annual-report-FY2021

81 MAHINDRA & MAHINDRA LTD. INTEGRATED ANNUAL REPORT 2020-21 which together skilled 2,520 youth. Further, the Mahindra Group supported training of 92,304 students through 1,816 Mahindra Pride Classrooms (MPC) set up in ITIs, Polytechnics, Arts and Science Colleges across 13 states. Of this, your Company supported the training of 61,677 MPC students. The delivery of instruction was through virtual training thereby complying with the Government regulations with respect to COVID-19. – Over 12,500 students have benefitted through a variety of Scholarship Programs. These ranged from providing opportunities to youth from low income group families to undergo diploma courses at vocational education institutes, to enabling meritorious students to pursue their post graduate studies at reputed universities overseas, to allowing deserving students to study at the Mahindra United World College in Pune. – Through Mahindra Hariyali, the Mahindra Group planted 1.14 million trees, which contributed to building green cover and protecting the rich biodiversity of the country. Your Company contributed towards plantation of 1 million trees of which 0.90 million trees were planted in the Araku valley, which besides greening the environment also provided livelihood support to tribal farmers growing coffee and fruit bearing trees in this region. Till date, 19.08 million trees have been planted through Mahindra Hariyali, of which 11.68 million trees were planted in Araku to support the livelihood of 25,000 tribal farmer families. – Your Company entered into a Public Private Partnership (PPP) for an Integrated Water Management Program (IWMP) with Government of Madhya Pradesh at Bhopal and with National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) at Hatta. Your Company has also partnered with NABARD in Maharashtra for a watershed project in Igatpuri, in Nashik District covering 20 villages, over 13,500 hectares and benefitting a population of more than 23,020 individuals. – Through the Wardha Farmer Family Project, Prerna and Krishi Mitra Project, your Company continued to support small and marginal farmers by training them in effective farming practices including soil health, resource efficient agriculture, creating model farms with bio-dynamic farming practices, and increasing agricultural income through increasing crop productivity. – Rise for Safe Roads: Through this first of its kind ‘Road Safety’ project in India, your Company aimed to make the Mumbai Pune Expressway a near ‘Zero Fatality Corridor’ by 2021. The interventions have been guided by the “4E” principle i.e. Engineering, Enforcement, Education and Emergency Response. In addition, long haul truck drivers were trained through the Anticipatory Driving and Action Prevention Training (ADAPT™) program. – Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, our employees continued to drive a positive change by volunteering. The employee volunteering platform provided 31,503 employees across the Group a menu of volunteering opportunities, enabling them to invest 2,72,467 hours towards giving back to society. Of these, 10,184 M&M employees contributed 83,789 hours towards various social causes. Your Company also launched the MySeva initiative, which encouraged employees to extend the spirit of giving in their personal capacity by recognizing their individual acts of social responsibility. Of the total volunteering hours, 51,625 hours was contributed by employees across the Group through the MySeva initiative and the balance were contributed through the ESOPs (Employee Social Options). During the last Financial Year, your Company’s efforts to drive positive change were acknowledged by various forums and your Company received the following awards: • India CSR Summit 2020 award for Watershed Management at Zaheerabad Plant and for Project Prerna in Maharashtra, Karnataka. • SIAM award in Category – Skills & Education for Project Prerna. • Indo French Chamber of Commerce & Industry (IFCCI) - CSR Award for Project Hariyali in the category of Environment and Sustainability. CSR Policy The Corporate Social Responsibility Committee had formulated and recommended to the Board, a Corporate Social Responsibility Policy (CSR Policy) which was subsequently adopted by it and is being implemented by the Company. The CSR Policy including a brief overview of the projects or programs undertaken can be accessed in the Governance section at the Web-link https://www.mahindra.com/investors/reports- and-filings.