Funds Will Support Indian Art Programming

The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced that the Reliance Foundation, the Indian philanthropic organization founded by Nita and Mukesh Ambani, has promised a generous gift to support exhibitions that explore and celebrate the arts of India.

"This is an outstanding commitment that will have a direct impact on The Met and the exhibitions it presents to its millions of yearly visitors.” said Daniel H. Weiss, President and CEO of The Met. “As a global institution, we are devoted to studying and displaying art from every corner of the world, which is made possible only through the generosity of our friends. Nita and Mukesh Ambani are truly visionary benefactors, and we are enormously grateful for this meaningful gift.”

The gift will support a range of exhibitions examining the accomplishments and influence of the arts and artists of India across time and media. The first exhibition to benefit from this gift is this fall’s Modernism on the Ganges: Raghubir Singh Photographs, opening October 11, 2017, a retrospective of the pioneering artist that will present his work from the late 1960s through his last unpublished projects of the late 1990s. The focus of the remaining exhibitions that will benefit from this sponsorship will range from early Buddhist art from the 1st century B.C. to 4th century A.D to 17th century Mughal art to contemporary Indian sculpture. More details on these exhibitions will be provided as their opening dates are confirmed.

Nita and Mukesh Ambani are great champions of The Met. In 2016, Mr. and Mrs. Ambani and the Reliance Foundation supported the exhibition Nasreen Mohamedi, the first museum retrospective of the artist’s work in the United States that was presented as one of the inaugural exhibitions when The Met Breuer opened that spring. With this new gift, Mr. and Mrs. Ambani and the Reliance Foundation will have sponsored and made possible the showcasing of three important Indian exhibitions at the Met Breuer, allowing their Indian culture and heritage to be shared with global audiences from across the world who visit The Met. Their generosity will be recognized in the iconic building among other leadership donors to this important initiative. In 2017, the Museum honored Mrs. Ambani at The Met Winter Party celebrating achievements made toward greater diversity and inclusion in the world of art. In addition, Mrs. Ambani is generous with her time and expertise, which she shares as a member of The Met’s new International Council.

“India has a rich heritage of art and culture that can be traced back to the 3rd-4th century BC. At Reliance Foundation, it has been our ongoing mission to recognise and promote this valuable tradition by offering opportunities and platforms for Indian art locally in India and at various institutions around the globe. This partnership with The Met enables Indian art to be shown at an iconic institution and further encourages us to continue our work in the art world. We are truly delighted to be part of this long term collaboration. We believe this will prove to be a wonderful partnership for learning and sharing that will go a long way for art in India." said Nita Ambani, Founder and Chairperson of Reliance Foundation.

About Reliance Foundation:

Reliance Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Reliance Industries Limited, aims to play a catalytic role in addressing the nation’s development challenges through innovative and sustainable solutions. Led by Founder and Chairperson Smt. Nita Ambani, Reliance Foundation is relentlessly working towards facilitating transformative changes to ensure overall well-being and higher quality of life for all. Among India’s largest social initiatives, the Foundation is focused on addressing the nation’s development challenges in areas of Rural Transformation, Education, Health, Sports for Development, Disaster Response, Urban Renewal, and Arts, Culture and Heritage. The Foundation has touched the lives of more than 12 million people across India, in more than 12,500 villages and several urban locations.

About The Metropolitan Museum of Art:

The Met presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world for everyone to experience and enjoy. The Museum lives in three iconic sites in New York City—The Met Fifth Avenue, The Met Breuer, and The Met Cloisters. Millions of people also take part in The Met experience online.

Since it was founded in 1870, The Met has always aspired to be more than a treasury of rare and beautiful objects. Every day, art comes alive in the Museum’s galleries and through its exhibitions and events, revealing both new ideas and unexpected connections across time and across cultures

Key Contact:

Tushar Pania 
Reliance Industries Ltd.
+ 91 9820088536
tushar.pania@ril.com

Farmer Producer Company formed by groundnut farmers of Saurashtra create significant milestones in Kharif 2017

Reliance Foundation enabled Farmer Producer Company (FPC) at Jasdan, a tehsil in Rajkot district of Gujarat achieved a 128 percent growth in turnover in Kharif 2017. The FPC was set up in August 2016 and has touched this business milestone in its second season of operation. The FPC initially formed with just 700 members has almost 1500 members today, expecting to reach 2600 members by end of 2017.

Establishment of Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) is one of the key interventions under the Rural Transformation programme of Reliance Foundation. The FPCs are part of RF’s effort to strengthen the value chain of farm produce, enhance its marketability, help the marginal farmers and livestock owners realise better prices and thus, achieve income security for themselves. Reliance Foundation helps train farmers to independently manage these companies in the long term. Since its inception in 2010, RF has so far formed 19 FPCs – better known as Producer Companies (PCs) – to empower farmers across the country, benefitting over 21,000 families. These companies, taken together, had transacted over 4,500 metric tonnes of farm and non-farm produce till the end of last season, raising farmers’ incomes significantly and augmenting the farmers’ ability to govern their own institutions effectively.

However, this season has been special. In Kharif 2017, the turnover of this FPC alone has more than doubled from Rs.7 crore (2016-17) to Rs.16 crore (2017-18).

Compared to the open market, where the farmers are compelled to sell groundnut at Rs.3450-3500 per quintal, the company has succeeded in fetching the farmers an extra margin of Rs.1000 per quintal by getting them registered in the government system, sourcing groundnut from them as per quality norms and depositing to government-designated warehouses at an MSP of Rs.4450 + a bonus of Rs.50 announced by Government of Gujarat.

The surplus added to the village economy by the FPC’s business went up from Rs.1.5 crore (2016-17), to more than Rs.3.5 crore (2017-18), as the quantity of groundnut handled by Jasdan FPC till Nov.20 this year stood at 35,733 quintals, a rapid increase of 14,885 quintals over the previous week.

The Jasdan FPC has been transacting on behalf of Jasdan farmers in collaboration with Gujarat State Co-Operative Cotton Federation Limited (GUJCOT). The members’ interest and community participation in the FPC at Jasdan ensured that they got a procurement centre to procure Groundnut Pods at Minimum Support Price (MSP) for NAFED (National Agricultural Co-Operative Marketing Federation) for second consecutive year and also got the nod from NAFED to start another centre in November 2017 from RF project villages at Vankiya, which will help more farmers to get associated with the company.

In the past, RF has been recognised for its outstanding contribution in the field of building FPCs across the country. Recently, Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal, Union Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs, felicitated RF with the Krishi Pragati Award instituted by the National Commodities Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) for its ‘Outstanding Contribution as a Resource Institution for Promoting FPCs’ while Jamwa Ramgarh FPC (Rajasthan) was recognized as Most Promising Producers’ Company.

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) wins the Golden Peacock Award 2017 for the success of its Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives and in particular for the transformative work done by Reliance Foundation (RF), the CSR arm of the Company. Under the able leadership of its Founder and Chairman, Smt. Nita M. Ambani, RF has touched the lives of over 15 Mn people across India covering more than 13,500 villages and 74 urban locations. RIL was recognized by the Awards Jury under the Chairmanship of Justice (Dr.) Arijit Pasayat, former Judge, Supreme Court of India.

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has achieved significant milestones and measurable progress in the last 40 years. The Company has always believed in creating societal value through its philanthropic activities for more than two decades, with its approach towards social development evolving as per contemporary needs over the years. RF is committed to the spirit of maximising societal value for all, bringing it in the sync with vision, mission and values of its parent organization, Reliance Industries Limited. The vision of RF is to build an inclusive India by pioneering a holistic model to address our nation’s multi-faceted development challenges, and contribute to its collective aspirations.

RIL is committed towards improving the lives of India's most marginalized and vulnerable communities. All CSR initiatives of RIL are guided by three core commitments of Scale, Impact and Sustainability. RIL’s CSR initiatives focus on various social challenges and are aimed at providing a better quality of life and livelihoods for a stronger and inclusive India. To realize its commitment and philosophy, Reliance has adopted three modes of engagement for onground implementation of identified CSR initiatives to ensure that benefits reach out to the population in need.

1. Direct Engagement: Most initiatives to be conceptualized and executed directly through a team of professionals.
2. Partnerships: In specific cases, RIL partners with other organizations who have the technical expertise and experience to undertake various programmes in the identified core focus areas of operation, to improve our outcomes.
3. Leveraging Technology: RIL to lay significant emphasis on leveraging technology for developmental solutions.

One of the key social projects of RIL, recognized by the Golden Peacock jury, aims at impacting farmer livelihoods through water and food security interventions. Under its rural transformation initiative, Reliance has been implementing a programme called “Bharat-India Jodo (BIJ)” that works closely with marginal and small farmers for enhancing their lives and livelihoods, and making agriculture a first choice profession. The fundamental strength of the programme is that it empowers rural communities, and engages them extensively in co-creating the strategies for rural development. The programme is designed such that the element of sustainability is part of the plan. With a 360 degree approach, the programme has multi-faceted interventions that are interlinked with one another to make agriculture a first-choice profession. While the initial engagement is aimed at land development and water security measures, the other key interventions under the programme promotes food and nutrition security and creating market linkages for better price realization.

These efforts have been recognised by the eminent jury of the Golden Peacock Awards 2017, conferring this distinction on RIL for its efforts towards positive societal change and transformation.

The Golden Peacock Awards, established now for over 25 years, have, over time become a hallmark of excellence, both locally and globally. No award has achieved such respectability and admiration from the industry as the ‘Golden Peacock Awards’, which today receives around 1000 applications for various Awards each year. This is largely due to its transparent and 3-Tier evaluation process, based on internationally recognized criteria. The Award applications are assessed at three levels by Independent Assessors and finally by a Grand Jury.

Hon'ble Justice M. N. Venkatachaliah, Chairman, Institute Of Directors and former Chief Justice, Supreme Court of India is the Chairman of the Golden Peacock Awards. Justice (Dr.) Arijit Pasayat, former Judge, Supreme Court of India and former Chairman, Competition Appellate Tribunal & Authority for Advance Ruling (Customs, Central Excise & Service Tax) is the Co-Chairman of the Golden Peacock Awards. The Global Awards are finalized by a Jury headed by The Rt. Hon. Sir Richard Needham (The Earl of Kilmorey PC), Non-Executive Director, NEC Europe Ltd. & ChairmanAdvisory Group, STERN UK.

Partnership aims to improve nutrition status of more than two lakh children in Anganwadis

To tackle the malaise of malnutrition among children of Maharashtra, a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Rajmata Jijau Mother-Child Health Nutrition Mission (RJMCHNM), Department of Women and Child Development (DWCD) and Reliance Foundation (RF). This MoU, earlier signed in 2015, was renewed today in the presence of Hon. Minister of Rural Development, Smt. Pankaja Munde and Sh. Jagannatha Kumar, CEO, Reliance Foundation. The endeavour strengthens the Government of India’s agenda of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2 in the National Action Plan for Children 2016 that targets improved nutrition as a key outcome.

RF has been helping communities set up small kitchen or backyard gardens, known as Reliance Nutrition Gardens (RNGs). These are scientifically-developed, low cost, organic kitchen gardens that use a multi-tier cropping system to accommodate a variety of fruits and vegetables that helps improve health and nutritional parameters among farmer families across villages in India.

During the first phase of the collaboration, RNGs were established and promoted in eight districts of Maharashtra, namely Pune, Thane, Palghar, Yavatmal, Jalgaon, Parbhani, Osmanabad and Wardha. More than one lakh children are provided with fresh fruits and vegetables through 7300 nutrition gardens set up in Anganwadis. RF has capacitated more than 450 master trainers for nutrition gardens to help build and sustain this effort.

Speaking on this occasion, Smt. Munde said, “The encouraging results of the first phase has motivated the Government of Maharashtra to expand the program in eight new districts with RF as our knowledge partner. We want to ensure that every child in anganwadis gets access to fresh fruits and vegetables across the state.”

The eight districts to be covered in the current MoU are Beed, Jalna, Aurangabad, Ahmednagar, Gondia, Solapur, Nandurbar and Chandrapur. More than 1000 master trainers will be capacitated in all 16 districts for supporting the development of 25000 nutrition gardens in the anganwadi premises.

Expressing his delight at the partnership, Sh. Jagannatha Kumar, CEO, Reliance Foundation said, “The concept of Reliance Nutrition Gardens has had a huge positive impact on communities associated with us. I am very proud that RF has partnered with the Government of Maharashtra to address the issue of malnutrition amongst children in Anganwadis, strengthening the Government of India’s agenda of nutrition in the National Action Plan for Children 2016. I am thankful to Smt. Pankaja Munde, for her vision for the state nutrition mission and Smt. Vinita Vaid Singal, Secretary, WCD for successfully steering the program”.

Donates Rs. 21 Cr to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund    
Donates relief material worth close to Rs. 50 Cr

With Kerala reeling under the devastating impact of floods, Reliance Foundation (RF), India’s largest corporate-supported philanthropic organization, has kick-started a multi-pronged rescue, relief and rehabilitation programme to help people in the flood-affected regions of the state.

Smt. Nita M. Ambani, Chairperson, Reliance Foundation said: “In this time of acute distress faced by our brothers and sisters in Kerala, we feel duty-bound as fellow citizens and as a responsible corporate foundation to fully support the rescue, relief and long-term rehabilitation efforts in the State. On its part, Reliance Foundation will contribute Rs 21 crore to the Kerala Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. The foundation stands firmly with the people of Kerala in this hour of need. It will remain committed to its relief and rehabilitation efforts and continue its operations in Kerala until normalcy is restored in the state.”

Smt. Ambani added: “Reliance Foundation has risen to the occasion whenever natural calamities have hit any part of India. Since 2013, when earthquake and floods ravaged Uttarakhand, Reliance Foundation has trained a large team of hundreds of employees and volunteers to get involved in short, medium and long-term responses to help disaster-affected people. They have intervened effectively in Jammu & Kashmir (floods, 2014), Nepal (earthquake, 2015), Tamil Nadu (floods, 2015), Gujarat (floods, 2015) and Maharashtra (drought in Marathwada, 2016). We will stay engaged in Kerala and keep up our efforts until the situation returns to normalcy.”

Reliance Foundation, along with Reliance Industries and its group companies, have been undertaking significant relief operations across Kerala.

Rescue & Relief Operations in Kerala

• Since August 14, 2018, Reliance Foundation’s team has been carrying out rescue and relief operations in the six worst affected districts of Ernakulam, Wayanad, Alappuzuha, Thrissur, Idukki and Pathanamthitta.
• The team is supporting the rescue operations by providing critical updates on weather and locations of temporary shelters via Reliance Foundation Information Services (RFIS). It is also providing toll-free helpline numbers to the State disaster management authorities.
• RF has identified 15,000 affected families who would be provided dry ration kits, utensils, shelter, shoes and clothes in the coming days. The bulk of the material will be supplied by Reliance Retail.

Reliance Retail

• Through Reliance Retail, supplies such as ready-to-eat food, glucose and sanitary napkins have been provided to 160 government-run relief camps, sheltering about 50,000 people.
• A large consignment of relief material, weighing about 2.6 MT, has been handed over to the Government of Maharashtra. It will be transported by air to Kerala.
• 7.5 lakh units of apparel, 1.5 lakh pairs of footwear and dry grocery are being mobilised for distribution to the affected people in Kerala
• The assistance from Reliance Retail for the flood relief activities is worth close to Rs. 50 Crore.

Medical Assistance

Continuous medical assistance is a must for avoiding outbreaks of epidemics. Reliance Foundation is gearing up to undertake the following activities:

• Medical Camps in three districts: RF will set up medical camps with Malayalamspeaking doctors and paramedical staff in three districts.
• Supplying Medicines to State Government: RF will supply medicines to the government for use by district authorities.
• Livestock Camps: RF will also conduct camps to provide treatment and ration for livestock.

Infrastructure Development and Repairs

• Reconstruction & Repair of Schools & PHCs: RF team is identifying the damaged schools and primary health care centres and will undertake reconstruction and repair work of some of these public institutions.
• Construction Equipment: RF will provide construction equipment to assist the government in repairing/ rebuilding of public infrastructure like schools, colleges, roads etc.
• Skilled Craftsmen: RF will provide skilled tradesmen such as masons, carpenters and electricians through Reliance’s construction & maintenance contractors.
• Repair Clinics for Home Appliances: Reliance Digital is tying up with manufacturers to set up repair clinics for home appliances damaged by the rains – labour will be free and materials/components will be provided at cost.

Reliance Jio

• To enable people to stay connected with their near and dear ones in this hour of need, Reliance Jio has extended a complimentary 7-day unlimited Voice and Data pack for its customers.
• Jio has extended 100Mbps bandwidth between Idukki and Ernakulam as goodwill gesture to restore BSNL services in Idukki Collector Office and surrounding areas, which are isolated due to multiple landslides.
• Jio launched a toll free number, 1800-893-9999, to locate customers who have gone missing. On calling the toll free number, the last known location of the missing customer is shared through SMS.

Network18/TV18

• Started a 24/7 helpline service, staffed by people with bilingual skills, to connect and reassure worried families separated from their loved ones.
• TV channels and social media platforms have initiated the ‘Open hearts, open homes’ campaign where people open the doors of their homes to accommodate affected people.
• Channels and social media platforms are focusing on busting any fake news being spread on social media.
• Delivering power banks to those with no access to electricity through tie-ups with volunteer organisations.

Keep the faith, Together we will rebuild Kerala: Nita Ambani

Reliance Foundation (RF), under the leadership of Chairperson Smt. Nita M Ambani is spearheading rescue and relief operations in flood-ravaged Kerala.

Reliance Foundation donated Rs 21 crores towards the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. Also relief materials worth Rs 50 crores has been distributed to the flood affected victims. Smt. Nita Ambani visited Pallipad village, in Alappuzha district of Kerala, one of the worst affected areas during the floods to get a first-hand feel of the flood situation. It helped her understand the exact needs of the people, and will facilitate long term rehabilitation work. She also met Chief Minister Shri Pinarayi Vijayan and expressed solidarity to the people of Kerala and help create critical infrastructure.

Assuring displaced people of timely relief, Smt. Ambani said, “Reliance Foundation is committed to support the people of Kerala in this time of crisis. We will be there for all of you, and together we will overcome this calamity. Keep the faith. God’s Own Country will soon regain its grandeur.”

A team of 30 people from Reliance Foundation was deployed for rescue work from August 14, 2018. Reliance Foundation Information Services in coordination with the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) undertook rescue operations in conducting relief and rescue operations through its toll free helpline and was successful in rescuing over 1600 people.

RF undertook field operations in six districts: Ernakulam, Wayanad, Alappuzha, Thrissur, Idukki and Pathanamthitta. The focus was on providing materials for immediate requirement. This was done through Reliance Retail which supplied ready to eat food, glucose and sanitary napkins to 160 relief camps run by the government. Besides rations kits, clothing kits and utensil kits have been distributed in these areas supporting about 70,000 people.

Keeping in mind the possibility of outbreak of epidemics, RF set up medical camps in Wayanad district; conducted multiple livestock camps in Wayanad and Alappuzha districts; and supplied medicines to the government for use by district authorities.

Pallipad is among the worst affected villages in Alappuzha district. Situated 36 Kms from the district headquarters – Alappuzha, the village has 6430 households (population 24640). The government, trusts and NTPC have set up 17 camps across the village in schools, temples and in NTPC pump house ground. Reliance Foundation is supporting 3,500 families with cloth kits in close coordination with the local government representatives in the village.

Across the worst affected six districts, RF has supported with dry ration kits - sustaining a family for 15 days, a bedding kit for a family of three, sanitary kit to clean and disinfect the houses and utensil kit for a family to restart their kitchen over the next seven days. Moving forward from the relief stage, RF is also working with the community in identifying rebuilding critical infrastructure in the villages such as schools etc.

Reliance Foundation has signed a multiyear collaboration agreement with Centre for Teacher Accreditation (CENTA), an India-based private teacher certification enterprise that is taking rapid strides within and beyond India, in its work towards creating career opportunities, rewards and recognition for teaching.

As part of the collaboration, Reliance Foundation has become the Principal Sponsor for CENTA Teaching Professionals’ Olympiad (TPO), an annual national competition for teachers, the 4th edition of which will be held on December 8th, 2018 (Saturday), in 46 cities across India as well as in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. TPO 2018 is available in 21 subject tracks from Primary to Senior Secondary; while the Middle school, Secondary and Senior Secondary tracks are currently available in English medium, the Primary School test track is available in English, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu mediums.

1000 winners of this national competition can now look forward to Reliance Foundation Teacher Awards – each including a cash prize and citation.

Reliance as a group has multiple initiatives in education domain - ed-tech platform Jio Embibe, Dhirubhai Ambani International School, Reliance Foundation Schools, upcoming Jio University, etc. With this collaboration, Reliance Foundation aims to support the key stakeholders in the ecosystem – i.e. Teachers.

Reliance Foundation aims to leverage on digital platforms (like group company platform Jio Embibe) to provide opportunities for professional development for teachers and work with CENTA’s TPO initiative aimed at making teaching an aspirational profession and thereby impacting the quality of education. Reliance Foundation aims to help CENTA TPO, which is already run nationwide, scale to the next level and expand its reach to enable wider participation from teachers across the country.

Speaking on the collaboration, Ms. Isha Ambani said “Reliance Foundation aims to support innovative sustainable solutions to address India’s most pressing developmental challenges, education being one of them. Teachers play a central role in delivery of quality of education and technology helps to scale such educational initiatives. Our Foundation is keen to leverage on technology and digital platforms to empower India’s teachers to enhance their capabilities and reward their contributions which is critical for nation building. Our partnership with CENTA TPO reflects our commitment to support the platforms that help recognize and reward teachers”.

CENTA’s Founder and CEO, Ramya Venkataraman said, “CENTA TPO is a powerful mechanism to reward, recognize and celebrate teachers. We see participation from a wide range of segments – new to experienced school teachers, principals, tuition teachers, B.Ed. students, fellows and volunteers in education, and others simply interested in teaching. Participants come from both private and government schools, and from all boards – CBSE, ICSE, State boards, IB, IGCSE and so on. The support of Reliance Foundation gives this initiative a huge impetus and allows us to both reach and reward many more teachers, therefore boosting the pride of the profession as a whole.”

Reliance Foundation and CENTA are keen to explore synergies in future through other initiatives.

About Reliance Foundation:

Reliance Foundation (RF), the philanthropic arm of Reliance Industries Limited, aims to play a catalytic role in addressing the nation’s development challenges through innovative and sustainable solutions. Led by Founder and Chairperson Smt. Nita Ambani, RF is relentlessly working towards facilitating transformative changes to ensure overall well-being and higher quality of life for all. Among India’s largest social initiatives, RF is focused on addressing the nation’s development challenges in areas of Rural Transformation, Health, Education and Sports for All (ESA), Disaster Response, Urban Renewal, and Arts, Culture and Heritage. The Foundation has touched the lives of more than 20 million people across India, in more than 15,500 villages and several urban locations.

About CENTA

Founded in 2014, Centre for Teacher Accreditation (CENTA) works to empower teachers and catalyse their professional development through CENTA Certification and Micro-Credentials, a market-driven certification of competencies rooted in high standards, which connects outstanding candidates to great opportunities in recognition, career and professional development. Nearly 50,000 teachers from over 2000 cities, towns and villages, and over 5000 schools across India are already associated with CENTA. Registration for CENTA TPO 2018 is open at www.centa.org

Registered Office:
Reliance Corporate Park
5 TTC Industrial Area, Thane-Belapur Road, 
Ghansoli, Navi Mumbai - 400701, Maharashtra
CIN: U85110MH2010NPL207270

Toll Free Number:
1800 419 8800

Email:
contactus@reliancefoundation.org

Internet:
www.reliancefoundation.org

Under the leadership of its Chairperson, Smt. Nita Ambani, Reliance Foundation has mentored Kamareddy Progressive Farmers Producer Company Limited (KPFPCL) to achieve new milestones since its inception in 2009. In the first three quarters of 2018-19, KPFPCL’s turnover reached a record ₹ 5.89 Crores, a 9% growth as compared to the turnover from all four quarters last year. Currently there are 2,213 shareholders and a paid up capital of ₹ 0.2 Crores.

Establishment of Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) is one of the key interventions of Reliance Foundation. The FPCs are part of RF’s effort to strengthen the value chain of farm produce, enhance marketability, help the marginal farmers and livestock owners realise better prices and thus, achieve income security. Reliance Foundation helps train farmers to independently manage these companies in the long term. Since its inception in 2010, RF has formed 22 FPCs to empower farmers across 12 states. In 2018-19, the companies altogether have transacted farm and non-farm produce worth over 25.3 Crores benefitting 19,200 families, raising farmers’ incomes significantly and augmenting the farmers’ ability to govern their own institutions effectively.

KPFPCL was formed on the cooperative principles of self-help, equality and democratic functioning for providing services which enhance the livelihoods of farmers. Apart from providing farm inputs and implements to the farmer, its market expansion and enhancement decisions have increased the members’ income.

The last five years have seen a steady increase in the turnover. In 2015-16, the turnover was ₹ 0.96 Crores. 2018- 19 saw a six-fold increase to ₹ 5.89 Crores.

The FPC’s success lies in collective marketing. In 2018, KPFPCL became a minimum support price (MSP) procurement centre for paddy. As a result, 27,756 quintals of paddy, worth ₹ 4.9 Crores, was supplied to rice mills. Similarly, ₹ 1.4 Crores worth of soybean; ₹1.3 Crores worth of maize and cotton worth ₹0.17 Crores were procured. Currently, it has 23 aggregation and distribution centres. KPFPCL has also diversified its profile. In 2018 it took up seed multiplication on 182 hectares and has started distributing government subsidised seeds, for which it procured the distribution centre.

KPFPCL’s success has become the success of the villages. The surplus added to the village economy rose from ₹8.46 Lakhs in 2015-16 to ₹42 Lakhs in 2018-19. In the same period, the number of villages supported has doubled to 30 in 2018-19.

To help ease the farming process for the farmer members, the FPC provides farm inputs and implements to them. During April-August 2018 itself, 3,844 quintals of agricultural inputs (seeds, fertilizers, poultry, manure and weedicides), worth ₹0.73 Crores were provided. KPFPCL also loans out the two harvesters it purchased to farmer members. This has reduced a two week long harvesting process to half a day. Additionally, it has provided drip and sprinklers units to the farmer members and also helps farmers to utilise the subsidies given by the governments. In 2018-19 alone 3,500 farmers were supported by the FPC.

Empowered with its success so far, KPFPCL is setting its goals high. By 2025 it aims to have 10,000 shareholders, a turnover of ₹50 Crores and ₹5 Crores additional value creation to members each year.

The entire Reliance Parivar fully shares the outrage of 1.3 billion Indians at the barbaric terrorist attack on a CRPF convoy on the Jammu–Srinagar highway on Thursday, in which 40 brave jawans were martyred.

No evil power in this world can break India’s unity or our resolve to defeat terrorism, which is an enemy of humanity.

Our hearts go out to the bereaved members of the martyrs’ families. The nation will never forget the bravehearts and their sacrifice. We pray for the recovery of the injured jawans.

As citizens, as well as a Corporate Citizen, we stand fully behind our Armed Forces and our Government in this hour of national solidarity.

As a mark of our gratitude to the martyrs, Reliance Foundation expresses its readiness to assume full responsibility for the education and employment of their children, and the livelihood of their families. If necessary, our hospital is ready to provide the best possible treatment to the injured jawans. We shall also deem it to be our duty to shoulder any other responsibility the government may place upon us in service to our beloved Armed Forces

Two more special Musical Fountain shows for nearly 7,000 protectors of the city on 12 March Ambanis start daily Anna Seva for all orphanages and old age homes in the city from 6-13 March

As a mark of its gratitude and love for Mumbai, Nita and Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Industries dedicated to the city, and to all the 20 million Mumbaikars, a new and proud icon today − the Dhirubhai Ambani Square, located opposite Dhirubhai Ambani International School, in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex.

The Dhirubhai Ambani Square is part of Jio World Centre, a world-class, multi-use facility, which is a shared goal of Reliance Industries Ltd and MMRDA (Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority) to create the largest and best global convention facilities and services in India.

Smt. Nita Ambani, Founder and Chairperson, Reliance Foundation, who dedicated it to the city, said: “The Dhirubhai Ambani Square and the Jio World Centre fulfil the vision of a great son of India, who believed that India has the potential to achieve global excellence in every area of nation-building.”

Smt. Nita Ambani, who heads India’s largest philanthropic organisation and has spearheaded many ambitious initiatives in education and children’s welfare, planned the event in a unique way. Driven by the belief that children are the creators of India’s brighter future, she invited nearly 2000 underprivileged children from various NGOs supported by Reliance Foundation to experience an enthralling Musical Fountain show at the Dhirubhai Ambani Square.

The highlight of the musical fountain programme for children was the rendition of ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Jai Ho’ – two popular anthems - synchronised with the intricate and mesmerising movements of the water fountain.

“I hope that this spectacular fountain will spark a fountain of joy and hope in all your hearts,” Smt. Nita Ambani said. “In the coming days, it will be a great treat to the eyes of all Mumbaikars who will visit this modern and futuristic square, part of the world class, multi-purpose Jio World Centre which will be the largest and one of the best global convention centres in our country. When the Jio World Centre opens towards the end of this year, it will be a place where people will get together, to appreciate art, to exchange ideas, to celebrate culture, and to soak in the heritage and vibrancy of our great city!”, she added.

The family of Smt Nita Ambani and Shri Mukesh Ambani also started a week-long Anna Seva (Food Service) programme today in all the orphanages and old age homes in the city to commence the celebrations of the upcoming wedding of their son Akash with Shloka Mehta. This initiative began at the Jio Gardens, where members of the Ambani family, joined by Shloka’s parents Mona and Russel Mehta, served dinner with choice delicacies to nearly 2000 children. These children have been beneficiaries of Reliance Foundation’s several social development initiatives, including Education for All, Sports for All, Project Drishti, amongst others.

Smt. Nita Ambani said: “We are delighted to be able to share our joy with, and receive the blessings of, thousands of children and senior citizens from across the city. The special musical fountain programme at the Dhirubhai Ambani Square is a dedication to the vibrant spirit of Mumbai and we look forward to presenting several shows post the wedding to the people who make us proud every day − our police, our military and para-military forces, our firemen, our BMC workers, and many others who keep this great city safe and going 24x7.”

The week-long Anna Seva will be followed by continuation of supply of groceries to all the orphanages and old age homes in the city for a year.

Reliance Foundation, under Smt Nita Ambani’s leadership, has been implementing many impactful social transformation programmes in education, sports, rural development, promotion of art, and disaster mitigation.