The Jindal Steel & Power Ltd (JSPL) has been conferred with the prestigious Mahatma Award 2020 for its humanitarian efforts to support the communities and local administration in fighting Covid-19. JSPL Foundation chairperson Shallu Jindal received the award on Saturday at the India International Centre, New Delhi.

Shallu Jindal said, “As a responsible Corporate Citizen, we launched Mission Zero Hunger in and around the operational geographies of JSPL and also in the national capital to ensure that none is sleeping on empty stomach because of the Covid-19-induced human misery. We could also insulate the local community from loss of livelihood and ensure access to everyday cash income during this wage crunch period.”

The JSPL Foundation served nearly half a million dry and cooked meals to the socially vulnerable in Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and New Delhi during the lockdown period. Hundreds of rural women through the SHGs promoted by the JSPL Foundation  stitched and distributed over two lakh facemasks to the communities, health workers and so on. PPEs, hand wash, sanitizers prepared by the SHGs, ensured everyday cash access to these families. Thousands of farmers and artisans supported by the Foundation were protected from distress sale by way of assured buy back from them at a fair price. Health care facilities were rolled out in two of its multi-specialty Hospitals in Chhattisgarh namely the OP Jindal Hospitals. C# care centres were instituted in the JSPL plants.

During the pandemic at the peak, the foundation extended customised rehabilitation training to more than 3,000 children with special needs and contributed Rs 25 Crore to PM CARES Fund to fight the global pandemic.