Interview with Nidhi Pundhir, Director, HCL Foundation: "We believe embedding digital skills in early learning stage is critical to make our youth future-ready"

HCL Technologies spent a whopping amount of Rs 176.29 Crore on its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and other charitable activities in 2019-20. The technology company, founded by Shiv Nadar and now led by his daughter Roshni Nadar Malhotra, has strongly built its CSR activities around rural development, education, environment and health among other areas.

The company also has a special Corporate Social responsibility (CSR) arm - HCL Foundation (HCLF), which plans, designs, executes its CSR activities.

In this Interview with TheCSRUniverse, HCL Foundation Director Nidhi Pundhir talks on company’s key CSR focus areas, its COVID relief initiatives and the strategy company adopted towards the ‘new normal’ amid the continuing COVID crisis. She also speaks on the online shift that has taken in CSR programme implementation and itsadvantages and disadvantages and much more.  Scroll down to read the interview excerpts.

Interview Highlights

 In tough COVID times, it was the commitment and resilience of our communities, teams and partners that helped us navigate through the situation - standing strong and keeping our efforts sustained.

• We should come forward and help to uplift the worst-affected communities to the best of our capabilities. We need to identify the areas which are in critical need of help and design initiatives which can help them restore normalcy in their lives.
• We believe embedding digital skills in the early learning stage is critical to make our youth future-ready.
• Corporates should identify the problems that require immediate attention and align their strategies basis their research and knowledge of a specific issue which can be a win for community partners and the corporate.
• By aligning CSR with revenue-generating activities, we can ensure that our CSR programs are strategic and sustainable.

Interview with Nidhi Pundhir, Director, HCL Foundation 

Q: HCL is among the companies leading CSR activities in India.  What are your focus work areas?

A: HCL Foundation (HCLF) was established in 2011 as the Corporate Social responsibility arm of HCL Technologies in India. It is a value-driven, not-for-profit organization that thrives in contributing toward national and international development goals, impacting the lives of people and communities through long-term sustainable programs.

The Foundation aims to alleviate poverty and achieve inclusive growth and development through a life cycle-based integrated community development approach, with thematic focus on Education, Health, Livelihoods & Skilling, Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction & Response. Child protective strategies, inclusion, and gender transformative approaches remain central in all initiatives of the HCL Foundation, thus ensuring comprehensive development.

Q: Which key CSR activities did you undertake in 2019-20?

A: In FY20, we strengthened our efforts and took meaningful action toward combating climate change. A better planet with all people achieving peace and prosperity is at the heart and culture of HCL. Through our flagship initiatives—HCL Samuday, HCL Grant targeting rural geographies, and HCL Uday and Clean Noida in urban geographies—the HCL Foundation HCL Foundation has positively impacted over 18 lakh human lives, spanning 20 states and 2 union territories of India.

Ramping up our efforts towards conservation of ecosystem, we have planted 1.7 lakh saplings, continued efforts to rejuvenate 67 water bodies and ensured protection and treatment of 5,046 animals. Our Special Initiatives—HCL Foundation Academy, Sports for Change, and Power of One—further continued to forge a path for their constituents to realize their potential.

Q: Did you also take any COVID relief initiative?

A: Yes. We took multiple initiatives during the pandemic. Besides continuing support to the communities where we had a presence, HCL Foundation also took steps towards strengthening the fight against COVID-19. Some of the key activities undertaken to help communities during this crisis include:

• HCL Foundation (HCLF) has recently helped to set up 100-bed and 50-bed COVID-19 isolation and treatment units respectively at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital (LNJP) and Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital in partnership with the Delhi government. The Foundation also provided human resource support to the isolation and treatment unit at the two hospitals.
• HCLF partnered with NGO Awahaan to train women of a local self-help groups consisting mostly of domestic helpers to stitch masks to sustain their livelihoods. Through this initiative, the SHGs recently received a formal work order of 4,000 pieces of 3-layer cotton masks from the Uttar Pradesh State Rural Livelihood Mission, Lucknow. HCLF also supported the NGO to connect with ‘Go Local India’ initiative where SHGs are directly involved in the production of masks by procuring materials from ‘Khadi Gramodyog Sansthan’ and selling to the local buyer.
• HCLF also collaborated with NGO - MAMTA to overcome long-distance connectivity issues and continued to provide guidance and support to expectant mothers, especially migrant workers, during the Covid-19-induced lockdown.
• The trained workforce under our programme with National Institute of Women Child and Youth Development (NIWCYD) were deployed at 8 different COVID quarantine centers at Nagpur.
• HCLF also collaborated with NGO partner Agragami India to promote family planning, health awareness, community sanitation, non-formal education for children and adolescents in the urban slums of Noida. The HCLF team along with the NGO partner distributed contraceptive pills and necessary safety measures to families to strengthen their fight against the Covid-19.

Q: How has your CSR programme implementation been affected due to COVID pandemic?

A: The first quarter of financial year 2020-21 threw open challenges of the novel pandemic, COVID-19. It presented a dual challenge before us - (i) Restoration of the regular long-term programs through HCL Foundation to ensure that the gains made so far are not lost, thus all projects on ground needed re-engineering such that communities are least impacted; and (ii) Relief, Response & Build Back during the COVID-19 pandemic and reach out to geographies even outside the regular program intervention areas.

In these times, it was the commitment and resilience of our communities, teams and partners that helped us navigate through the situation - standing strong and keeping our efforts sustained.

While the program did face disruptions in the first quarter due to the lockdown, HCL Foundation was quick to re-strategize the programs and initiate action on ground. Having a robust database helped us initiate quick telephonic surveys which helped us understand the needs of the communities and teams on ground, continued reaching out and ensuring safety and well-being. We re-assessed priorities and were soon able to adapt to the ‘new normal’.

Q: How did you tweak your CSR strategy?

A: HCL Foundation’s response to COVID-19 included immediate relief, restoration and ‘build back’ efforts. HCL Foundation extended its support to the State Governments in their efforts to contain the spread of the disease as well as helped the marginalized communities. A holistic strategy was devised, which included support across the following categories - Training, Capacity Building, Awareness & Coordination support through use of technology tools and platforms; Complementing the Healthcare Services; Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for health care workers and frontline workers; Food Security; Care for elderly, children & most disadvantaged and Animal Welfare.

HCL Foundation kick-started a ‘Call for Action’ initiative towards COVID-19 by collaborating with its NGO partners in order to respond, increase resilience as well as reduce vulnerabilities of local communities, enabling them to better prepare for, mitigate and respond to COVID-19 disaster.

In response to the ‘Call for Action’, 24 partnerships were forged extending support across 15 States of India. This was over and above the existing partnerships with the NGOs and communities and the response and action initiated in collaboration with them under the existing HCL Foundation programs.

Q: During COVID times, many Corporates have started heavily relying on technology to implement their CSR projects, especially in education and skill development. How do you see this shift? 

A: COVID-19 has disrupted the socio-economic circumstances of the whole world. The Government of India announced a nationwide lockdown in March 2020 to promote social and physical distancing to mitigate the spread of this deadly infection. Due to the critical circumstances, technology became the integral source to sustain the work culture.

Corporates started collaborating with various technology partners, especially in the education and skill development sector since employees started working remotely. With the emergence of vibrant education technology sector online courses across data sciences, cloud solutions, digital marketing became increasingly popular.

The EdTech companies are leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning to deliver personalized training programs that adapt to learners’ existing skills and goals. Online training platforms are also leveraging best practices from leading institutions across the world to hone non-traditional skill sets. Many private companies have actively participated in digital skill development, which further strengthened India’s budding entrepreneurial ecosystem. Moreover, the government is also focusing on upgrading higher education to bring in greater skills.

HCL Foundation under HCL Uday has curated various skilling projects that focus on employable skill training, especially for the youth and women, to promote sustainable livelihood opportunities and create strong and self-reliant people and communities. We believe embedding digital skills in the early learning stage is critical to make our youth future-ready.

To be able to facilitate inclusive education and last mile delivery of education and skilling services, we believe it will be necessary to address the following gaps –

• Digital Literacy and Infrastructural Support is limited
• Content exists, Usage and content consumption is not efficient
• Language Barrier in the E-Content
• Cost of Connectivity - Access
• Lack of standardized e-content
• The most vulnerable are getting left out - Gender & Inclusion
• Dependence on parents and family for facilitating the learning process (most students are first generation learners, parent motivation to be addressed)

Some areas that may be prioritized for funding in this regard, include –

• Low-cost multilingual platforms that could work on low bandwidth
• Capacity Building of Teachers - Use of blended mode approach for science
• Streamlining of digital content delivery cycle
• Contextualization & Standardization of content
• Interactive E-Learning through innovative solutions
• Digital Learning kits powered by alternate energy sources
• Strengthening the digital infrastructure
• Scaling up e-learning models that have demonstrated success
• Setting up E-Hubs in communities

Q: What could be the pros and cons of this shift from on-ground activities to online activities?

A: The world is currently focused on the ongoing COVID crisis. Although people are trying to return to normalcy, online has become the emerging trend. But there are certain advantages and disadvantages of online activities vis-à-vis on-ground activities.

Strengths of online activities:

• Firstly, online activities offer flexibility. One can participate from anywhere in the world as long as they have a computer or a smart gadget and internet access. Moreover, one can record lectures, calls or any other activity happening online and can listen to it any time suitable to their routine sitting in the comfort of their homes.
• Secondly, all the materials are always available online for the participants. They can access the materials as many times as required and can take as long as they require to understanding certain concepts without being time-bound by official hours. This helps participants to work at their own speed without fear of missing out.
• Thirdly, the online set up provides a productive communication between the participants and organizers and a constant synergy is shared throughout the learning process. All participants can add to the ongoing conversation and can present their opinions without hesitation and time limitations.

Advantages of On-ground Activities

• On-ground activities promote collaborative learning, which increases participants’ awareness of others and help them develop adaptability easily and effectively
• On-ground activities also enhance critical thinking skills. These activities engage learners in live discussions which help them formulate opinions or arguments.
• Most importantly, on-ground activities improve the social skills of people as they interact with their peers and colleagues to establish a rapport. Physical presence helps participants retain more from what they have learned during the session.
• Physical activities improve the organizational skills of an individual. They help individuals to organize their time, prioritize their assignments and arranging their schedules accordingly.

Disadvantages of Online Participation

Online participation is limited to the use and availability of technology. Even the most advanced technology is not 100% secure and can be subjected to piracy. Moreover, in India, a huge percentage of the population cannot afford smart gadgets, which makes it impossible for them to keep pace with others.

Online mode of participation also provides an improper learning environment for immature learners as they need to garner a high degree of time management abilities and be always self-motivated

Lastly, successful on-ground activity does not always translate into successful online programs. The facilitators need to be adequately qualified according to the online methodologies to successfully retain the attention of the participants. An online program will be undermined if the facilitator is not well versed with the latest technology.

Q: What is the budget outlay for your CSR activities in the financial year 2020-21?

A: In FY 19-20, the annual CSR expenditure for HCL Technologies was Rs 176.29 Crore. This year as well, we are committed to ensuring that all our programs have the required support and funding as we continue driving deep impact in 2020-21

Q: What are your expectations from your CSR implementation agencies in today’s changing scenario?  

A: Covid-19 has posed a challenge to every section of society across the world and has disproportionately affected the economy of most countries. During such times, as responsible corporate citizens we should come forward and help to uplift the worst-affected communities to the best of our capabilities. In such situations, CSR plays an integral role. We need to identify the areas which are in critical need of help and design initiatives which can help them restore normalcy in their lives.

Q: What are your suggestions and message to your corporate colleagues on building a strong CSR environment in the country? 

A: In the current situation, we advise corporate colleagues to identify the problems that require immediate attention and will be beneficial to larger sections of society. The entities should align their strategies basis their research and knowledge of a specific issue which can be a win for community partners and the corporate.

One should carefully access the ROIs of the CSR efforts to understand the bottom-line experience of the beneficiaries. CSR programs have the potential to bring value to the business as well as society if done in an organized manner. By aligning corporate citizenship efforts with revenue-generating activities, we can ensure that our CSR programs are strategic and sustainable.