Fostering Local Enterprise: Vedanta Lanjigarh Inaugurates Turmeric Processing Machine to Empower SHGs
16 September 2019
Women of Ma Manikeshwari SHG during the inauguration of turmeric processing machine in Pujharipada Lanjigarh Odisha
Vedanta Aluminium has reinforced its commitment towards woman empowerment through the inauguration of a new turmeric processing machine for a women Self-Help Group in Lanjigarh. The company runs the Self-Help Group program, under the Sakhi Project with the rural women, which is one of the key initiatives of the sustainable livelihood program.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Rakesh Mohan, COO – Vedanta Lanjigarh, said, “Our SHG program is an excellent example of how companies and community can work together to build an institution of social good. We are proud to have contributed to financial aid, social security, and entrepreneurial development of women in Lanjigarh. Educating, empowering and inspiring women are one of the key focus areas of our program, revolving around sustainable livelihood.”
Organic agriculture is gaining momentum in the country, and a self-help group in Lanjigarh is scripting a success story in the production of turmeric powder. In the year 2017, a team of 15 members of a local self-help group of Pujharipada village were sponsored by Vedanta Aluminium’s Lanjigarh refinery for plate making as a means of earning. They began their venture with the production of paper plate making but their quench for success superseded their aspiration to generate more earnings by increasing efficiency and reducing the time that led them to seek fund for the purchase of turmeric processing machine and raw materials from the company. With an initial seed fund of INR 1, 00,000 they started their venture under the brand name 'Sakhi' in the local market.
Till date, the members produced nearly five quintals of turmeric powder with earning a profit of INR 25,000. The packets are sold at a price of INR 250 with a profit margin of INR 50 per packet.
Empowering women through financial independence, efforts are being made to train women of the villages as sustainable women entrepreneurs. The status of women and their roles in decision making is gradually making a transformation in rural India. Vedanta promotes and encourages the formation of SHGs under the Sakhi program with a well-designed framework and process for effective delivery to bring a positive change in the lives of rural women.
About Vedanta Limited, Lanjigarh Unit (Alumina Refinery)
Vedanta is the largest producer of aluminium in India and remains the premier manufacturer of metallurgical grade alumina. The company has carved a niche for itself in the aluminium industry with its superior product quality based on state-of-the-art technology. Vedanta Limited operates a 2 MTPA (million tonnes per annum) alumina refinery in Lanjigarh (Kalahandi district, Odisha), India since 2007 and an associated 90 MW captive power plant at Lanjigarh, which was commissioned in 2008. The refinery feeds Vedanta’s aluminium smelters at Jharsuguda in Odisha and at BALCO in Korba, Chhattisgarh.
In line with the group’s strategy of contributing to the communities it operates in, the company has focused interventions in the areas of health, education, livelihoods, and infrastructure amongst several others, in the Kalahandi region.
Vedanta Limited’s Lanjigarh unit has been conferred with several accolades across several critical business functions including:
