Dalmia Bharat Foundation signs MoA with BSL to enable social transformation in Bokaro

Mumbai/Bokaro, Jharkhand, May 18, 2022: Dalmia Bharat Foundation (DBF), the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm of Dalmia Bharat Group has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoA) with Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL) to drive its community-centric initiatives in Jharkhand by upskilling 600 youth, annually. The aim of the MoA is to establish a skill training centre to impart short term, placement-based courses to local youth in the surrounding villages through DBF’s DIKSHa (Dalmia Institute of Knowledge and Skill Harnessing) centre.

The MoA was signed by Shri Chaudhary Ratnesh Kumar Sudhanshu, Dy. General Manager (CSR & SAIL-Uday), SAIL-Bokaro Steel Plant and Shri Vishal Bhardwaj, Group Head – CSR, Dalmia Bharat Group and Chief Executive Officer, Dalmia Bharat Foundation.

“Since our inception in 2009, we’ve witnessed our role gradually transform from being a resource provider to a key enabler for positive change in society. While we’ve created a legacy of development and change for the better, we continue to strive to ensure that we meet newer economic and environmental needs and close wider societal gaps as much as possible,” said  Vishal Bhardwaj, Group Head - CSR, Dalmia Bharat Group and CEO, DBF. “Through our leadership and dedication towards achieving social transformation, we will continue to work towards our vision of creating opportunities for people across the nation so that they can reach their full potential and give back to the community. We look forward to our partnership with BSL and also call upon our industry peers to join us as we make significant and sustainable differences and ensure social, economic, and environmental progress.

The skill development center at Bokaro Steel City, in association with DBF, will help strengthen the social ecosystem in Jharkhand. While BSL will provide the necessary infrastructure support, DBF has been entrusted with managing day to day activities of the center including faculty and placement support.
 
“BSL and DBF share a common vision and value system for bringing about a transformative change in society by leveraging its demographic dividend through empowering the local youth through training that makes them market-ready,” said  Chaudhary Ratnesh Kumar Sudhanshu, Dy. GM (CSR & SAIL-Uday), SAIL-Bokaro Steel Plant. “It is our firm belief that this combined expertise and experience will ensure that the youth being educated at the DIKSHa facility will receive quality and need-based training for the purpose of gainful employment across industries.”
 
To ensure viable and sustainable income generation, training will be imparted in trades for self-employment and trades such as Assistant Electrician, Solar PV Installer, General Duty Assistant (GDA) and Customer Relationship Management, to begin with. Subsequently, more courses will be added as per demand and future prospects. The center shall largely focus on the development of the youth residing in BSL’s peripheral villages.

“At Dalmia Bharat Foundation, we have always been focused on our endeavours to deliver community-centric solutions and purposeful action to solve growing global issues. These include the absence of livelihood opportunities, climate change, water scarcity, resource depletion and the lack of social infrastructure,” said Priya Renjan, Unit Head, Bokaro, DCBL. “By partnering with BSL we are confident that we will be able to effectively impart skill training to the lesser educated and dropout youth in our surrounding villages and ultimately contribute to the establishment of cooperative institutions.”

The Skill Training Centre will be under the flagship project – Dalmia Institute of Knowledge and Skill Training (DIKSHa) of Dalmia Bharat Foundation. Currently, DBF has 14 DIKSHa Centers in seven states.