, health, education, micro-enterprises and local e-commerce linkages.
The rural transformation initiatives have helped empower communities, improved the quality of livelihood assets, provided food, nutrition and water security, improved access to markets, empowered people through technology and diversified livelihood options.
The initiatives under the rural transformation programme have contributed to various national priority missions such as Gram Uday Se Bharat Uday Abhiyan, Unnat Bharat Abhiyan, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Skill India Mission and Digital India.
More than 7 million people across 18,000 villages have been impacted through the rural transformation programme. The population served through this programme are small and marginal farmers, livestock owners and fishermen.
EMPOWERED COMMUNITIES DRIVING CHANGE
Reliance empowers rural communities to organise themselves into VAs, Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) and Women Thrift Groups (WTGs). It also closely works with the Gram Panchayats. These community level institutions work to address social development issues in the villages.
Village Association
The VA is a democratic village level institution comprising both men and women who collectively work towards efficient governance of the village. 560 VAs and 3,000 leaders are helming the process of development. Dual membership per household ensures that women are part of the development dialogue. The VA mobilises and galvanises the community to plan, manage resources and execute development projects. To execute these projects, the VA draws up inclusive village action plans, ensures community contribution either in the form of finances or shramdaan, leverages funds and maintains a relationship with the government and other agencies. All the processes and practices of the VA are governed by the principles of transparency, open decision making and accountability. Reliance’s institution building and leadership development initiatives at the village level are creating steady, systematic and sustainable change.
After intensive engagement, many of these VAs are now able to independently govern themselves and are ready to transition to newer roles in spearheading community development processes.
The community members have also taken up leadership roles and contributed in bringing transformation. Some of these leaders have been honoured at the district, state and national level for their contribution.
Furthermore, the programme has generated awareness amongst communities on different government schemes and sensitised them on the importance of collective action to leverage its benefits. They are now able to access various government schemes and engineer their rural transformation journey independently.
This year Reliance played an active role in People’s Plan Campaign of Government of India by supporting Gram Panchayats to develop a comprehensive plan for holistic economic development. In partnership with National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, awareness programmes were conducted in 1,812 Gram Panchayats on the need for participation in development planning process. Further, it intensively supported 244 Gram Panchayats in preparing their development plans. This will lead to greater mobilisation of financial resources into the villages which will aid in their development.
VILLAGE LEADERS APPRECIATED
Nishaben Choudhri, a women leader and a farmer from Zankhvav village of Surat district, Gujarat, was conferred with the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Krishi Vigyan Protshahan Puraskar for farm innovation. She was also awarded prize money of `50,000.
Value Addition And Market Linkages Through Farmer Producer Companies
After intensive efforts to increase the area under production as well as the productivity of the existing land, through water security measures and sustainable agricultural practices, Reliance worked to address the next problem faced by farmers – the marketing of produce.
Traditionally, farmers in India have faced the issue of establishing market linkages, which negatively affects their incomes and their quality of life. As a solution to these problems, Reliance empowers farmers to set up FPCs. These farmer-owned and managed companies help them come together as a collective, aggregate produce for economies of scale and bargain for better market prices.
The FPCs in Jasdan, Gujarat and Jamai, Madhya Pradesh have started creating value addition by sorting, grading, packaging and processing agricultural and horticultural produce. They have even started trading in finished products instead of raw commodities with their own brand of groundnut oil. The oranges from Agar, Madhya Pradesh and guavas from Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan are making their way to retail outlets across the country.
The FPCs have successfully established linkages with various government institutions such as NABARD & Department of Agriculture to leverage support for farmer training, capacity building, raising working capital and acquiring finance to purchase assets for FPCs.
The FPCs have established links with agri-Input companies and government agencies to provide quality inputs at reasonable prices. The Kamareddy Progressive FPC ventured into an altogether new business of hiring out farm machinery that was purchased at `40 lakh, with 50% subsidy provided by the Department of Agriculture. Four FPCs have received a collective equity grant of `35 lakh from the Small Farmers Agri-business Consortium.
So far, Reliance has mentored the formation of 22 FPCs spread across 11 states. Of these, 17 FPCs are registered with NCDEX and 6 FPCs are registered with e-NAM platform for online trading of produce.
Till March 2019, the Reliance mentored FPCs have nearly 32,000 farmer shareholders. During the same financial year, these companies recorded a collective annual turnover of `40 crore.
Economic Empowerment Through Women Thrift Groups
WTGs provide an opportunity for women to play a more meaningful and economically active role in their homes and in the village as well.
It is a platform to bring social and economic freedom to women through the accumulation and retention of local wealth within the village, which is controlled and managed entirely by women. It is a model that further enables women to participate, drive and manage the socio-economic change process while being financially self-reliant. It improves their decision making capacities. The financial self-reliance of women especially has the potential to serve as a vehicle for social change, through which multiple social interventions for development can be delivered, including financial literacy, education, health, digital literacy and skilling for self-employment and job creation. So far, 111 WTGs are supported by Reliance.
Empowerment Through Digital Platforms
Access to knowledge resources and information is an important step towards empowerment. Ironically, those who need it the most are deprived of it. Information asymmetry deprives the poor and marginalised communities from accessing rightful entitlements. Reliance has set up a digital platform to provide the right information at the right time.
Reliance collaborates with an ecosystem that comprises 1,171 knowledge and infrastructure partners, thematic experts, including research institutions, government departments, NGOs and grassroots organisations. These partners provide invaluable information on crop management, livestock care, ocean state forecasts, cyclone warnings, schemes and subsidies, technology, healthcare, civic services and other topics.
A variety of modes are used to disseminate information among communities which includes the toll free helpline number: 1800 419 8800, a YouTube channel, video calls, audio/video conferencing, multilingual voice messaging service, All India Radio, community radio networks and social media platforms. Additionally, various field based programmes are also conducted.
The timely reception of information could be the deciding factor which prevents a pest attack on a farmer’s land or prevents the fisherman from entering the sea during a dangerous storm. It helps to avert losses and dangers and also augment income and utilise government schemes such as shepherd insurance, which they would otherwise not be aware of.
To strengthen the process, the programme is moving towards artificial intelligence based content dissemination to beneficiaries. Additionally, the programme is working towards providing weather based agro advisories at a micro-level.
The information services programme has reached more than 2.3 million individuals in 16,000 villages across 18 states. Overall, these advisories have reached out to 7.2 million individuals since inception, thus emerging as a powerful tool of knowledge dissemination.
The programme contributes to the Digital India mission of Government of India which is aimed at enhancing the livelihood of rural segments by means of technology.
Enhancing the livelihoods of fishermen
Unpredictability, risk and uncertain returns characterise the vocation of fishing for most fisherfolk in India. Reliance seeks to mitigate all three issues through the dissemination of advisories on potential fishing zones, ocean state forecast and cyclone alert. Based on this information, decisions can be taken to avoid dangers to life as well as income. This is especially useful for marginal fishermen, who use traditional and low-end boats, and constitute a majority of the fishermen in India. Reliance addresses the critical needs of almost 15% of marine fisher folk in India to ensure a reasonable return on investment made per trip.
Evidence from the coastal region has shown that the advisories helped fishermen in enhancing income, saved input cost and their lives from cyclone and erratic weather conditions. This year, 1.17 Lakh fishermen were supported by Reliance of which 15% are inland fishermen (2.73 lakh fishermen since inception).
WATER SECURITY
Water being vital for an agrarian economy, Reliance endeavours to make its intervention villages water secure. Towards this end, 85.8 billion litres of water harvesting capacity has been created, since inception, by constructing or renovating water harvesting structures, including earthen/masonry dams and check dams, farm ponds, open wells, etc. These efforts resulted in 434 villages becoming water secure.
Most of these villages have formed water user groups for managing and regulating usage. The positive impact created through water interventions has resulted in reduced drudgery for women, who apart from tending to their household duties, also have to walk several kilometres to fetch water. It has also increased the land use, cropping intensity, agricultural production and income for communities. Owing to this effort, over 38,500 hectares of land have received assured irrigation for two cropping seasons.
Reliance also partnered with several non-government organisations, including Paani Foundation, to promote the cause of water conservation.
FOOD SECURITY
In an effort to ensure food security of small and marginal households, integrated sustainable agriculture practices such as use of better quality seeds, application of organic manure, integrated nutrient management, integrated pest and disease management measures were promoted.
Reliance has collaborated with different organisations to bring in innovative solutions to enhance farm production. This year, Reliance piloted agricultural production enhancement technologies such as precision farming, crop cafeteria, introduction of stress tolerant crops, system of rice intensification (SRI), plastic mulching and other practices to augment farm productivity.
WATER – CHANGING VILLAGE LANDSCAPE
Reliance has been supporting villages to improve their farm production by ensuring sustained availability of water. Shivani BK, a small village in the district of Yavatmal in Maharashtra, is a shining example of how collective action has reversed years of human inflicted degradation of natural resources.
With contribution of shramdaan by the villagers, 697 million litres of water harvesting capacity was created, which has resolved the drinking water woes of the village and increased the availability of water all year round. This feat laid the foundation for the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices, leading to 200% increase in agricultural production and augmented cropping intensity.
The motivated villagers participated in a state level competition to create water harvesting structures, and bagged first place at the taluka level with a prize money of `15 lakh.
Stress Tolerant Crop Varieties and Sustainable Agricultural Practices
Reliance’s food security intervention is spread across multiple agro-climatic zones. Various approaches to benefit the farmers have been adopted. These include participatory variety selection (PVS), adoption of good package of practices (PoP), SRI and identifying stress tolerant (heat and drought resistant) seed varieties to suit the changing climate. These practices aid in increasing the production of the land.
PVS involves collaborations between farmers and leading research institutions. They study the best suited variety of crop for the agro-climatic area. These varieties have desired features such as drought tolerance, high yield, heat tolerance, short duration, etc.
PoPs promoted by RF are soil testing, seed variety selection, seed/seedling treatment, early transplanting of young seedlings (15 days old), optimal spacing between rows, integrated nutrient management (INM), integrated pest management (IPM) using bio pesticides, proper weeding using cono-weeder and irrigation as per crop requirement.
SRI practices adopted by farmers are seedling treatment, optimum spacing and seed rate, seedling transplanting at young age (15 days), integrated nutrient management (INM), integrated pest management (IPM) and weeding using cono-weeder.
The RF team has successfully identified paddy seed varieties such as DRR-44 & Bina-17 (Balangir) and Danteshwari (Itarasi) for seed production. In the demo plots, the average yield was 40% higher than the control plot yield because of adoption of good PoPs. The average yield in SRI demo plots was 114% higher than the control plot yield.
The key achievements in the year are 48% higher yield due to Danteshwari paddy seed and 103% higher yield due to Bina-11.
The interventions resulted in bringing 65,500 Ha of land under sustainable agricultural practices. Over 49,800 households have become food secure with access to at least 10 quintals of food grains each year.
NUTRITION SECURITY
Interventions promoting nutrition have continued to yield significant results in the form of more than 13,000 Reliance Nutrition Gardens (RNGs) that have positively impacted over 1 lakh individuals this year.
Reliance has entered into a partnership with the Government of Maharashtra under its Rajmata Jijau Nutrition Mission to promote RNGs in anganwadi premises in 16 districts. Early results of an internal impact study indicates that the average production of fresh fruits and vegetables was more than 300 Kgs in a year. The introduction of fresh fruits and vegetables in the daily food intake of the children has improved their general nutrition level. This initiative is improving the dietary intake of over 2 lakh children.
DE-RISKING AND DIVERSIFYING LIVELIHOODS
The alternative livelihoods promoted by Reliance provide protection against uncertainties and catastrophes that affect households dependent on agriculture. Small and marginal farmers were encouraged to take up goat-rearing, poultry, bee keeping, nursery raising, mushroom cultivation and vermi-composting and other viable options.
To augment the livelihoods of existing livestock owners, Reliance has conducted over 1,190 livestock camps in remote locations. Through these camps, over 2.1 lakh livestock animals have been provided treatment, which includes vaccination, artificial insemination, improved breeding practices, deworming, etc. Improved livestock health translates into augmented incomes for the poor and landless.
This year, 18,000 rural families have benefitted from alternative livelihoods (more than 37,000 families since inception) with 15% more income as compared to the previous year.
ECOLOGICAL SECURITY
Ecological security is of importance to everyone, but within the rural context, it becomes all the more significant since ecological degradation can directly impact their livelihoods and their lives. To provide the much needed ecological security, Reliance is moving towards climate smart agriculture through the following practices:
- Improving soil health
- Enhancing the green cover through large-scale plantation activities
- Encouraging horticultural activities
These measures have led to significant improvement in soil texture, structure, microbial activity and aeration. This year, over 5,800 farmers were assisted in conducting soil health tests (over 19,200 tests since inception). Increase in availability of water and significant reduction in soil erosion have resulted in improved land productivity. For many households, it has served as a medium of additional income.
On World Environment Day, rural communities and employees were motivated to plant saplings. The event saw an enthusiastic participation of over 20,000 people from over 150 villages across 12 states.
To promote biodiversity, over 0.49 million saplings were planted during FY 2018-19 (over 21.5 million saplings planted since inception).
Reliance, through its health programmes, addresses primary healthcare issues around affordability and accessibility of quality healthcare. It strives to improve awareness and encourage healthy living practices. A range of healthcare services spanning the entire life cycle of patients is offered. Through tertiary healthcare facilities such as multi-specialty hospitals, the Company provides specialised services at subsidised prices to the communities. The health programmes have reached out to 2.5 million people and provided over 6 million patient consultations since inception.
Reliance also supported several organisations in providing a range of healthcare services, including preventive care, maternal and child health, specialised care for patients with cardiac and kidney problems, palliative care for terminally ill cancer patients, leprosy, coronary heart diseases, etc.
The health initiatives of Reliance supports government initiatives on reproductive, maternal, new-born, child and adolescent health, health systems strengthening, non-communicable disease control programmes and communicable disease control programmes.
SIR H. N. RF HOSPITAL (RFH)
Community Health Outreach Operations
With its multilevel presence in patient care with the help of RF Health Outreach program, RFH ensures access to affordable and quality primary and preventive healthcare to all sections of society.
During the year, more than 25,500 families were enrolled for the Health Outreach Program (1.79 lakh families since inception) and availed healthcare services at a location which is accessible and at an affordable cost from a team of qualified Health Care professionals.
The five Mobile Medical Units (MMUs) and three Static Medical Units (SMUs) of the the RFH Health Outreach programme reaches out to 11 wards and 74 marginalised urban slum locations in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.
Over 1.5 lakh consultations took place this year (5.8 lakh since inception). This includes over 27,000 specialist consultations (over 95,000 since inception).
Apart from the patient consultations, the RFH Health Outreach programme has undertaken several specialised programmes.
During the year, 16,636 women in the reproductive age group were screened for anaemia and over 10,000 were diagnosed as anaemic. These women were provided with nutrition counselling and health awareness. The moderate and severe anemia cases were treated with hematinic and deworming as per protocol. Those requiring specialised treatment were referred to RFH.
In the year 2018-19, more than 11,500 children under the age of 5 were screened and 550 children were identified as malnourished and supported by way of free of cost treatment and counselling support.
In the area of Non Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, more than 35,000 individuals were screened for hypertension. Around 10% of these were newly diagnosed as hypertensive. Out of 21,000 individuals that were screened for diabetes, about 5,000 were diagnosed as diabetic. While at-risk patients were advised to make life style modifications, the diagnosed patients were promptly initiated on treatment. These patients are followed up at regular intervals to prevent, early identification and control any complications from these diseases
The cancer prevention and control programme screened around 15,000 individuals for oral, breast and cervical cancers. Intensive health awareness sessions are conducted in the communities and complete support is provided in referring every individual suspected of cancer to a higher centre for further evaluation, confirmation and if needed, treatment.
The Community based Preventive Health Screening programme entails carrying out door to door screening of people for prevention and early detection and referral of diseases like diabetes and hypertension among adults, anaemia in women of reproductive age and acute malnutrition among children under the age of 5. The Health Outreach programme ensures the participation of community members through training of volunteers from the community to do basic preventive health screening under supervision and thus enabling the community to take action for their health.
Sir H.N. Reliance Foundation Hospital And Research Centre
Sir H.N .Reliance Foundation Hospital’s (RFH) clinical care is supported by quality framework and patient safety practices. The hospital’s thrust on innovation has led to accessible and affordable healthcare for all. RFH’s approach to health care extends beyond treatment and aims at achieving the best medical outcomes for all.
Centres of Excellence: Through various speciality services, RFH remains committed to providing the best-in-class evidence-based care at its centres of excellence – Cardiac Science, Orthopaedics, Neurosciences, Gastroenterology, Renal Sciences, Oncosciences. The care delivery is strengthened by world-class infrastructure. The patient care ecosystem is supported by a rehabilitation department, equipped with operation rooms, critical care units, emergency medicine department, preventive health check-up unit, outpatient clinics and diagnostics. A global panel of experts brings the international best practices and expertise to all.
This year, 64 total knee replacements and 81 cataract surgeries were conducted for poor patients free of charge in addition to the high-end bone marrow transplant, renal transplant procedures and paediatric cardiovascular surgeries.
Advanced Sports Science programme has been initiated to provide world-class care to help athletes prepare for various tournaments, including the Olympics.
RFH measures its clinical outcomes against international benchmarks as part of its continuous quality improvement framework that insists on the value of care. In the domain of surgery, the international benchmarks are related to length of stay after surgery, hospital-based infection rate, percentage of cases re-admitted for further treatment, etc. RFH outcomes stand exceptionally high in all these areas. In the area of patient rehabilitation, RFH has reported a higher percentage improvement in patient fitness levels vis-à-vis the benchmarks in all categories of rehabilitation - neuro, cardiac and oncological.
The hospital and blood bank received NABH Certification and is on its way to receiving JCI accreditation. RFH received the green building gold standard and award from Brihan Mumbai Electricity Supply and Transport for minimising energy consumption.
ALLIANCE FOR SAVING MOTHERS AND NEWBORNS (ASMAN)
Project ASMAN is a partnership between Reliance Foundation, Tata Trusts, MSD for Mothers, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and United States Agency for International Development. It is focused on strengthening healthcare system for mothers and new-borns by enhancing the quality of public health services. The programme functions as a public-private partnership with the government. The programme is currently working in partnership with the governments of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. There are 42 health facilities in 4 districts in the former and 39 facilities in 4 districts of the latter. It has touched at least 0.5 million mothers and new-born infants during the project cycle.
The initiative focuses on capacity building of primary care providers in labour rooms with the help of technological innovations. It lays special focus on the critical 48-60 hours of the intra and post-partum period.
The primary goal of ASMAN is to reduce neonatal and maternal mortality through the adoption of key technologies that improve capacity-building. A tablet based Intrapartum Monitoring and Decision Support Tool has been rolled out in 70 facilities and has registered 66,396 cases till now. Almost 900 service providers have been trained on obstetric and new-born care skills in these states. This initiative will help in improved adherence to essential practices; early identification of complications and its appropriate management; timely referrals; improved case monitoring; recording and reporting for effective decision making. As part of this initiative, game scenarios have been developed, which simulate real life complication cases, testing application of knowledge and decision-making skills of the providers.
RF DRISHTI
Reliance, through its RF Drishti programme, has been supporting visually impaired underprivileged people to undergo corneal transplants by partnering with the National Association for the Blind, Arvind Eye Hospital and Sankara Eye Foundation. This year, 1,153 visually impaired individuals were supported under the programme (18,000+ corneal transplants since inception).
A week-long Drishti Art and Essay Competition organised every year aims to increase the awareness about the importance of eye donation. This year, nearly 9,000 children participated in it.
Under this programme, an international Braille newspaper is published every fortnight, which has a circulation of 3,700. The newspaper reaches visually impaired readers across India and the world.
CARE AND SUPPORT FOR HIV AND TUBERCULOSIS
Reliance has set up hospitals at Lodhivali (Maharashtra), Jamnagar and Hazira (Gujarat) providing free and subsidised healthcare services to underprivileged and deprived segments. The services range from general healthcare, communicable and non-communicable diseases including HIV and tuberculosis. Additionally, trauma victims of highway accidents are provided free treatment. This year over 0.1 million consultations have been provided with over 3.1 million consultations provided since inception.
Care and support treatment are provided to people living and affected with HIV (PLHIV), including children and orphans. The hospitals registered 7,718 PLHIV since inception, of which 242 were registered this year. So far, over 0.33 million specialised health consultations and counselling were provided to PLHIV. Several awareness generation activities were conducted with migrant workers, truck drivers, sex workers and general population to sensitise and reduce stigma and discrimination associated with it. Nutritional support has been provided to 1,457 children affected with HIV, besides providing emotional support. This year, 353 individuals were screened for tuberculosis, taking the total screenings to 16,024 since inception. With continuous follow up and treatment, over 93% of smear positive cases were cured of the disease.
For the last four years, Reliance has been organising regional level marriage bureau function at HIV DOTS Centre in collaboration with Gujarat State Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (GSNP+). These functions saw participation of 2,737 PLHIV from states including Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, of which 63 couples were engaged.
HEALTH SERVICES AT PLANT SITES
Reliance’s health outreach programme also provides primary health services to the underprivileged communities across the plant locations in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh through 13 MMUs and health camps. Through MMUs and camps, over 3.7 lakh consultations were provided during the year.
This year, more than 21, 000 women and adolescent girls were screened for anaemia, of which nearly 14,900 were found anaemic and were provided nutritional counselling and referred for further treatment. In addition, more than 10,000 children under the age of five years were screened for malnutrition of which 189 children were identified as malnourished this year. The programme has so far screened over 36,500 cases for improving child nutritional status and more than 44,500 women and adolescent girls for anaemia.
At the community level, vision screening camps and mobile eye clinics are regularly conducted across the plant locations. During 2018-19, more than 21,000 consultations were done for vision related issues, of which 745 cataract surgeries were done (over 1.24 lakh consultations and 11,230 cataract surgeries since inception). Over 3,600 individuals (over 11,000 individuals since inception) with refractive error were provided spectacles.
DHIRUBAI AMBANI SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMME
In order to nurture talented young leaders, the Dhirubhai Ambani Scholarship (DAS) programme has so far provided financial support to 12,285 meritorious students to pursue graduation in any stream and institution of their choice.
Nearly half of the DAS scholars are girls, while one-fifth are specially-abled students. During FY 2018-19, DAS programme supported 504 students across the country.
During the year, three alumni meets were held in Mumbai, Bangalore and Vadodara in which around 100 alumni participated.
CUMULATIVE SCHOLARS UNDER DAS PROGRAMME
“One has to continuously work hard as someone, somewhere is watching and will come forward to help you out. For me it was DAS, that helped me sail through my hardship.”
CA Pratik Ekhande, Pune
“DAS is a very good programme, that inspired me becoming a Mechanical Engineer and an expert in Nano Technology. Let this platform become a harbinger of new ideas.”
Mr. Sanket Mahajan, MD Sanket
Innovations Pvt. Ltd.,Nashik
Prominent achievements of RF Schools this year
- Students from RF schools won two international prizes in Skating and Taekwondo
- 34 accolades and medals at the national level in events such as skating, athletics, swimming, Jeet Kune Do, yoga, Arts and Science
- Students received platinum and gold certificates of merit at Times Spark, and five State level accomplishments in water polo, Tang Soo Do, swimming, Science and Technology exhibitions
RELIANCE FOUNDATION SCHOOLS
Reliance Foundation Schools are committed to provide an enjoyable and enriching educational experience to children. Currently, there are 13 Reliance Foundation Schools, which are located in Jamnagar, Surat, Vadodara, Dahej, Lodhivali, Nagothane, Nagpur and Navi Mumbai, educating over 14,500 children annually. The schools offer education from kindergarten to Class 12 and are affiliated to CBSE, Gujarat State Board and Maharashtra State Board.
In the 2018, Class 10 CBSE Board examinations, the pass percentage of Reliance Foundation Schools was 98.8%. In Class 12 CBSE Board examinations, the pass percentage was 97.8% and 100% in Science and Commerce streams, respectively. The pass percentage in Maharashtra State Board examinations was 100% in Class 10 and 98% and 90% in Class 12 Science and Commerce streams, respectively. In the Gujarat State Board examinations, pass percentage was 91% in both Class 10 and Class 12 Science stream.
Students of Reliance Foundation Schools continue to excel in co-scholastic, sporting and co-curricular pursuits and have won awards and recognitions in various events at the district, state, national and international levels.
DHIRUBHAI AMBANI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
Dhirubhai Ambani International School (DAIS) has been ensuring quality education for children year after year and prepares students for the ICSE, the IGCSE and the IB Diploma examinations. The school is a member of the Cambridge International Primary Programme. The school provides world class education to over 1,050 children annually and has about 140 teachers with rich experience in national and international curricula. The students have consistently achieved outstanding results across all the three curricula. In 2018 IGCSE results, 85.4% of all grades achieved were A* and A. Three students topped the world in five subjects and four topped in India in four subjects. The School’s ICSE average score was 94.2% and the highest score was 98.6%. In the IB Diploma Examinations, eight students earned the perfect score of 45 and the School’s average score was 40 points. The IB Diploma graduates of 2018 earned admissions to 21 of the top 30 universities worldwide. During the year, students won over 550 awards in various co-scholastic, sporting and co-curricular events at the state, national and international levels.
Over the years, the School has consistently achieved the highest standards of excellence in all areas. DAIS is jointly accredited by the Council of International Schools and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. DAIS is also a ‘Green Building Certified’ School with ‘platinum’ rating from the Indian Green Building Council. In 2018, Education World ranked DAIS as the No. 1 International School in India for the sixth consecutive year; Hindustan Times ranked DAIS as No. 1 International School in Mumbai, after having ranked the school as the No. 1 School in Mumbai for five years. Times of India ranked DAIS as the No. 1 ‘National and International Curriculum’ School in Mumbai for the fourth consecutive year
JIO INSTITUTE
Reliance has received a letter of Intent for setting up Jio Institute under the ‘Institutions of Eminence Deemed to be Universities Regulation, 2017’ of University Grant Commission (UGC) under MHRD, Government of India in July, 2018.
Jio Institute is envisioned to be an exemplary academic institution of higher learning with a world class platform for research, lifelong learning and student experience. Jio Institute will prepare the next generation of leaders and significantly contribute to the advancement of Indian society.
Jio Institute is currently working on planning and conceptualising the academic programme, curriculum, research agenda, research centre, institutional collaboration and campus development.
OTHER EDUCATION INITIATIVES
Under Protsahan Scheme in East Godavari (Andhra Pradesh), scholarships are provided to meritorious students from the villages around the plant location. This year, 218 students were provided scholarships under the scheme for pursuing their higher studies 2,081 scholarships have been provided since inception.
Reliance Foundation collaborated with Centre for Teacher Accreditation - Teaching Professionals’ Olympiad. This year, more than 60,000 teachers from over 10,000 schools across 2,000 locations participated in the CENTA TPO, India’s national competition for teachers. Over 1,000 outstanding teachers received awards at the Reliance Foundation Teacher Awards.
Through its various sports programmes, Reliance aims at bringing about positive change among youth and children in both urban and rural landscapes. Popular sports such as football, basketball and athletics are used to cultivate strategic thinking, competitive spirit and leadership abilities among children and youth besides promoting health, fitness and active lifestyle. Reliance partners with various national and state sports bodies to improve the quality of the sporting ecosystem through better facilities, training, infrastructure and equipment. The initiatives of Reliance in the field of sports aims to promote and contribute to the Khelo India initiative and National Sports Talent Search Scheme of the government.
These sports initiatives seek to develop a culture of sports in India. In order to identify and mentor sports talents, Reliance reaches out to remote corners of the country. The talents were identified and mentored through a rigorous process of training, coaching and participation in various tournaments in India and abroad where they can compete with the best and develop their talent.
RELIANCE FOUNDATION YOUNG CHAMPS (RFYC)
RFYC is a unique, scholarship-based, full-time residential football and education programme. It aims to provide India’s best aspiring football talents the opportunity to hone their skills with world-class facilities and best-in-class training.
The Young Champs Academy was the first to achieve four out of a maximum possible five stars, making it the best residential football academy in India under the academy accreditation programme of the All India Football Federation. Reliance’s objective is to maintain this position and also strive towards the cherished milestone of being the first academy to achieve a five-star rating.
This year, 19 young football talents were awarded scholarships to develop their football skills, taking the total to 61 scholarships across 15 states. Under the programme, 46 Young Champs went on an international exposure trip to Spain and Japan where they got an opportunity to play friendly matches with international teams representing elite football clubs.
RELIANCE FOUNDATION JR. NBA PROGRAMME
The RF Jr NBA programme is aimed at promoting school based basketball all over India, with a special focus on training coaches and providing quality equipment. In its sixth year, this programme has reached out to 6 million children across 7,900 schools from 34 cities. All these schools have adopted and implemented the training modules prepared by Reliance Foundation and have integrated basketball into their school curriculum.
To boost the basketball skills among schools, the programme conducts coaching on physical education and skills development for teachers and children. Further, the programme refurbished over 10,000 basketball courts.
RELIANCE FOUNDATION YOUTH SPORTS (RFYS)
Launched in 2016, RFYS programme conducted competitions across schools and colleges from more than 70 cities to discover the untapped talent in the country. It reached out to over 5.5 million children, adolescent and youth.
The football tournaments saw participation from 7,100 teams, including 800 girls’ teams from over 5,200 institutes. Over 90,000 athletes registered their participation in these tournaments. Continuing to build an ecosystem around the sport, the programme created a digital learning platform that can be freely accessed by football enthusiasts to hone their technical skills. The programme supported 46 best physical education teachers this year for ‘D-License Coaching Certification’, taking the total number of trained coaches to 660. In collaboration with the Association of Indian Football Coaches, RFYS conducted the All India Football Federation grassroots level courses for the 55 best coaches under the programme.
This year, the programme scaled up its talent hunt for athletes across 30 cities. It registered over 20,000 athletes (including 7,000 girls) from 3,500 institutes participating in various events, including sprints, relays, short-distance run, long-distance run, high jump, long jump and shotput. For enhancing skills and better sporting performance, the programme organised a training camp for 37 best athletes of the previous season, conducted by International Association of Athletics Federation Level-4 Coaches from Australia. The camp introduced sports science to athletics training, which included mental EQ evaluation. As a result of this, nine athletes were able to better their previous national records.
RELIANCE FOUNDATION EDUCATION AND SPORTS FOR ALL
Reliance Foundation Education and Sports for All initiative support the education of underprivileged children by partnering with 14 NGOs and working at the grassroots level. These NGOs focus on encouraging sports, literacy and life skills among the children. Under this initiative, a Digital Learning Van, embedded with technology, has been providing quality education to more than 4,000 children from 10 government schools in Mumbai and Thane districts. Together, these initiatives have positively impacted 0.2 million children.
Reliance swiftly and effectively responds to disasters that endanger human lives and livelihoods, by directly engaging with affected communities. It leverages all its strengths – including human resources and information technology – to provide relief and rehabilitation support. In the process, Reliance collaborates with different community based organisations and government departments to prioritise and provide need based support to affected communities. During FY 2018-19, the Company helped communities affected by floods and cyclones in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
KERALA FLOOD RELIEF
The Reliance family worked relentlessly to support the flood affected communities of Kerala when heavy rains battered the state in August 2018. Using the digital platform, early warning messages were provided to states where the Indian Meteorological Department had declared a red-alert. When continuous rainfall brought life to a standstill and caused widespread damage, Reliance geared up its team and distributed relief kits to provide immediate sustenance to the affected families across 6 districts. As part of the support, relief materials were distributed to over 74,000 affected families.
Additionally, fodder kits were distributed and livestock health camps were conducted to secure over 3,000 animals against immediate and medium-term health risks emanating from floods.
As a measure of solidarity with the people of Kerala, RF Chairperson, Smt. Nita M. Ambani, visited the relief camp in Allapuzha district and interacted with the people. On behalf of Reliance Family, she handed over a cheque of `21 crore to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
CONTRIBUTION TO DISASTER PREPAREDNESS PROGRAMME
In September 2018, Reliance Foundation in association with INCOIS jointly organised ‘Indian Ocean-wide 18 Tsunami Mock Exercise’ in the tsunami prone states of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Odisha. This was part of a nationwide tsunami mock drill coordinated by INCOIS that aimed at preparing fishermen living in these areas, and training the government departments to manage tsunami and other disaster situations. In all the mock drill locations, RF team members visited and created awareness among various stakeholders and coordinated with various players for conducting the IOWave 18 Tsunami Mock Exercise.
Reliance continued to support the annual concert ‘Abbaji’ organised by Ustad Zakir Hussain as part of its Arts, Culture and Heritage initiative. The concert featured several renowned musicians who came together to pay tribute to Ustad Zakir Hussain’s father, the legendary Guru, Ustad Allah Rakha Khan.
Other Initiatives
CONTRIBUTION TO SWACHH BHARAT
The Reliance family, under the stewardship of Reliance Foundation initiative, carried out an extensive ‘Swachhta Hi Seva’ campaign reaching more than 42 lakh people across 429 locations in the two week long campaign that ended on October 2, 2018. More than 2 lakh volunteers (employees, rural and urban community leaders and groups) supported by Reliance through various initiatives participated in various cleanliness activities.
In a mass outreach, Reliance’s digital services platform broadcasted audio advisories on Swachhta Hi Seva campaign to more than 2.8 million individuals across 316 districts in 18 States, focusing on environment, open defecation diseases, water and sanitation issues.
SKILLING AND EMPLOYMENT
Through its skilling and employment programme, Reliance is working towards making the youth employable by equipping them with marketable skillsets and providing placement support. It has leveraged the power of technology to link the potential youth for skill training and employment opportunities. Linkages have been established with skilling training institutes for entrepreneurship development in farm and non-farm sectors, including agriculture, horticulture, mushroom cultivation, inland fisheries, animal husbandry, mobile repairing skills, etc. This year, over 9,400 youth were linked to various employment opportunities across sectors, including retail, banking, telecom, etc. (over 24,500 recruitments since inception). The initiative contributes to Skill India Mission of the Government of India.
WILDLIFE CONSERVATION AND ANIMAL WELFARE
Reliance Veterinary Hospital in Padana attended to more than 15,000 animals during the year; of these, over 13,000 were given medicinal treatment, surgery was conducted on 376 animals and 1,298 animals were treated for gynaecology issues. Apart from conducting various veterinary camps, an artificial insemination (A.I.) programme was initiated in August, 2018 under which about 800 A.I. cases were successfully handled.
For wildlife conservation and animal welfare, Reliance supported organisations that work along with communities to protect wildlife and avoid human-animal conflict. Under this initiative, 50 volunteers from villages adjoining the reserves were trained on camera traps, GPS, plaster casting of pugmarks and managing incidents of human-animal conflict.
The initiatives of this year have helped Reliance move closer to its aim of transformative change. Through its policy of direct engagement, leveraging technology and forging partnerships, Reliance has been able to scale its impact to include a diverse section of the population who benefit from these efforts. Farmer and fisher folk, women and children, students and budding sporting talents, people in need of health-care support and citizens faced by natural disasters and many different communities have been positively impacted in FY 2018-19. To expand its scale, next year, Reliance will further intensify its efforts, especially through digital technology.