New Delhi, 21 August, 2020: Leading IT solution and technology consulting company Larsen Toubro Infotech (LTI)has spent 70 % more than the prescribed CSR budget in the financial year 2019-20.
The Larson and Toubro Group company spent a total of Rs 46 Crore in the year 2019-20 against a prescribed CSR budget of Rs 27 crore, the company reported. The company contributed a total of 18 Crore to the PM CARES.
Also, in the financial year 2019-20, the company’s CSR spent was more than double as compared to the spend in the previous year. In the financial year 2018-19, the company had spent around Rs 22 crore on its various CSR activities.
The prescribed budget of a company, as per the Companies Act 2013, is calculated as the 2 % of the average annual profit of a company over last three financial years.
LTI’s average net profit for the last three years stood at Rs 1,360 Crore.
The company’s "CSR expenses increased to Rs 46 crore for the year ended March 31, 2020 from Rs 22.4 crore for the year ended March 31, 2019, which includes contribution made by the Company of around Rs 18 crore to PM CARES Fund for COVID-19 relief measures."
The company leveraged its technology expertise in implementing its various CSR projects which focussed. "Technology has always been an enabler at LTI, more so across the societal fabric and our CSR outreach spans communities. Leveraging technology, we have created multitude of opportunities for growth and prosperity around the world. Our 1Step Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program is focused on Education, Empowerment and Environment, to solve for the society," the company officials said.
The Company partnered with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) with expertise in its thematic areas of CSR focus. Key CSR activities in the company revolved around programmes related to education, skill building and environment conservation.
Education
The Company worked towards providing access to technology through its programs towards supplementary education in government and government-aided schools. These initiatives not only offered the infrastructure but also provided the technical know-how and follow a handholding approach for students who come from low income households. It implemented experiential learning programs enabling the students to understand technical concepts making science, mathematics and English subjects more productive and engaging. The company also provided mid-day meals through Akshaya Patra Foundation.
The company set up science and basic technology labs in schools and providing mid-day meals & better infrastructure to school children in multiple location across Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Ahmednagar Gadchiroli in Maharashtra; Bengaluru, Dharwad, Koppal, Chitradurga, Mysuru in Karnataka; Chittoor in AP; Hyderabad in Telangana; and Chennai, Thiruvanamalai, Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu.
During FY2020, the company reached out to 97,308 school children through these programs.
Empowerment
LTI provided vocational and digital skills by setting up necessary infrastructure for employability among underprivileged youth, women and people with special abilities. Empowerment programme were run across its centres in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Ahmednagar, Wai in Maharashtra; Sonari in UP; Nainital in Uttarakhand; and Chennai in Tamil Nadu.
During FY2020, 25,077 youth and women including the specially-abled have been trained through such programs. The company’s Digital Sakshar program in partnership with Pratham Infotech Foundation, was extended virtually to enhance the digital skills of underprivileged youth. The program benefited over 3,500 youth during the lockdown period.
"The Company’s CSR efforts are centered around making youth, women and people with special abilities competent, employable as well as supporting an inclusive and equal culture. To equip youth with the skills to participate in an increasingly digital world, we invest in making digital literacy and soft skills available to enable their overall development," the company noted in its annual report," adding "We empower women from marginalized communities by providing training in the traditional art of Warli which enables them to sell products in the market while also ensuring the revival of this tribal art. Differently abled youth are given training in a BPO like set up to be able to learn and earn at the same time."
Environment
Through 1Step, LTI has focused on the key issues of environment conservation and climate action by restoring biodiversity of regions, increasing the green cover, planting more trees and implementing rainwater harvesting to enable farmers to irrigate more land. Global campaigns were conducted during the year to spread awareness on responsible lifestyles among our associates. We initiated installation of rooftop solar panels as a source of clean energy for the schools where we operate and which were experiencing frequent power outages.
During the year, the company helped plant over 1.7 lac trees in various locations and installed solar facilities of 56.7 KW capacity in schools. It also helped irrigate and nearly 200 acres of land through our water conservation programs. The rainwater harvesting projects were implemented at multiple locations across Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu
Virtual Volunteering
With social distancing emerging as an inviolable protocol of the new normal in the COVID-19 era, LTI set up the ‘Learn from Home’ model to enable children in rural India to continue with their education virtually. As a pilot, the company initiated this model in five schools reaching over 600 students, with the ultimate aim of impacting over 20,000 children.
