Vedanta’s Nand Ghar leads with ISO Certification in Odisha

Kalahandi: Nand Ghar, Vedanta Group’s flagship corporate social responsibility project, announced on Tuesday that three of its centres in Odisha’s Kalahandi, have received the prestigious ISO certification.

The Nand Ghars have been awarded the ‘ISO 9001 2015’ certification for providing a wide gamut of services including improving quality of services in early childhood education, improved maternal and child healthcare at doorsteps, improved nutrition outcomes and sustainable skill livelihood for women.

The Nand Ghars that were recognized are located at Basantapada, Kansari and Kendubardi villages in Lanjigarh block. The ISO certification has been issued for a period of three years.

“Five Anganwadi Centres (3 Nand Ghars) of Kalahandi district got ISO certification. The process of transformation has begun. Planning to do 100 per cent ISO certification. Credit to W&CD, Block, Vedanta, Nand Ghar team and KPMG,” Dr. Parag Harshad Gavali, District Collector of Kalahandi, said in a tweet.

Dr. Bhaskar Chatterjee, former Director General & CEO, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, also popularly known as Father of CSR in India lauded Vedanta’s efforts.

He said, “The conferment of ISO Certification to 5 Angadwadi centres in Kalahandi district under the aegis of the Vedanta Foundation is a huge shot in the arm for the entire National initiative that seeks to improve child health and nutrition, impart joyful learning to the very young and empower women at the grass root level.”

Nand Ghars are a transformative leap dedicated to benefit rural children and women in India.

A measure undertaken by Vedanta together with the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD), the project aims to ensure rural India is not left behind in India’s march towards progress.

The project is committed to the Prime Minister’s national vision of eradicating child malnutrition, providing education, healthcare and empowering women with skill development.

On this achievement, CEO Nand Ghar, Ritu Jhingon said, “We are very proud as a team to come out with the ISO certification for Nand Ghars and Anganwadis, which is a first for Vedanta and a first for Odisha state as well. We look forward to many more milestones for the Nand Ghar project contributing to inclusive development of our communities.”

In response to Covid pandemic, Nand Ghars had recently rolled out e-learning modules for home schooling across villages in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Odisha.

The Basantpada Nand Ghar was also used as a quarantine centre for the community women in the village.

Vedanta’s 1400 plus Nand Ghars across seven states are working towards creating a better tomorrow for women and children. The programme aims to touch lives of 40 lakh people, directly impacting 2,00,000 children and 1,80,000 women, annually.