Theme ‘CSR for Nation Building 2020’ the symposiums will also provide details on HCL Grant 2020 -2021 to NGOs
Bhubaneswar: HCL Foundation, the CSR arm of HCL Technologies, hosted the HCL Grant Symposium of the sixth edition of HCL Grant at the KIMS Auditorium, Campus 5, Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) recently. The event was aimed at providing training to non-government organizations in and around and Odisha was the second of a series of symposiums which HCL Foundation plans to organize across India. The symposiums will be held in other locations namely – Pondicherry, Jaipur/Kanpur, Pune, Bhopal, Kolkata, Guwahati, Bangalore and Delhi.
The day-long event was attended by eminent personalities Dr Aurobindo Behera, Former Secretary in Government of Odisha for Disaster Management, Forest & Environment, Rural Development. Mr P K Jena, Additional Chief Secretary and MD Odisha Disaster Management Authority, a Former UNDP Asst Country Representative, Mr Sourav Bhattacharjee, Nutrition Specialist, UNICEF Odisha Field Office, Mr Jitasatru Mohanty (retd. IFS), Prof Anurag Das, Director, Academics,KISS and Robin Sarkar, Project Director, Shiksha Initiative, Shiv Nadar Foundation.
The sessions were hosted by Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS).
As a part of CSR for Nation Building symposium, panel discussions and open discussion were conducted with local NGO representatives and civil society experts on themes such as evolving compliances in CSR and NGO data and figure on current CSR and NGO expectations, HCL Grant Overview, Eligibility criteria and Selection Process and Policy frameworks (Environment, Health and Education).
115 NGOs with 169 delegates from across Odisha attended and participated in a panel discussion.
There was a session on ‘Power of Fifth Estate’ in which recipients of HCL Grant shared their experiences of how HCL Grant helped them bring about the desired impact. In the last four editions of the HCL Grant, 625 registrations have been received from Odisha. This was the fifth consecutive year that HCL Foundation conducted the symposium in Odisha.
HCL Grant Pan-India Symposiums is a CSR initiative conducted to have an engaging discussion with the NGOs on strategizing corporate social responsibility (CSR) to achieve Sustainable Development Goals.
· HCL Foundation aims to educate and communicate the finer nuances of CSR mandate to all NGOs. Special effort is made to educate NGOs on how to develop impactful development projects as part of Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013 that relates to Section 135 on Corporate Social Responsibility. It also addresses NGO’s challenges and opportunities in the local area development, proposal writing and project management and encouraged them to apply for HCL Grant 2020-2021.
HCL Grant Symposiums gives training to NGOs and shares a platform for a discussion on the challenges and opportunities in the local area development in the thematic areas like Education, Health and Environment with the help of different presentations, case studies, etc.
HCL Foundation aims to educate the NGOs about HCL Grant, one of the most coveted institutionalized grants available in India, which identifies NGOs doing path-breaking work in rural development through an independent, robust and democratic process.
The HCL Grant pan-India symposiums is an initiative by HCL Foundation to bring together NGOs, Government, Corporates, and Policymakers on one platform, across India, such that they can interact, develop regional as well as sectoral understanding about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and deliberate upon how it can contribute towards Nation Building. In the last three years, symposiums have been held in 32 cities which witnessed the total number of 2900+ NGOs and 4000+ Participants.
HCL Grant will be awarded in the categories of Education, Health and Environment, with a commitment of ₹ 5 Crore for a five-year project in each category. The Grant would also reward two other finalists with ₹ 25 lakhs for a 1-year project. The total fund committed for the sixth edition of HCL Grant is ₹16.5 Crores.
· HCL Grant has seen a significant increase in the number of registrations coming in, from the first edition in 2016 to the fifth edition which concluded in 16,365 NGO registrations from Pan India. In the 2019-20 edition, over 5000+ registrations were seen, of which, 27% registrations were unique NGOs. The idea of HCL Grant is not only to recognize the work of NGOs contributing to the nation’s growth and development but also to stay engaged with them to achieve the desired impact.
The HCL Grant Compendium published each year features not just the winners, but also the work of up to 30 shortlisted NGOs, 10 from each category. It is a step towards re-establishing the value of strong governance in civil society and providing international visibility to Indian NGOs doing path-breaking work in the rural development sector.
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