Vedanta Jharsuguda felicitates meritorious wards of Subhalaxmi Cooperative members

Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest producer of aluminium, felicitated 114 meritorious students from local communities, who are children of Subhalaxmi Cooperative members, for their superlative performance in state matriculation examinations.

Subhalaxmi Cooperative, the flagship community development initiative of Vedanta’s Aluminium Business, is one of India’s largest rural women’s cooperatives which works in the realm of ‘sustainable livelihoods and ‘women’s empowerment’.

On this occasion, the meritorious students were also awarded scholarships through the Subhalaxmi Mahila Kalyan Panthi to encourage their aspirations of higher education.

The felicitation ceremony took place at Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Jharsuguda in presence of Sarat Chandra Panigrahi, Assistant Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Government of Odisha, Dr Samiranjan Das, Chief Scientist of Krishi Vigyan Kendra (Jharsuguda), and Manoj Kumar Barik, Extension Scientist of Krishi Vigyan Kendra (Jharusguda). The newly elected Board Members of Subhalaxmi Cooperative Society led by President Pankajini Oram and Vice President  Kumudini Rout were also present at the occasion. Since inception, through Mahila Kalyan Panthi, Subhalaxmi Co-op has benefitted more than 1,300 members and their families through scholarships to meritorious children, financial support to expecting mothers, loan waivers to members in case of death in the family, etc.

Congratulating the students, Sunil Gupta, CEO – Vedanta Ltd., Jharsuguda, said, “We firmly believe that access to quality education is a key enabler for sustainable development of a region. Our educational interventions in Jharsuguda, which includes Subhalaxmi Cooperative’s scholarship program, are aimed at encouraging local students to pursue their educational aspirations with passion. Our Subhalaxmi Co-op is a shining example of what corporate and community partnership can achieve, when it comes to self-empowerment of women. With such endeavours, we are committed to the progress of our local communities in and around our areas of operation.”