An Interview with Priyadarshini Nigam on CSR Initiatives at Newgen

An interview with Priyadarshini Nigam, Director and Head – CSR, Newgen Company Social Duty

On this insightful interview, Priyadarshini Nigam, Director and Head of CSR at Newgen, shares her ardour for company social duty.

She discusses the corporate’s initiatives aimed toward fostering group growth, sustainability, and social impression, highlighting the significance of integrating CSR into the core enterprise technique.

Are you able to share your imaginative and prescient for Newgen’s Company Social Duty initiatives and the way they align with the corporate’s general mission?

Priyadarshini Nigam: Newgen’s Company Social Duty (CSR) imaginative and prescient is to be a socially accountable group that actively contributes to the social and financial development of the communities wherein we function.

Our applications are designed to enhance the standard of life for probably the most susceptible segments of society, finally aiming to reinforce the nation’s Human Improvement Index (HDI).

Our CSR efforts are deeply rooted within the core values of transformation, innovation, and sustainability, and observe a lifecycle method. We help our beneficiaries by way of training, life abilities, persona growth, psychological well-being, and dietary help.

The Samarth Saarthi Samuh program focuses on empowering group girls. What impressed this initiative?

Priyadarshini Nigam: Moms have all the time been key stakeholders in Newgen CSR’s digital training initiative—Newgen Digital Discovery Paathshala (NDDP). Two years in the past, throughout our annual interactions with them, we sensed their aspiration to discover extra alternatives.

Via group engagement, similar to interviews, dwelling visits, and group discussions, we recognized their wants and understood how addressing these may additionally help the NDDP lady college students.

This led to the formation of the Samarth Saarthi Samuh group, which now empowers girls by way of talent growth, digital and monetary literacy, and psychological well being help.

Are you able to elaborate on the Ability Improvement Centre inaugurated for NDDP moms and group girls? What forms of abilities are being taught, and the way do you measure the success of this program?

Priyadarshini Nigam: On the Ability Improvement Centre, girls are educated in stitching, embroidery, crocheting, and associated abilities. They’re additionally launched to digital instruments for each day duties, educated concerning monetary administration, and endorsed on psychological and bodily wellness.

Every lady has a singular story, and her progress all through this system displays its impression. Indicators similar to improved confidence in handcraft abilities, common attendance, and openness in expressing feelings assist us assess success.

How necessary are monetary literacy and digital proficiency in empowering girls?

Priyadarshini Nigam: Right this moment, monetary and digital literacy go hand in hand and are essential to holistic empowerment. Therefore, each elements are built-in into our applications.

The digital world is now not alien; even the aged now use smartphones to satisfy their each day wants. Our monetary literacy periods assist moms perceive ideas like budgeting, distinguishing between wants and desires, and authorities monetary schemes for ladies.

When mixed with digital proficiency, similar to utilizing on-line banking or search engines like google, these periods present girls with instruments for self-reliance and progress.

The psychological well being well-being periods are a singular side of your program. How do you combine psychological well being help into your CSR initiatives, and what impression has it had on the beneficiaries?

Priyadarshini Nigam: Psychological well being is a vital part of holistic growth. Each college students and moms profit from our psychological well being and persona growth initiatives, led by skilled counsellors.

The optimistic impression of the periods has been evident from the suggestions from beneficiaries, who categorical how they’ve realized strategies like tapping to handle feelings, recognizing emotional triggers, and utilizing art-based strategies to cut back stress. These practices have helped enhance their emotional well-being and self-awareness.

How does the NDDP initiative contribute to the targets of ‘Digital India’ and ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’?

Priyadarshini Nigam: Newgen’s flagship CSR program—Newgen Digital Discovery Paathshala (NDDP), carefully aligns with the targets of Digital India and Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao.

This system promotes high quality training for underprivileged women by enhancing digital literacy and bridging the expertise divide.

Yearly, the initiative reaches over 3,800 lady college students from authorities colleges (grades 6–12). Because the pandemic, we’ve got adopted a hybrid method to strengthen digital connectivity.

Newgen additionally gives college students with digital gadgets, together with iPads, tablets, and smartphones, with recharged SIMs. So far, over 2,900 college students have acquired tablets.

NDDP is a singular initiative that fosters digital literacy and nurtures the general persona growth of beneficiaries, supporting inclusive progress and gender equality.

Newgen has partnered with numerous organizations as its implementation companions. How do these partnerships improve the effectiveness of your CSR initiatives?

Priyadarshini Nigam: Partnering with NGOs and grassroots organizations helps us lengthen our attain to distant communities and ensures the last-mile implementation of our applications.

Through the years, we’ve partnered with KHUSHII, Akshaya Patra, KK Academy, and Laptop Shiksha, permitting us to ship digital training, remedial help, and diet to underserved college students throughout India.

These companions have established robust native networks, making it simpler for us to achieve communities and construct sustainable fashions.

Collectively, KHUSHII, KK Academy and Laptop Shiksha have supported over 1.2 lakh college students in FY 2024–25.

Our Mid-Day Meal collaboration with the Akshaya Patra Basis has served 17 lakh meals to 12,000 college students in a single yr.

How does Newgen CSR encourage the workers to take part in social growth actions?

Priyadarshini Nigam: Newgen CSR has a structured framework for involving staff in its social growth efforts. Workers can take part in NDDP periods as function fashions, judges in debates or quizzes, and through celebrations and camps.

Underneath the moms’ program, they’ll go to the Ability Improvement Centre and attend exhibitions to encourage girls.

Our annual CSR Week is a significant volunteer-driven occasion. Via totally different on-line and offline actions, the volunteers get the possibility to work together with numerous mission beneficiaries and encourage them.

Lately, we additionally had a brand new batch of younger joiners who visited the CSR’s Ability Improvement Centre and interacted with the ladies beneficiaries. Discussions are ongoing to make such visits a daily a part of the brand new joiners’ orientation program.

In FY 2025–26, we’ve additionally deliberate month-to-month CSR days, beginning with STEM summer time camps, the place volunteers will likely be invited for in-person engagement. These immersive actions foster a private connection and a way of possession amongst staff.

What are your plans for increasing or enhancing Newgen’s CSR initiatives? Are there any new initiatives or areas of give attention to the horizon?

Priyadarshini Nigam: Newgen’s CSR applications are tailored annually based mostly on beneficiary wants. We repeatedly replace course supplies and curriculum consistent with present developments. Pill distribution will proceed, making certain extra college students have entry to digital studying.

We’re inserting better emphasis on STEM training, significantly throughout summer time camps and mentoring periods, to assist women overcome their worry of science and acknowledge their potential.

Actions like debates, declamations, information studying, and quizzes stay on the core of our mannequin. We’ve additionally launched a Communication in English program for college kids from Class 6 onwards to reinforce language abilities.

The Ability Improvement Centre will proceed to coach girls in income-generating abilities. A brand new batch of round 70 girls will likely be inducted this yr, whereas the earlier cohort will transfer towards entrepreneurship coaching.

Psychological well being will stay a key focus space this yr, for each college students and ladies, to make sure holistic well-being.

We may even proceed to develop our attain by way of implementation companions. Our current companion, Laptop Shiksha, is offering laptop literacy to 1.2 lakh college students throughout India.

What Newgen CSR is doing is only a drop within the ocean, however each drop counts. We stay dedicated to scaling our efforts, pushed by the urgent must help the social and financial development of our youth, with a particular give attention to empowering the lady little one.

Priyadarshini Nigam’s dedication to CSR at Newgen exemplifies the transformative energy of company duty.

Her imaginative and prescient not solely enhances group welfare but in addition reinforces the concept that companies can thrive whereas making a optimistic impression, paving the best way for a extra sustainable and equitable future.

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