PSUs contributed about 18 per cent of the total CSR expenditure made in the financial year 2020-21, according to the National CSR Portal. The total amount spent by the PSUs in the given Financial year was Rs. 4448.84 Cr. Of this, Rs. 418.87 Cr. was spent by NTPC Limited, close to 10 per cent of the total amount spent by the PSUs for CSR in India.
NTPC has been spending more than the prescribed amount per the Company’s Act for its CSR initiatives each year. In FY2021-22, the company was obligated to spend Rs. 281.80 Crores on CSR. However, it spent Rs. 356.72 Crores, which is much higher.
CSR of NTPC
CSR has been synonymous with NTPC’s core business of power generation. Since its inception, the Company has been very sensitive to the needs of the neighbouring community and persons whose livelihood has been affected due to the establishment of a power plant. Considering this the company has been undertaking its community development initiatives, majorly at the local sites of its operations. However, considering inclusive growth & environment sustainability, some of the activities are also undertaken by it in different parts of the country to supplement governmental efforts. NTPC conducts a majority of its CSR initiatives through the NTPC Foundation.
During FY 2021-22, NTPC’s CSR programs have benefitted about 450 villages and more than 400 schools at different locations. The Company’s CSR initiatives have touched the lives of around 14 lakhs people generally residing at remote locations in various parts of the country in one or the other way.
NTPC Foundation
With an objective to serve and empower the physically challenged and economically weaker sections of the society including women, NTPC Foundation has been set up by NTPC to take up projects & programs addressing niche domains of socio-economic concerns. Major activities of the foundation include:
Girl Empowerment Mission (GEM)
GEM is a program wherein a four-week residential workshop for girl-children in the age group of 10 to 12 years is organised. The workshop aims at the empowerment/upliftment of girl children through various interventions to make girls self-reliant and confident in all walks of life and become a catalyst in transforming their lives, and the lives of their families and bringing positive changes in the community they live in and the nation at large. The participants for the summer residential workshop are selected from various Govt. Schools of villages in the vicinity of the Company’s Projects/Stations including the Company’s Joint Ventures & Subsidiaries. The entire cost of the program including their boarding & lodging in a safe & secure environment of these girl children is borne by the Company. Further, free education is provided to around 180 girl students admitted to different Township Schools of the Company. In the year 2022, the said programme is being conducted at 33 Projects/stations/ JV & Subsidiaries of NTPC, where around 2400 girls are participating.
COVID-Relief
NTPC extended financial support of Rs. 80 crores in FY 2021-22 and Rs. 250 crores in FY 2020-21 to Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PMCARES) Fund to contribute to the fight against Covid-19 and for other services & activities. The company also established Covid Care Centre (with oxygen) at Badarpur (50 beds) and PMI, Noida (100 beds) and Dadri (30 beds). The company provided support to DPE for the procurement of items for the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme for the State of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh (UP). It also worked to establish COVID Care facilities with required oxygen support at various Hospitals.
The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Centres
The NTPC Foundation provides IT Skills to visually/physically challenged persons through its Information & Communication Technology (ICT) Centres. The initiative aims to extend support to specially-abled individuals to move along the mainstream society. Around 2239 students have benefitted under this initiative till March’2021. They are placed at different Govt. Institutes, mainly in the banking sector, through various Centres, which were set up jointly with the University of Delhi, Gauhati University (Guwahati) and Devi Ahillya Vishwavidyalaya (Indore) and four Govt. Blind Schools at Ajmer (Rajasthan), Lucknow (UP), Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) and Mysore (Karnataka). Currently, ICT Centre at Devi Ahilya VishwaVidyalaya, Indore, is functional and successfully imparts training to students with disabilities.
NTPC Foundation NILD Disability Rehabilitation Centres (NFNDRC)
NTPC, in collaboration with National Institute for Locomotor Disabilities (Divyangjan), is providing rehabilitation of Persons with Disability (PwDs) through its Disability Rehabilitation Centres at Korba, Dadri, Rihand, Tanda, Farakka and Bongaigaon through restorative surgeries, medical interventions, fitting of artificial aids and appliances, therapeutic services etc. Approximately 51500 PwDs were registered at these Centres, and around 112700 surgical corrections, serving aids & devices have been provided to them.
Programme for TB Control – DOTs cum DMC
Complementing the efforts being made by Govt. of India under the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) at the National level, NTPC Foundation has established 12 DOTs cum DM Centres (Directly Observed Treatment short course cum Designated Microscopy Centre) at Singrauli, Rihand, Dadri, Unchahar, Talcher, Korba, Vindhyachal, Ramagundam, Farakka, Kahalgaon & Sipat Power stations that cater to villages up to 25-30Km for Controlling the spread of TB & HIV. Currently, 11 centres are functional, and around 55970 persons were examined for TB up to March 2021. Out of 6599 patients who tested positive, 5727 patients have completed the treatment to date, and the rest of the patients are undergoing treatment.
NTPC UTKARSH
NTPC Utkarsh is the Merit Scholarship Scheme of NTPC. In order to encourage and motivate children and youth, for higher studies, from neighbouring villages of NTPC Projects / Stations, NTPC management has launched NTPC UTKARSH – a Merit Scholarship under the NTPC Foundation applicable to students from economically weaker & marginalised section of the community in the villages in the vicinity of NTPC Projects/Stations. The scheme has benefitted more than 2900 students till March 2021.
Sports Promotion
NTPC has adopted Archery as a sport to scout for talent in remote parts of India and nurture them through coaching camps to enhance India’s presence in the sports internationally. The 3-year agreement with the Archery Association of India (AAI) includes the title rights across all National Archery Championships (NACs), National Ranking Archery Tournaments (NRATs) and exclusive right to provide kits/apparel to Indian Archery teams for international participation.
In Conclusion
During FY 2021-22, NTPC’s CSR programs have benefitted about 450 villages and more than 400 schools at different locations. The Company’s CSR initiatives have touched the lives of around 14 lakhs people, generally residing at remote locations in various parts of the country in one or the other way.
