Jindal Steel honoured for Covid relief work

Bhubaneswar: Leading steelmaker Jindal Steel & Power (JSP) has been honoured with CSR Excellence Award for its multidimensional initiatives in supporting the community and the government to fight the Covid pandemic in the country.

The prestigious award was presented by Governor of Maharashtra Bhagat Singh Koshyari to Prashant Hota, president & group head (CSR), JSP, at the fourth edition of the CSR Journal Excellence Awards 2021 held at Yashwantrao Chavan Centre, Nariman Point, Mumbai on March 20. Amit Upadhyay, editor-in-chief, CSR journal, was present.

"The award is dedicated to all frontline Covid warriors and to the inspiring leadership of Naveen Jindal, chairman, JSP, Shallu Jindal, chairperson, JSPL Foundation and to the partnering community", said Hota on receiving the award. He thanked the CSR Journal and the Jury for the award.

Jindal Steel & Power won the award after successfully completing a multi-level selection procedure by an independent jury. The jury members were introduced to the audience. One of Jury members announced the name of awardee.

Congratulating the team, Shallu Jindal said, "Covid has been a challenge for humanity with serious impact on health, economy and society. Jindal Steel & Power, as a responsible corporate, in collaboration with its social arm JSPL Foundation, made all efforts, including providing food to the needy during lockdown. It created hospital facilities and supplied liquid medical oxygen to hospitals, to combat the pandemic. "I am thankful to the CSR Journal and the Jury and my Team CSR as well as to the participating community for this coveted award".

JSP started on-ground services to mitigate the pandemic-induced drudgery of the poor and vulnerable right from the day of lockdown in March 2020. The JSPL Foundation launched 'Mission Zero Hunger' across three States (Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand) to provide food to the needy, specially truck drivers, stranded migrant laborers and people living in destitution. The Mission Zero Hunger spread its services to Delhi, UP and Maharashtra. Under this programme, the foundation served more than one million meals during the three waves of Covid pandemic in the country.

During the second wave the company supplied more than 5,000 tonnes of LMO across 13 States by road and oxygen express of the railways. It also provided two cryogenic tankers to Odisha government for transporting LMO within the State.

For facilitating health care services during the pandemic, the company earmarked 600 oxygen beds in its Fortis OP Jindal Hospital & Research Centre at Raigarh and Tamnar in Chhattisgarh and in the dedicated Covid Care Centre at Angul supported with ICUs, ventilators and other facilities.

Besides, the foundation distributed lakhs of facemasks and thousands of litres of sanitisers amongst the community and the frontline Covid warriors. The foundation also protected the livelihood of farmers and SHG women by multiple tie-up arrangements for buyback of their produces.