Pilot project aims at providing technical support to improve quality at a tertiary care hospital and at select primary/secondary healthcare facilities

Reliance Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Department of Health, Government of Telangana, at Warangal on December 22, 2015. Smt Karuna Vakati IAS, District Collector & Magistrate, Warangal, signed on behalf of Govt of Telangana State.

Through the MOU, Reliance Foundation (RF) is initiating a pilot programme to improve the quality of healthcare delivery at select public health facilities in Warangal district, Telangana. The project aims at providing technical support for quality improvement at MGM hospital and at select primary/secondary healthcare facilities. The project is focused on capacity building of various cadre in District Health System and DOES NOT envisage augmentation of facilities or Human Resources.

The project period assigned is for three years (2015-2018) and as per the terms of the MOU, Telangana’s Dept of Health and RF intend to work together at various locations directly.

“The state government has decided to take strategic initiatives to improve the quality of health services in government-run hospitals to start with. The development of public health sector is crucial as nearly 85 per cent of the state’s population depends on it. The fundamental objective for signing this MOU is to offer medical services at a par with the private hospitals,” said Smt. Karuna Vakati.

“Reliance Foundation has offered to help in enhancing the health services not only in public hospitals but also at the grassroots levels such as community health centres and primary health centres,” she added.

Shri Srinivas Hundy of Reliance Foundation congratulated the Telangana administration for its positive initiative. “We are glad to join hands with the Telangana authorities who have shown a keen desire to enhance their public healthcare system,” he said.

RF will focus on the following areas for MGM Hospital:

• Techno-managerial training to administrative and clinical heads;
• Designing, developing and monitoring standardized processes across the hospital;
• To improve quality of data management through HMIS/EMR implementation when the Government decides to implement digital health records in collaboration with CDAC.

For primary and secondary healthcare centres, the focus will be on Mother & Childcare in the following areas:

• Improving the quality of care provided during intra-partum and postpartum period in primary & secondary healthcare facilities;
• Strengthening the overall management and functioning of primary healthcare centres;
• Enhancing community engagement by ANMs & ASHAs.

Launching its pilot project in Andhra Pradesh, Reliance Foundation’s Skilling Entrepreneurship and Alternate Livelihood Support programme has trained 15 youngsters who were selected – all hailing from a marginalised community of Krishna district – in retail skills. And Reliance Retail has employed each one of them, at a starting salary of Rs 8,000 per month. If these youngsters, aged between 20 and 30 years, continue to perform well, in three years’ time they could go on to become retail store managers, earning more than Rs 25,000 per month.

The Reliance Retail jobs have come as boon to the 15 youths, all of whom hail from families of poor, landless farmers and have no means of livelihood.

Reliance Foundation has been engaged in identifying and mobilising deserving youngsters, and imparting them training in requisite retail skills. The team has developed a module that is suitable to every retail format. Adopting the framework of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), Reliance Foundation have worked with Reliance Retail to develop a customised module comprising both theoretical and practical, on-the-job training sessions.

Reliance Foundation is creating platforms where rural youths from marginalised communities can acquire skills and procure jobs locally. Its skilling programme focuses on the following:

• Soft Skills – IT & ITES skills
• New-age skills, such as retail
• Agri-based skills
• Specialised skills (bed-side assistance programme and nursing)
• Machine and tool-related skills

V Neeraja, 23 years old, one of the 15 youngsters picked by Reliance Retail, shares his story. “I have lost my father, and my brother is still studying. I desperately needed a job to support my family. In our 15-day training session, I have learnt a lot, and for that I am grateful to Reliance Foundation. I had lost all hope and the future looked bleak. But with this opportunity, I can now provide my family with two square meals a day, and my brother can continue his education. I wanted to do Masters in Economics, and I am hopeful that someday my dream would come true,” he says.

G Siva Shankar, 25 years old, another one of the chosen 15, says, “Being the son of an agriculture labourer, the going was tough for me. In these hard times, it is harder to believe that a job opportunity would come knocking at your door. But that is exactly what happened to me. Initially I was sceptical about the skilling programme. But now I have a job, and I thoroughly enjoyed learning new skills.”

Mr Jitendra Kalra, COO, Reliance Foundation, says, “The skilling programme of Reliance Foundation has the potential to directly impact lives and families. What is unique about this programme is that, unlike most other programmes that focus on urban areas, Reliance Foundation is making a serious attempt to reach out to the rural marginalised community. Also, there is a conscious effort to work with the youth from these communities, imparting them knowledge and skills to give their self-confidence a boost.”

The National Sample Survey Office has stated that 22.4 crore of the total Indian workforce of 48.74 crore would have to be trained in skills through non-formal channels. The Reliance Foundation’s Skilling programme aims to do just that in select areas of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal over the next five years. Its target outreach is 5,00,000 youngsters by FY 2019-20.

ABOUT RELIANCE FOUNDATION: Reliance Foundation is an initiative of Reliance Industries Ltd. Among India’s largest social initiatives, it is focused on addressing the nation’s development challenges in domains of Rural Transformation, Education, Health, Sports, Urban Renewal, and Arts, Culture and Heritage. Its hands-on approach has directly impacted over 5,500 villages across India.

Led by Founder and Chairperson Smt. Nita Ambani, Reliance Foundation reaches out to the marginalized sections of the population living in remote corners of the country, to provide them with sustainable livelihoods. Reliance Foundation audaciously inspires and facilitates transformative change to ensure higher quality of life by developing the nation’s social capital.

Since its inception in 2010, Reliance Foundation has impacted over four million lives through its work. 
www.reliancefoundation.org

Key Contacts: 
Enosh Mittakadapa 
Reliance Industries Ltd. 
+919573664400 
Enosh.Mittakadapa@ril.com

David Francis 
Reputare 
+919884052528 
David.Francis@reputare.co.in

In a significant new initiative, Reliance Foundation has initiated a project to make over 500,000 women living in Mumbai’s slums, financial literate.

The programme which will see Reliance Foundation partner with CRISIL Foundation was kicked off today, to mark the 83rd birth anniversary of Late Shri Dhirubhai Ambani, aims to empower the women towards making informed financial decisions and get them to inculcate the savings habit.

Backed by CRISIL’s technical knowhow, Reliance Foundation has carried out an extensive study across slums in Mumbai. The study has shown that these women from marginalised sections of the society are usually kept out of the financial decision making process by men. Even the employed ones among them hand over their salary to their husbands or fathers who manage the money. Psychologically these women do not feel adept at handling finance. While in reality they are much better at managing finances, a majority of them know nothing even about the basics of banking.

Based on this study, a module has been worked out that will educate these women in the basics of banking besides helping them avail of government initiatives like the Jan Dhan Yojna, Rashtryia Swastha Bhima Yojna and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bhima Yojna.

Reliance Foundation will also help every women open a bank account under Jan Dhan Yojna, as well connect older women to the Atal Pension Yojna.

In the first phase a pool of fifty Master Trainers from among these marginalised women will be trained using technical assistance from CRISIL Foundation. These Master Trainers will in turn train 2,400 trainers by March 2016, who will carry the programme forward.

Mr. Jitendra Kalra, COO, Reliance Foundation says, “This workshop has been designed as an extension of the Prime Minister’s Beti Bachao Beti Badhao programme. By educating women from marginalised sections of the society on financial matters, we will be empowering them to make informed decisions for the financial well-being of their families. After all, a woman cares the most for her family.”

ABOUT RELIANCE FOUNDATION: Reliance Foundation is an initiative of Reliance Industries Ltd. Among India’s largest social initiatives, it is focused on addressing the nation’s development challenges in domains of Rural Transformation, Education, Health, Sports, Urban Renewal, and Arts, Culture and Heritage. Its hands-on approach has directly impacted over 5,500 villages across India.

Led by Founder and Chairperson Mrs. Nita Ambani, Reliance Foundation reaches out to the marginalized sections of the population living in remote corners of the country, to provide them with sustainable livelihoods. Reliance Foundation audaciously inspires and facilitates transformative change to ensure higher quality of life by developing the nation’s social capital.

Since its inception in 2010, Reliance Foundation has impacted over four million lives through its work. 
www.reliancefoundation.org

Key Contact: 
Kirby Furtado- 773818405 kirby.furtado@ril.com 
Sejal Mody – 99306 61349 sejal.mody@reputare.co.in

This year the festival will combine technology with art to train autistic persons in computer-assisted art

Reliance Foundation brings the popular ARTTECH festival to Mumbai this year. The year’s theme is combining technology with art. For the first time, autistic persons will be trained in technology assisted art besides the traditional arts such as acting, modelling, photography, etc.

Experienced facilitators from India, US, and Australia will train 17 participants over a period of three days. The final work will be displayed at the end of the festival.

Mr Jitendra Kalra, COO, Reliance Foundation shares on bringing the festival to Mumbai, “Reliance Foundation is focused on building an inclusive India. Partnering with the ARTTECH Festival provides an opportunity to parents, therapist and patients to interact and cope with the disorder through art and technology.”

Velvi is the first organization in India that has applied art to transform the lives of children and adults affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).To create awareness among the parents, Velvi has organized the Festival since 2006 in Madurai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Trissur, Chennai, and Coimbatore so far. From a one-day event, it has grown to a three-day residential programme today.

The Festival has inspired organisations across the world to follow suit. The State University of California at Chico, USA; Rhythm Foundation, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and Shenanigans, Atlanta, USA are some of the organisations that have interacted with Velvi and organised festivals in their respective countries.

Dr. Parasuram Ramamoorthi, Chairman of Velvi, said, “With the support of Reliance Foundation we are able to bring this festival to Mumbai. This year’s ARTTECH festival would focus on these art forms plus improve emotional intelligence.”

A number of professionals who have worked with autistic people will be present at the Festival in Mumbai. The parents of the participants will be allowed to observe the workshops. There will be a theatre performance during the Festival, while the finale will be marked by celebration, dancing, and an exhibition of the Art prepared during the Festival.

Mumbaikars will witness a new dimension of Autism and are invited to the Final Closing Ceremony of the Festival on February 14, 2016, at Swadeshi Complex, Chunnabhatti.

About Reliance Foundation:

Reliance Foundation aims to play a catalytic role in addressing the nation’s development challenges through innovative and sustainable solutions with its focus on five core pillars: Rural Transformation, Education, Health, Urban Renewal, and Promotion and Protection of India’s Arts, Culture and Heritage. Mrs. Nita M. Ambani is the Chairperson of Reliance Foundation and the guiding spirit behind the Foundation’s ambitious vision of becoming the leading vehicle for social development, empowering the underprivileged and infusing social transformation in India. Reliance Foundation reaches out to over 5,500 villages and various urban locations across India. 
www.reliancefoundation.org

About Velvi:

VELVI means spiritual action for the welfare of Humanity. Velvi founded by Dr. Parasuram Ramamoorthi in 1987and has completed 28 years of service to humanity through theatre and arts. It has supported theatre artists and traditional artists like Puppeteers. Since 2003 Veelvi has been focussing on helping children and adults in the Autism spectrum disorder through Arts.

Velvi was the first organisation that helped them with Eye-Contact and Attention span through their Mask Therapy which is gaining universal currency now. Since 2006 Velvi has conducted workshops Drama for Autism in many parts of the world.

Velvi’s future plan includes Independent Assisted Living Project for young persons with Autism where they would live under care and also pursue THEIR PASSION for Art.

Contact person: 
Sejal Mody – 99306 61349, sejal.mody@reputare.co.in 
Dr. Ramamoorthi Parasuram - 9655 573751, parasuram.ramamoorthi@gmail.com

Spearheading the philanthropic drive of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) since 2010, Reliance Foundation (RF) has supported various initiatives for the visually impaired. In addition to that, the Foundation has sponsored almost 15,000 corneal transplants of the needy.

Reliance Foundation, Founder and Chairperson, Smt. Nita Ambani felicitated six visually impaired people, aged between 12 and 64, who emerged all-India winners at the Drishti Essay and Art Competition, 2015. The felicitation ceremony was held at the Dhirubhai Ambani International School, Mumbai, on Tuesday.

This is the first year the competition was thrown open to the visually impaired, through the Drishti Newsletter – the nation’s first fortnightly in the Braille script.

The newsletter invited entries from the visually impaired across India. The entrants were split into two categories. One category was for young children, who had to write on ‘मेरी तमनना ् हैयह बनना’. The other category involved the seniors who wrote on, ‘दरू दृष्टी जिनकेपास हैसफलता उनकेसाथ है’.

The essays written in Braille were translated into Hindi, and were reviewed by Swagata Thorat, Editor of the Newsletter. The six winners, hailing from Delhi, Maharashtra and Gujarat, were picked from 47 entries.

Speaking on the occasion, Smt. Nita Ambani said, “Till date Reliance Foundation Drishti has successfully completed nearly 15,000 corneal transplant surgeries for the underprivileged.

Together, we have helped these people move from darkness to light, and lead a better life with new hopes and aspirations…four years ago, we started India's first Braille fortnightly in Hindi. Today, our Braille newspaper goes out to 16 countries. Through this, we are committed to empowering the visually impaired with information and knowledge.”

The event was attended by Mr Dino Gandhi, Secretary, National Association for the Blind (NAB) and Swagat Thorat, Editor of Drishti Newsletter.

About Reliance Foundation:

Reliance Foundation is an initiative of Reliance Industries Ltd. Among India’s largest social initiatives, it is focused on addressing the nation’s development challenges in domains of Rural Transformation, Education, Health, Disaster Management, Sports for Development, Urban Renewal, and Arts, Culture and Heritage. Its hands-on approach has directly impacted over 5,500 villages across India.

Led by Founder and Chairperson Mrs. Nita Ambani, Reliance Foundation reaches out to the marginalized sections of the population living in remote corners of the country, to provide them with sustainable livelihoods. Reliance Foundation audaciously inspires and facilitates transformative change to ensure higher quality of life by developing the nation’s social capital.

Since its inception in 2010, Reliance Foundation has impacted over four million lives through its work.

www.reliancefoundation.org

Contact person:
Tushar Pania – 98200 88536, tushar.pania@ril.com
Sejal Mody – 99306 61349, sejal.mody@reputare.co.in

22 of ISL’s Reliance Foundation Young Champs to get a unique experience to train and compete with 9 Premier League Academy teams- Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Reading, Aston Villa, Southampton, West Bromwich Albion, Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool

Starting today onwards, Reliance Foundation’s Young Champs (RFYC) will train at various prestigious Club academies in the United Kingdom. The RFYC group comprises of 22 young Indian footballers in the age group of under-12 and under-14, who have been training at Navi Mumbai for the past one year under the RFYC residential scholarship programme. They will embark on their twelve day journey on 12th May 2016, accompanied by Young Champs Head Coach Mark Vaessen and assistant coach Jose Barreto.

The Premier League is a strategic partner to the Indian Super League (ISL) and the visit is part of their Mutual Cooperation Agreement. Earlier, in April 2015, the Premier League, along with Arsenal, Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion hosted a five day event, sharing best practice with ISL club owners and senior management, with a focus on Club Organisation, Youth and Community Development and Fan Engagement.

Speaking on the unique initiative, Mrs. Nita Ambani, Founder and Chairperson of Football Sports Development and Reliance Foundation, says, “We are proud to be associated with the Premier League and are extremely thankful for their support in providing this huge opportunity for the 22 Young Champs. Since last year, our Young Champs children have shown tremendous growth being developed as future footballers for India. Our endeavour has been to provide the best available means of training to our next generation. I am of a firm opinion that the 12 day program for Young Champs with ‘learning and experience’ at its core will not only gain them knowledge on football skills but also return them as more selfbelieving individuals.

Their schedule begins with training at the Chelsea FC Academy in Cobham, followed by friendly matches over the following two days against the Crystal Palace, Southampton and Reading academies. The group will also get an opportunity to watch the last game of the Premier League season at St. Mary’s Stadium between Southampton and Crystal Palace on Sunday 15th May.

The following week will see the group visit the Premier League offices, where the young people will hear from the Youth Development team around expectations of players, alongside fun and engaging workshops delivered by the Education department and a photo opportunity with the Premier League Trophy.

Additionally, there will be an opportunity for the ISL central academy coaches to hear from Ged Roddy, Director of Youth at the Premier League, about the development of the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP)

The afternoon will see the group take a city sightseeing tour bus around London organised by ‘Visit Britain’, the official tourism partner of the visit.

On Wednesday 18th May, West Bromwich Albion, partners of ISL’s club Delhi Dynamos, will host a training session at their academy, which will be followed on Thursday 19th May by an opportunity for the Young Champs to participate in the Albion Foundation disability and schools programme before they move onto Manchester City for a tournament with the City Academy.

The last leg of the tour will see the RFYC play against Aston Villa, Reading and Liverpool at the Liverpool Academy.

Mr. Ged Roddy, Director of Youth at the Premier League, stated: "We are very much looking forward to welcoming the Young Champs group and their coaches to the Premier League and hope that they enjoy their visit and everything it will entail.

They will have access to great facilities, working alongside coaches who are key to the development of the talent at our clubs, whilst also taking a look at some of the stadia and training facilities our clubs use on a day-to-day basis.

We hope this successful partnership with the ISL will assist in the development of these young players, allowing them to learn more about elite football and encourage them to continue on their own football journey."

Ms. Patricia Yates, VisitBritain Director said, “We welcome the Young Champs to the ‘home of football’ on this once-in-a-lifetime trip, visiting and training at the home of our legendary Premier League football clubs. We know they will be working hard but will also get the chance to experience our vibrant cities, stunning countryside and culture as they travel across our regions as part of their tour.

“Football is the number one sporting draw for international tourists to Britain and we encourage visitors from all over the world to travel to Britain and enjoy a Barclays Premier League football match with our ‘Football is GREAT’ campaign.”

The 22 young people travelling to UK are Bunando Singh, Koustav Dutta, Yashvender Singh, Ronik Singh, Tushar Kumar, Rashid Cherukad, Mustaque Ahmed, Mikhil Patil, Muhammed Nemil, Muhammed Basith, Ranit Sarkar, Ayush Chhikara, Sumit Das, Aqib Nawab, Aritra Das, Subhajit Belel, Razibul Mistry, Basker Singh, Supriyo Sardar, Zidan Singh, Birendra Singh and G Balaji

For further information, please visit: http://www.indiansuperleague.com/rfyoungchamps  
Twitter: ril_foundation https://twitter.com/ril_foundation  
Instagram: reliancefoundation https://www.instagram.com/reliancefoundation/ 
Facebook: Reliancefoundation https://www.facebook.com/foundationRIL/

For Media Query:  
Leeladhar Singh– 7738216155 /leeladhar.singh@ril.com
Rohan D’souza- 9833834146 /rohan.dsouza@imgreliance.com

RF takes sustainable measure to ensure water to 14000 people and 2500 acres of parched Marathwada

The Marathwada region of Maharashtra is parched. Repeated failures of monsoons over the years, over exploitation of ground water, and the resultant depletion of water tables, have crippled the region’s economy.

For the past four years, Reliance Foundation (RF), through its flagship Rural Transformation programme, has been working to provide long-term solution to Marathwada’s water woes.

As a major step, RF has undertaken the rejuvenation of Sona River at Soygaon in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra. This project will benefit 14,000 people and irrigate 2,500 acres of land in five villages –Amkheda, Galwada, Wetalwadi, Soygaon and Sonadwad. It will also recharge more than 100 wells in the region to ensure that there is no shortage of drinking water.

Soygaon, one of the remotest blocks of Aurangabad district, has been crippled by water scarcity. Most of the wells/bore-wells in the area have dried up. Forget water for irrigation, the local panchayat doesn’t even have resources to supply drinking water to the people of Soygaon.

The Foundation has deployed a team to carry out de-siltation and cleaning of a kilometrelong stretch of the Sona River. Working on a war footing, the team aims to renovate two defunct dams, and build two new check dams on the earmarked stretch of the river before the arrival of monsoon. To ensure sustainability, the team will spread water harvesting awareness among the locals.

Mission Rahat: Marathwada

As an immediate relief for the parched region, RF, in collaboration with government agencies, has identified 100 most distressed villages in the four Marathwada districts of Latur, Hingoli, Jalna and Nanded, and has developed a system to deliver drinking water to over 50,000 families living in these villages. Each village is supplied 3-4 tankers of water per day – an efficient system, put in place by RF, ensuring equitable and safe distribution of water. Nearly 100 water tankers are deployed daily to supply water to the villages.

“We were struggling to get water as there is no source near our village,” says Sanjana Pawar of Sevanagar Tanda in Latur district. “All our work came to a standstill as we spent whole days hunting for water. Our daughters too joined us, and affected their studies. Thanks to Reliance Foundation, we are now getting drinking water at home.”

Mahajan Anandrao Shinde of Harbal village in Nanded district says, “This RF initiative to provide drinking water has been very helpful. Before RF deployed the water tankers, there was very little water available. Reliance Foundation has been our saviour by providing drinking water to us.”

Nita Ambani, Founder and Chairperson of Reliance Foundation has been nominated as a candidate to be a new member, pending election, of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), headquartered at Lausanne, Switzerland today.

The International Olympic Committee is the supreme authority of the Olympic Movement. It acts as a catalyst for collaboration between all parties of the Olympic family, from the National Olympic Committees (NOCs), the International Sports Federations (IFs), the athletes, the Organising Committees for the Olympic Games (OCOGs), to partners and United Nations agencies. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) shepherds success through a wide range of programmes and projects. It ensures the regular celebration of the Olympic Games, supports all affiliated member organisations of the Olympic Movement and strongly encourages, by appropriate means, the promotion of the Olympic values.

The election will be held at the 129th IOC Session that will take place in Rio de Janeiro between 2nd and 4th August 2016. The independent selection process follows a new procedure for recruitment of IOC members based on the Olympic Agenda 2020 recommendations. Once elected, she will continue to be a member until the age of 70.

Nita Ambani said “It is truly a honour and privilege to be nominated by IOC. I believe in the power of sport to shape our youth, to bring together communities and bridge gaps between cultures and generations. I am grateful to IOC for this opportunity, it’s a recognition of India and Indian women. I am looking forward to the opportunity to contribute in meeting the goals of IOC.”

She is the first Indian woman to be nominated to the International Olympic Committee. Nita Ambani has been involved in promoting multiple sports in the country with focus on developing talent through a number of large-scale grassroots level initiatives. The grassroots programmes that she has initiated has reached out to over 3 million children.

For Editorial query, please contact: Leeladhar Singh,
+91 7738216155,
Leeladhar.singh@ril.com 
Rohan Dsouza,
+ 91 9833834146,
rohan.dsouza@imgreliance.com

RF has supplied over 20 million litres of water to 2 lakh drought-hit people

Reliance Foundation embarked on a mission to supply potable drinking water to the drought hit villages of Marathwada less than a month ago, after it identified 100 most distressed villages in four districts of Latur, Hingoli, Jalna and Nanded. In 23 days RF’s Mission Rahat – Marathwada, has reached out to more than 100 villages, providing two to four tankers of water per village per day. More than 300 daily sorties supplies approximately 11 litres of water per person per day. So far, more than 20 million litres of water have been supplied to 2 lakh people, deploying as many as 3,990 tankers in May – the hottest month of the year.

Marathwada region of Maharashtra is parched due to repeated failures of monsoons over the years resulting in depletion of water tables, and over-exploitation of ground water, which has crippled the region’s economy.

For the past four years, RF, through its flagship Rural Transformation programme, has been working to provide a long-term sustainable solution to Marathwada’s water woes. However the need of the hour was to provide relief to these villages where drinking water was not available.

A team from the Foundation, in collaboration with government agencies, identified 100 most distressed villages in the four Marathwada districts. Within days, the RF team identified sources of water and started delivering drinking water to over 50,000 families. An efficient supply system, put in place by RF, has ensured equitable and safe distribution of water to the villages.

“Water was very scarce and we had to travel far to fetch it. Now, Reliance Foundation is providing us water free of cost. We are thankful to RF for this timely help,” says Vijay Murlidhar Kadam, hailing from Bharamankheda in Jalna district.

P M Ambulage, a gram-sevika from Kharpudi, Jalna, says, “We were facing acute water scarcity. The village sarpanch asked me to seek the Panchayat Samiti’s help. Mr Pagare of the Panchayat Samiti told me that RF has been providing free water to water-scarce villages. He said that an RF team will survey our village, and if the need is real, will provide immediate relief.

“I gathered women from my village and went to meet the local RF team. The team surveyed our village and were convinced of our plight. Today, we have tankers supplying water to our village. I am thankful to Reliance Foundation for rescuing us.”

Reliance Foundation participates in the Govt. of Maharashtra initiative to increase the forest cover in the state by planting 50,000 trees in Yavatmal, Parbhani and Raigarh districts

In a bid to increase the forest cover in Maharashtra, Reliance Foundation has committed to plant 50,000 trees in Yavatmal, Parbhani and Raigarh districts of the state, as a part of the government’s ‘Vanamahotsav’ initiative -- to plant 2 crore trees on July 1.

“Vanamahotsav 2016-17”, envisioned by Mr Sudhir Mungantiwar, Minister of Finance & Planning, Forests, Govt. of Maharashtra, is based on a well-thought-out plan to carry-out extensive tree plantation in the state during the Vanamahotsav festival; celebrated in the first week of July every year. Reliance Foundation has been actively engaged in developmental activities in Yavatmal and Parbhani and Raigarh district, where the plantation drive is to take place.

“Maharashtra is one of the most progressive and leading states of the country. Out of 307 lakh hectares of total area in the state, around 20 per cent (61.35 lakh hectares) is covered by forests, while as per the National Forest Act, 1988, 33 per cent area should have green cover,” stated the Government Resolution (GR) issued by the revenue and forest department. Total of 2 crore trees were aimed to get planted during the drive.

Responding to the request of participation in this drive, Reliance Foundation’s team has started planting 50,000 trees of different species on July 1. This drive is a step towards ensuring 33% forest cover in the state. This tree plantation initiative will compensate the damage done to the environment, thus maintaining the ecological balance. Saplings of local varieties such as Mango, Banyan, Portia, Jackfruit, Neem, Rain tree and Gulmohar, which provide a lot of shade, are being planted.

Reliance Foundation supports biodiversity conservation and on-farm plantation of trees. The team has till date planted more than 23 lakhs saplings in farms on common lands, and around its manufacturing plant sites in Maharashtra.