Bhubaneswar: On the occasion of International Literacy Day, Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest producer of aluminium and its value-added products,has felicitated meritorious students of Vedanta DAV Public School, Jharsuguda, for their superlative performance in 10th and 12th Boards. The meritorious students were a part of Vedanta’s Academic Support Programme which is running in partnership with DAV Public School and aims at giving children from peripheral villages access to quality education in a premier institution.
Felicitating the students and encouraging them to aspire for higher education for a stellar career, Mr.Deepak Prasad, Dy. CEO –Vedanta Ltd., Jharsuguda, said, “With the firm belief that access to quality education is a key enabler in ensuring sustainable development of a region, Vedanta is running several education interventions in Jharsuguda. Our education programmes have created an aspiration for quality education among local communities, which is reflected in the rising literacy levels and matriculation/higher secondary passing percentage in Jharsuguda. Besides academic support, we are also working in the areas of financial literacy and digital literacy for truly bridging the urban and rural divide.”
Elated by their ward’s performance, Mrs. Snehalata Prusty said, “I am extremely happy with my child’s results. She received the right kind of assistance, even during the pandemic, to continue her studies without any roadblocks. I am grateful to the faculty at DAV Public School for their unwavering support. I would also like to thank Vedanta for their education programmes which have transformed the lives of many children in Jharsuguda.”
Some of the education initiatives currently being run by Vedanta include infrastructure development in government schools at Jharsuguda under ‘Mo School Abhiyaan’, an initiative by the Government of Odisha; Vedanta Mini Science Centres, which provide innovative models, experiments, and instruments to enhance aptitude and skills of students in learning science and mathematics in effective and interesting ways; the Vedanta Computer Literacy Programme (VCLP) which aims at imparting basic computer literacy and training to those who do not have access to proper training on using computers; and more. These programmes have been a key enabler in the rise in literacy levels of Jharsuguda from 70.55% (2001) to 78.86% (2011), benefitting more than 6,400 children till the last academic year. Vedanta’s social interventions in the domains of sustainable livelihood, quality education, women empowerment, health, water and sanitation, bio-investment and community infrastructure reach out to over 70 villages in Jharsuguda and nearby areas, benefiting nearly 80,000 people in a year. It empowers more than 4000 women from over 339 SHGs, provides doorstep healthcare services to about 32,000 people annually, gives educational support to more than 6400 students, has planted more than 1.48 lakh trees in partnership with locals at the community level.
Vedanta is India’s largest producer of the green metal, aluminium, operating a world-class 1.6 MTPA aluminium smelter and 3615 MW thermal power generation facility in Jharsuguda, Odisha. The only Indian smelter in the global ‘1 Million Tonne’ production and export club, Vedanta Jharsuguda is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications across core industries. With its state-of-the-art facilities, unparalleled engineering prowess, R&D and innovation abilities, Vedanta Jharsuguda is working towards a sustainable and greener future for all by spurring emerging applications of aluminium, the ‘Metal of the Future’.
