Page 70 - Arvind 2024

Annexure - B to the Directors’ Report
Arvind SmartSpaces Limited: Corporate Social Responsibility Report FY 2023-24
Annexure - I
Overview of CSR Initiatives
The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Policy of Arvind SmartSpaces Limited (“ASL” or “the Company”) aims to work for social advancement and defines its philosophy and guides its actions for undertaking and supporting socially relevant project and programs. Company’s underlying value system has a firm belief that only in a healthy society healthy businesses flourish and that business must serve and empower the community in the area where it operates.
As per the ASL CSR Policy, the CSR initiatives are being carried out by Strategic Help Alliance for Relief to Distressed Areas (SHARDA) Trust and Arvind Foundation. The Company broadly defined its CSR thematic focus area as Rural Advancement and Educational Advancement under Schedule VII of Companies Act - Point (x) Rural Development and Point (ii) Promoting Education.
ASL decided to work in four villages, namely Moti Devti, Nani Devti, Moraiya and Motipura where its project namely Arvind Highgrove in the Sanand taluka of Ahmedabad is located.
These villages are also located at a closed proximity to the taluka headquarters and house various manufacturing and industrial units. With a total population of a little over 15,000 persons, these hamlets are home to predominantly scheduled caste, other backward caste and tribal communities. These villages, while adjacent to the industrial areas, remain largely impoverished with low scores on developmental indicators such as literacy and income. This is largely due to the lack of livelihood opportunities. The family structures are majorly patriarchal, with male members engaging in whatever gainful employment is available to them and the female members taking up house and care work for infants as well as older family members.
During FY 2023-24, the Company has supported three projects around its Area of Operations which is a rural advancement program, a digital literacy program and a supplementary education program – the last two being the educational advancement programmes.
1. Projects around Company’s Area of Operations
ASL has broadly decided to support projects around its sites and offices and its subsidiaries through Arvind Foundation (AF). During FY 2023-24, AF has undertaken ongoing Rural Advancement initiatives around its Project “Arvind Highgrove” in Sanand Taluka in the focused villages of Moti Devati, Nani Devati, Moriya and Motipura. Rural Advancement and Educational Advancement initiatives around ASL’s area of operation has been undertaken.
The long term rural advancement strategy of AF has three elements - Education, Environment and Earning in the geography where it operates. The three elements strategy also continued in the villages where ASL operates. Some Health & Nutrition initiatives are also taken as per the need and demand of the community.
The education component has two projects that company has supported which will be described in the later part of the report. The environment and the earning components have long term interventions to bring lasting change in the communities we operate.
Under the element of environment, through plantation drives, close to 9000 plants were planted in broadly three mode – plantation at individual homes, plantation in schools & crematorium and plantation at block and taluka level at panchayat plots. School students participated in planting the trees in their school campuses under our school greening programme. Environment clubs are also set up in schools.
Building Earning Streams, supporting Livelihoods.
To support and increase earning in villages where ASL operates, it is important to strengthen existing occupations and add incremental earning opportunities. Under the earning component, ASL continued with its initiative of strengthening the dairy and the farming practices.
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