Mumbai : Ambuja Cements, the cement and building material company of Adani Cement and part of the Adani Group, wins the prestigious ICC Social Impact Award 2023 for two categories – Employment Enhancing Vocational Skills and Women Empowerment Category. The awards recognize the outstanding contributions towards skills and women empowerment in Sankrail, West Bengal and Bhatapara, Chhattisgarh respectively.
Ambuja Cements has once again received the ICC Social Impact Award for the fifth consecutive time. Ambuja’s Sankrail team has been awarded with the ICC Social Impact Jury Award in the category of Employment Enhancing Vocational Skills in the Large Project Category, while the Company’s Bhatapara team has been honoured with the same award in the Women Empowerment Category.
The award ceremony was attended by several eminent personalities, including Dr. Shashi Panja, Hon’ble Minister, Department of Industries, Commerce & Enterprises and Department of Women and Child Development and Social Welfare, Govt. of West Bengal, Mr. Sanjay Budhia, Past President, ICC & MD – Patton Group, Ms. Rowan Ainsworth, Consul-General, Australian Consulate-General, Kolkata and Dr. Rajeev Singh, Director General, ICC.
The CSR arm of Ambuja was among 80 NGOs, PSUs, and CSR foundations competing for the award. The event aimed to recognize and celebrate the social impact initiatives taken by various organizations and individuals.
Mr. Ajay Kapur, CEO, Cement Business said, “We are honored to receive these awards, which recognize the dedication and hard work of our teams in Sankrail and Bhatapara. We, at Ambuja, are committed to driving positive social impact in the communities where we operate, and these awards are proof to the effectiveness of our practices in enhancing the lives and livelihoods of thousands of people.”
Sankrail is an industrial block, it has been facing unemployment and unavailability of skilled workers. Ambuja Cements under its Skill & Entrepreneurship Development Institute Program has been skilling rural youth in Sankrail district by providing them with market-driven skills and job readiness to fulfil requirements of the industries around the area. Over 4600 students have graduated till date from the skill training center in skills related to automobile, smartphone repair, industrial sewing, beauty, retail, and customer service.
In Bhatapara, where ownership of land is very poor, communities are dependent on labor work either on farms or factories, leading to poor living conditions due to minimal wages. To support an increase in family income, Ambuja has empowered women to take up livelihood opportunities through SHGs – individual and group-based. Entrepreneurial Training is provided to women to make items like bamboo furniture, sweet boxes, etc., and train them in business skills to start their own shops or collective marketing. Ambuja is also strengthening SHGs in providing training and helping them function strongly as an institution.
The ICC Social Impact Awards is an initiative of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in which the Chamber engages with corporate entities, NGOs, and implementing agencies to recognize them for exemplary work done in the field of social investment, CSR, and sustainability on a PAN India basis.
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