Operation Asha is working with National Tuberculosis programmes, providing detection, treatment, education, awareness and advocacy about TB
HCL Foundation (HCLF), the CSR arm of HCL Technologies, announced the recipients of the fifth edition of HCL Grant. HCL Grant is an institutionalised CSR grants in India that aim to recognise the rise of the Fifth Estate – the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) – and support their breakthrough projects reaching out to the rural communities in the country.
HCL Grant 2020 witnessed three NGOs across the categories of education, healthcare and environment receiving a grant of Rs 5 crores each. The remaining six finalists across the three categories also received Rs 25 lakhs each, taking the overall grant to Rs 16.5 crore. The 2020 HCL Grant winner in the healthcare category is Operation ASHA, for its TB related project in Kullu. Established in 2006, the organisation is working with National Tuberculosis (TB) programmes, providing detection, treatment, education, awareness and advocacy about TB through various technology applications.
The evening was graced by Kapil Dev, former captain of the Indian Cricket team, Shiv Nadar, Founder and Chairman, HCL, Roshni Nadar Malhotra, Vice-Chairperson, HCL Technologies and the Chairperson of its CSR committee and Prateek Aggarwal, Chief Financial Officer, HCL Technologies along with senior dignitaries, officials, NGO-partners and HCL leadership.
The finalists and the winners were selected by an eminent jury, which was chaired by Robin Abrams, Member of the Board, HCL Technologies.
“It is important to bring equal opportunities to people coming from every strata of society. Health, education and environment are one of the most important pillars towards India’s development goals and I am highly impressed with the kind of impact these NGOs are bringing in the rural communities. Also, the robustness of the identification process is something I have not witnessed before. I congratulate both HCL as well the winners and finalists for the phenomenal work they are doing in their respective fields,” said Dev while addressing the audience at the event.
“HCL Foundation is our long-term commitment to social development and today it has improved over 1.5 million lives across our country. Our collaborative model allows us to support communities with critical concerns needing immediate attention and HCL Grant is a prime example of the same. I am proud to say that the improvements we have been able to drive together with the HCL Grant partner NGOs are not just in terms of immediate impact on beneficiary lives, but also about ensuring long-term sustainable change by influencing state and government policies,” said Roshni Nadar Malhotra, Vice-Chairperson, HCL Technologies and Chairperson, CSR Committee, HCL Technologies.
Speaking on the occasion, Nidhi Pundhir, Director, HCL Foundation, said “This is a special year for us as we complete half a decade of empowering the NGOs that are committed to ushering change. This annual HCL Grant event is a culmination of our year-long efforts to identify partners who have the potential to achieve the maximum impact through their social development projects. We are truly honoured to have received applications from all parts of the country and my heartiest congratulations to the winning NGOs for giving us the opportunity to partner with them and support ideas for impactful positive change.”
During the event, HCL Foundation also released the compendium of the previous year’s finalists and winning NGOs, named ‘Fifth Estate – NGOs Transforming Rural India in Environment, Health and Education.’