Udaipur, 14 th November 2024: On Children’s Day, Hindustan Zinc Limited (NSE: HINDZINC), India’s largest and the world’s second-largest integrated zinc producer, has reaffirmed its commitment to fostering India’s future by investing in educational initiatives that impact over 2 Lakh students across Rajasthan. Through a series of well curated initiatives, Hindustan Zinc is actively enhancing education, health, and nutritional support, helping the state’s future generations thrive and contribute to the nation’s progress.

One of Hindustan Zinc’s flagship projects, Nand Ghar stands with the nation's unwavering commitment to eradicate child malnutrition, ensuring access to education, healthcare, and empowering women through skill development initiatives. Envisioned under the leadership of Shri Anil Agarwal, Chairman-Vedanta Group, Nand Ghars are modern-day, technology-enabled anganwadis which serve as holistic centres of learning and development for women & children from the community. Through this initiative, Hindustan Zinc has transformed the lives of over 2 lakhs children and women in FY24 and converted more than 3,000 anganwadis centres into modern digital learning spaces. These centres, equipped with e- learning resources, child-friendly amenities, and secure environments, have redefined early education, enabling families from rural and underprivileged communities have access to quality day care centre across 15 districts of Rajasthan.

As these kids progress in life and start pursuing primary & secondary education the company’s Shiksha Sambal programme, provide high-quality education in essential subjects such as Science, Mathematics, and English to more than 40,000 students in 72 government schools across Rajasthan in the last five years. This initiative continues to enable quality education equivalent to private schools for over 8,000 children from underprivileged communities every year. It is noteworthy that many of these students are first generation learners who are likely to opt out of pursuing studies and a fulfilling career, owing to financial and social constraints. 

Hindustan Zinc’s Unchi Udaan as a project builds on the foundation of Shiksha Sambal and creates an opportunity for high-performing students from the targeted rural areas to enter engineering institutions of national repute. The programme then selects the top-performing students from the Shiksha Sambal schools and provides them with four years of in-house coaching for IIT-JEE preparations. Since its inception, Unchi Udaan has helped more than 300 students secure placements, with ongoing batches continuing to prepare for competitive exams fuelling their engineering dreams.

Sports play a crucial role in youth development, fostering physical health, teamwork, discipline, and confidence. Hence, to promote holistic youth development through sports, Hindustan Zinc has established its flagship Zinc Football Academy, a one-of-a-kind residential football academy at Zawar, Rajasthan. A significant step toward nurturing football talent from the grassroots. To date, the academy has trained 350 students, contributing to the state’s athletic growth and fostering young players who represent the national, state and district teams. 

Specially abled children face significant challenges in learning and require tailored educational support. Hindustan Zinc’s Jeevan Tarang programme provides them with skills, resources, and accessible education to foster self-sufficiency. Since its inception in 2017, the initiative has positively impacted the lives of over 900 children and adults with visual, hearing, and other disabilities. Beyond empowering these children with specialized skills, the programme extends its reach to families and educators through sign language training, cultivating a more inclusive society that values and supports individuals with special abilities.

In addition to the mainstream interventions for the welfare of the community around, Hindustan Zinc has made notable contributions to government schools by improving infrastructure, furniture, sanitary facilities, providing additional faculty, and supporting extra curricular activities in 72 schools across Rajasthan. From building classrooms and installing clean water systems to funding science fairs and offering safety and study materials, these efforts provide quality education to thousands of children from underprivileged communities. The company recently signed an MoU with Department of Education, Rajasthan committing an investment of ₹36 crores over the next five years to enhance educational development in the state. 

Beyond Education, Hindustan Zinc is impacting the communities around its operational areas in youth skill development, women empowerment, sustainable livelihoods for farmers, healthcare and water supply. As one of India’s top 10 CSR spenders, Hindustan Zinc remains dedicated to uplifting communities with impactful initiatives in about 3,700 villages in Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. The company is positively transforming the lives of nearly 20 lakh people, solidifying its role to promote the livelihoods of the communities in its operational areas.

Hindustan Zinc, a Vedanta Group company, is the world’s second-largest integrated zinc producer and the third-largest silver producer. Hindustan Zinc has been recognized as the world’s most sustainable company in the metals and mining category by the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment 2023, reflecting its operational excellence, innovation, and leading ESG practices. The company also launched EcoZen, Asia's first low-carbon green zinc brand. Produced using renewable energy, EcoZen has a carbon footprint of less than 1 tonne of carbon equivalent per tonne of zinc produced, about 75% lower than the global average. Hindustan Zinc is also a certified 2.41 times Water-Positive company and is committed to achieving Net Zero emissions by 2050 or sooner. As a world leader in the metals and mining industry, Hindustan Zinc is pivotal in providing critical metals essential for the global energy transition towards a sustainable future.