CSR OF INFOSYS

Infosys Technologies Limited

Infosys is actively involved in various community development programs.Infosys promoted, in 1996, the Infosys Foundation as a not-for-
profit trust to which it contributes up to 1%PAT every year. Additionally, the Education and ResearchDepartment (E&R) at Infosys also
works with employee volunteers on community development projects. Infosys leadership has set examples in the area of corporate
citizenship and has involved itself actively in key national bodies. They have taken initiatives to work in the areas of Research and
Education, Community Service,Rural Reach Programme, Employment, Welfare activities undertaken by the Infosys Foundation,
Healthcare for the poor, Education and Arts & Culture.

ITC Limited

ITC partnered the Indian farmer for close to a century. ITC is now engaged in elevating this partnership to a new paradigm by leveraging
information technology through its trailblazing 'e-Choupal' initiative. ITC is significantly widening its farmer partnerships to embrace a
host of value-adding activities: creating livelihoods
by helping poor tribals make their wastelands productive; investing in rainwater harvesting to bring much-needed irrigation to parched
drylands; empowering rural women by helping them evolve into entrepreneurs; and providing infrastructural support to make schools
exciting for village children.Through these rural partnerships, ITC touches the lives of nearly 3 million villagers across India.

Company: Infosys Technologies Ltd

Income 2005-2006 = Rs 7000 Cr (rounded off)
Net profit after tax (05-06) = Rs 2000 Cr (rounded off)
Karmayog CSR Rating- 4/5

CSR activities: Infosys Technologies Ltd

Infosys Foundation has worked to support the underprivileged in society and enrich their lives. Promoted by Infosys Technologies
Limited, the Foundation began its work in Karnataka, India, gradually extending its activities to the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa and Punjab. It has successfully implemented projects in four key focus areas:

Healthcare

Making high-quality healthcare the norm is an ongoing challenge. Since its inception, the Foundation has initiated several activities that
benefit the rural and urban poor. Apart from constructing hospital wards, donating hi-tech equipment and organizing health camps, the
Foundation also distributes medicines to economically-weaker sections in remote areas.

The Foundation constructed the Infosys Super-specialty Hospital on the Sassoon Hospital premises in Pune. This hospital caters to poor
patients

It has spread its donations for medicines to aged and poor patients suffering from cancer, leprosy, defects of the heart/kidney, mental
illnesses and other major disorders. It helps this section meet substantial medical expenses and assures them of a steady source of
income for their treatment

The Foundation installed office management software at the KEM Hospital in Mumbai. This enables the hospital to manage store
requirements, keep accounts as well as publish hospital papers and other information on the Web

• Additional blocks have been built at the Swami Sivananda Centenary Charitable Hospital at Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu
• Additional blocks have also been built at the Bangalore Diabetic Hospital
• A dharmashala was constructed at the Kidwai Cancer Institute in Bangalore
• The Foundation constructed a pediatric hospital at the Capitol Hospital in Bhubaneswar, which caters to poor patients. A CT-
scan machine was also donated to the hospital
• Additional wards were built at the Swami Shivananda Memorial Charitable Hospital in Pattumadai, Tamil Nadu
• The annex to a cancer hospital in Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu was added
• A hospital was built for tribals at H.D. Kote, Mysore.
• In Bellary, a hospital was constructed to treat patients with brain fever
• The Foundation air-conditioned the burns ward of the Victoria Hospital, Bangalore

A high-energy linear accelerator unit was purchased for the treatment of cancer patients at the Chennai Cancer Institute in Tamil Nadu

The Foundation has donated ambulances to medical centers and hospitals in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, Gadag, B.R. Hills and South
Canara in Karnataka and Kalahandi, Chandrashekarpur and Bhubaneswar in Orissa
It has also donated high-tech surgical equipment to hospitals located at Mysore, Bijapur, Bellary and Hubli in Karnataka

Incubators, air conditioner units, neonatal resuscitation equipment and refrigerators have been given to the Bowring Hospital, Bangalore,
while ultrasound scanners have been donated to the Ramakrishna Ashram, Coorg and the Bangalore Government Hospital

The Foundation has made donations to the Drug Foundation for Nuclear Medicine at the cancer hospital in Miraj and the Kidwai Hospital
in Bangalore

A leprosy camp was conducted, and relief work was carried out at the Leprosy Colony in Gulbarga

Social rehabilitation and rural upliftment

Whether it is organizing an annual mela that empowers destitute women or building orphanages that give children a better life, the
Foundation's activities address the needs of society's most neglected. The Foundation has organized unique annual melas in different
parts of the country, including Bangalore and Sedam in Karnataka, and Chennai in Tamil Nadu, to distribute sewing machines to
destitute women and help them earn a livelihood. Prior to the mela, the Foundation even holds tailoring classes and provides materials
for the same at some centers. The Foundation has conducted relief work after natural disasters. Apart from monetary contributions, it
believes in assessing the real needs of those affected and contributing accordingly. It has worked in the tsunami-affected areas of Tamil
Nadu and the Andaman Islands, earthquake-affected areas of Kutch, cyclone-devastated areas of Orissa, tribal areas of Kalahandi in
Orissa and drought-hit areas of Andhra Pradesh The Foundation made a donation towards the mid-day meal program of the Akshaya
Patra Foundation, Bangalore, for poor children in North Karnataka. It established counseling centers to rehabilitate marginalized
devadasis in North Karnataka The Foundation has offered compensation to families whose bread-winners have served in our Defence
Forces and died fighting for the country. The Foundation worked with the Red Cross Society to supply aid equipment to the physically
challenged in rural areas and economically weaker sections of Karnataka The Foundation offers monetary aid to the Divine Life Society,
which is based in the Himalayas. The Society helps senior citizens and destitutes, often picking them up from the street and looking after
them with the help of volunteers, some of whom are foreign tourists in the region The Foundation improved a rehabilitation center in
Chennai for mentally retarded women The Foundation has improved the lives of children with leprosy and those living on the streets, and
in slums The Foundation has constructed: Hostel buildings for under-privileged students at Ramakrishna Mission centers in Tamil Nadu,
Orissa, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh Orphanages in rural areas of these states, to provide shelter to children of local communities.
A free girls' hostel at Maharshi Karve Sthree Shikshana Samsthe, Hingne, Pune A girls' hostel for the blind in Banapur, Orissa, Jagruthi
Blind School in Pune, Sri Ramana Maharshi Academy for the Blind in Bangalore and Sri Sharada Andhara Vikasa Kendra in Shimoga,
Karnataka Relief shelters in several parts of Orissa The Sri Ramakrishna Students' Home in Chennai, Tamil Nadu The Shakthidhama
Destitute Center for Women in Mysore, Karnataka A hall for people with physical disabilities in Belgaum, Karnataka

Learning and education

Basic education links the children, whether of the cities or villages, to all that is best and lasting in India," said Mahatma Gandhi. At no
time have his words been more prophetic, than now. In a world where education has become the biggest differentiating factor, the
Foundation offers an edge to deprived and rural students, through its activities In what is one of the largest rural education programs in
the country, the foundation has donated 10,200 sets of books in Karnataka alone, and in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Orissa and
Kerala, under its Library for Every Rural School project. Through this program, the Foundation has set up more than 10,150 libraries in
rural government schools. A minimum of 200 books, depending on the strength of the school, is provided. Each set has around 200 to
250 books. The cost of each set ranges between Rs. 2,000 and Rs. 3,000. Books on various subjects, including science, history,
mathematics, general knowledge, grammar, literature, geography, vocational training and fiction have been donated to cater to the
interests of students in all age groups To simplify the standard of computer education for students in rural areas, a separate book has
been written and is being distributed under the library project. This book has also been translated into Hindi, Tamil and Telugu In
another innovative project that facilitates higher learning, the Foundation has set up libraries in Hubli and Bangalore, that can be
accessed by under-privileged students. These well-equipped libraries have the latest books prescribed in hi-tech streams like medicine
and engineering. All a student has to do is pay a deposit of Rs 800 for unlimited use of the library through his or her education To identify
and help students in dire need, the Foundation works with Prerna, an NGO in Raichur and Bangalore, and Vidya Poshak in Dharwad, to
distribute scholarships to poor students. With the help of these organizations, the Foundation reaches out to deserving students across
Karnataka The Foundation has also made donations towards the reconstruction of old school buildings. For instance, 14 government
schools in slum areas of Hyderabad were reconstructed The Foundation has also renovated the Gandhinagar, Kottara St. Peter's School
and Kapikad Zilla Panchayat schools in Mangalore, Karnataka It also contributes towards the construction of additional classrooms,
school funds/corpus funds, school furniture, equipment and so on, especially in backward areas The Foundation recently purchased an
index Braille printer for the Sharada Devi Andhara Vikasa Kendra in Shimoga, Karnataka The Foundation donated study material,
including science kits, to 20 schools in rural Karnataka Donations have also been made towards computer centers in rural areas of
Karnataka The Foundation works with various organizations in Maharastra, Tamil Nadu and Orissa, to facilitate the education of slum
children in in these states The Foundation collaborated with the Center for Environment Education (CEE), Bangalore, for the orientation
of teachers specializing in science and the environment. The Center developed training material on water. During the program, it linked
the Science and Social Studies curriculum with the environmental perspective. Around 15 camps were held in various parts of Karnataka
over the last 3 years. Totally, around 1,000 teachers were trained It helps the Bangalore Association for Science towards the
development and maintenance of the planetarium in Bangalore, including funding of the sky-theater program at the planetarium The
Foundation constructed a science center at a rural school in the Kolar District of Karnataka, a one-of-its-kind center in the entire district.
It caters to the students of the school, as well as schools in the neighboring villages It made a contribution to fund new self-employment
courses at post graduation and post matriculation levels at the Nrupathunga Educational Institute in Hyderabad
Art and culture

Preserving our rich heritage and honoring our artisans are some of the ways the Infosys Foundation contributes to this spaceThe
Foundation has helped revive the art of the weavers of Pochampalli village in Andhra PradeshIt helps organize cultural programs to
promote artists in rural areas of Karnataka and Andhra PradeshIt traces and honors artistes from different parts of India

Today, the scope of the foundation's activities has widened to identifying under-privileged artists from different walks of like, be it writers,
painters, poets or musicians, who don't have access to contacts or help. It assists them on a "need" basis, offering financial assistance,
promoting their art, or helping them receive much-deserved recognition

It organizes programs like puppet shows and other cultural events to encourage artistes and performers in rural areas of Karnataka and
Andhra Pradesh, and offers them financial assistance to carry forward their art

In Karnataka, the Gamaka form of music was fast disappearing. A few years ago, The Foundation coordinated a project to donate more
than 200 sets - comprising a Gamaka cassette and record player - to 100 rural schools in Karnataka, to bring the dying art form back to
lifeIt has sponsored art exhibitions and performing arts programs in Dharwad and Bangalore in Karnataka

Awards for the Foundation

'Computer World Award - 2001' - International Level

'The Economic Times Corporate Citizenship Award,' on behalf of the Infosys Foundation, for outstanding philanthropic work - National
Level

Amount spent on CSR : No information regarding the amount spent on CSR was available on the homepage .

Corporate Governance
Email This Page Print This Page

Corporate Social Responsibility

At Infosys, the distribution of wealth is as important as its legal and ethical creation. A strong sense of social responsibility is therefore an integral
part of our value system.

Infosys Foundation
We are committed to contributing to the society and established the Infosys Foundation in 1996 as a not-for-profit trust to support our social
initiatives. The Foundation supports programs and organizations devoted to the cause of the destitute, the rural poor, the mentally challenged,
and the economically disadvantaged sections of the society.

The Foundation also helps preserve certain cultural forms and dying arts of India. Grants to the Foundation aggregated Rs. 19 crore during the
fiscal year 2007, as compared to Rs. 13 crore in the previous year.

Community service
Through our Computers@Classrooms initiative launched in January 1999, we donated 2,567 computers to various institutions across India.
Additionally, we have applied to the relevant authorities for permission to donate computers to educational institutions on an ongoing basis in the
future. Microsoft Corporation continues to participate in this initiative by donating relevant software. We would like to place on record our
appreciation for their continued support.

Social commitment in education

Infosys' Education & Research group has the pride of anchoring the Infosys Extension Program (IEP), which consists of the Infosys Fellowship
Program, Rural Reach program, Catch Them Young and Train the Trainer.

Learn more about our commitment to society and the environment

Sustainability
Email This Page Print This Page

Infosys employees actively participate in the welfare of the local community. Our Development Centers (DCs) in India make a difference through
several Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

Our employees organize and contribute to welfare programs, especially for underprivileged children. We support the activities of institutes and
Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) dedicated to healthcare and education, and campaigns for skills development and community welfare.

CSR activities at Infosys DCs in 2009

Bangalore DC
Rakum School for the visually challenged: Mitr, our local CSR team, visited the Rakum School for the visually challenged. Mobility, an
exercise in which team members walked blindfolded using canes, helped them empathize with the children. The team organized games and
distributed chocolates and stationery.

Notebook distribution: The Infynite Smiles CSR team has been distributing books and stationery to underprivileged children across Karnataka
since 2001. In 2009, the team touched more than 45,000 lives, including the tribal community. We collected donations amounting to Rs.
10,00,000. Our drive has been actively supported by the Dream School Foundation, Ramana Clinic, Sri Vivekananda Youth Movement,
Chrysalis and other NGOs.

Bhubaneswar DC
Project Genesis: This initiative of the Infosys Affirmative Action Program (IAAP) prepares students for a career in the Business Process
Outsourcing industry. The project was launched in Orissa in 2007 along with the state government to enhance the skills of academicians. Till
date, 515 professors have been trained to make learning more focused by combining traditional teaching methods with modern education. In
2009, 70 professors underwent a 12-day training program.

Chandigarh DC
Behavior and social skills development: Prayaas, our local CSR team, organized a program where 60 children from the Panchkula slum
showcased their creativity in group activities. The children were imparted training in social etiquette.

Medical camp and cleanliness drive: Prayaas has adopted Tanda village to drive social transformation in the region. Our volunteers engaged
residents in a cleanliness drive to prevent malaria. A free camp for eye and general medical check up was organized. Medicines and spectacles
prescribed by doctors at the camp were distributed free of cost. The team collected data on health and sanitation related issues to address them.

Chennai DC
Educare: Sneham, our local CSR team, manages a dedicated intranet portal to help employees support education of the children of our
housekeeping and security staff. In 2009, 1,500 members contributed approximately Rs. 14,00,000 to support more than 370 students.
Meritorious students were awarded for their performance. A special award was presented to a girl child with exceptional recitation skills.

Helping the visually challenged: Infoscions partner with Nethrodaya, an NGO that works with visually challenged children. Our volunteers
regularly conduct weekend reading sessions. In 2009, we organized a South India inter-state sports festival with modified versions of cricket,
volleyball and chess.

Facilities for rural schools: Volunteers constructed a water tank to supply drinking water to 1,000 students of the Avanippoor Government
Higher Secondary School. We have been donating notebooks to the Anoor School since 2005. In 2009, we donated a water tank to the school.
We also distributed notebooks to the children of Infosys’ support staff.

Hyderabad DC
PC donation drive: Mamata, our local CSR team, donated more than 105 PCs to institutions that undertake non-commercial and public
activities. We have already invited requests for the next list of beneficiaries.

Day of Change: Every Wednesday, drop boxes are placed at the campus entrance and exit points, food courts and parking area to collect coins
from Infoscions for social welfare activities.

Mysore DC
Notebook distribution: Soften, our local CSR team, distributed 57,000 books, 36,000 pencils and 3,600 erasers in the Notebook Distribution
Drive 2009. Underprivileged students from various schools have been benefiting from this drive since 2002.

Language and computer education: Basic computer education was imparted to the security and housekeeping staff of the DC. Our team also
helped 10 guards improve their English language skills.

Summer camp: A month-long workshop was conducted in May 2009 at Karunya Mane, a child rehabilitation center. 30 children were taught art
and craft, dance, Math, English, environment awareness, traffic rules, health and fitness, and social etiquette. Quiz contests helped the children
assess their general knowledge.

Blood donation: More than 80 Infoscions donated blood in a special camp conducted in collaboration with the Mysore Rotary and Chandrakala
Hospital.

School for dropouts: Our team works with Kaliyuva Mane, an informal school for dropouts run by the Divya Deepa Trust. We interact with
children in open classrooms through painting competitions and games.

Pune DC
Sparsh - A Healing Touch, our local CSR team, is a registered NGO. In 2009, we conducted several programs:

Eye donation camp: More than 330 Infoscions pledged to donate their eyes in a special camp organized with the Ruby Hall Clinic and Eye
Bank Association of India.

Play and Live (PAL): We use sports to boost the confidence of underprivileged children, teach them various skills and change their outlook. We
donated sports equipment including carom and chess boards, and prizes such as watches, perfumes and chocolates.

Blood donation camp: 700 volunteers donated blood during a two-day camp in June 2009. Three blood banks - ISIS Blood Bank, KEM and
Janakalyan - participated. Doctors highlighted the need for safe blood donation at the camp.

Thiruvananthapuram DC
Notebook distribution: Infosys CEO and Managing Director Kris Gopalakrishnan inaugurated a notebook distribution drive, which benefited
4,000 students in 2009.
 CSR OF P&G

At P&G, Social Responsibility stems from our Corporate PVP (Purpose, Values, Principles).
Social Projects are in keeping with P&G’s credo of ‘Business With a Purpose’. P&G has always
demonstrated its commitment to the community not just through the quality of its products and
services, but also through socially responsible initiatives for the community. We believe in
building the community in which we live and operate by supporting its ongoing development.
Project Shiksha II: Educating Underprivileged Children

Project Shiksha: Secure Your Child’s Future (2003)

Rebuilding Lives In Earthquake Hit Bhuj (2001/2002)

Project Poshan: Fighting Malnutrition in India (2000)

Project Open Minds: Educating India’s Working Youth (1999)

Project Drishti: The First-ever Sight Restoration Programme in India (1999)

Project Future Focus: The First-Ever Round Write-In Career Guidance Service (1998)

Project Peace: Environment Education Programme (1996)

In keeping with the global philosophy of continuous development of the community, P&G in
association with Sony Entertainment Television launched an education initiative ‘Shiksha –
Secure Your Child’s Future’ across the country. In order to ensure P&G reached the non-Hindi
speaking audience, a tie-up with three other channels in the south was undertaken. In the north,
west, east, Karnataka regions – Sony TV telecast the promotion and announced winners on its
No. 1 soap opera Kkusum, in Andhra Pradesh – Maa TV promoted Shiksha with Todi Kodallu, in
Tamil Nadu – Jaya TV promoted Shiksha with Sahana and in Kerala – Asianet promoted
Shiksha with Snehadooram.

By purchasing packs of Vicks, Whisper, Ariel, Tide, Head & Shoulders and Pantene between
21st April – 12th June 2003, this unique education promotion allowed a mother to win Rs. 2
lakhs towards Graduate Education Fee of one child (24 such Prizes), or Rs. 5,000 towards Next
Year’s Tuition fee for one child (96 such Prizes), and a number of Consolation Prizes, all
courtesy P&G. All Shiksha prizes could be gifted and were transferable, in case the winner is not
a parent or, if his/her child was above 21 years of age.

Shiksha received a positive response from all parts of the country. This promotion was greatly
appreciated as purchase of any P&G product allowed one to win education for his/her child.
P&G in partnership with Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP) opened four Community
Resource Centers for the earthquake victims in the Chakasari, Paggivand, Hanjiya
and Jodhpar vands (hamlets) of Rapar Taluka, Kutch District, Gujarat. The
Community Centers provide basic education for children; training on building
earthquake-resistant shelters and has supported the formation of 22 Women's
Savings Groups which contribute towards an income-generating fund, for future
entrepreneurial activity. The P&G-SSP project positively impacts 25 villages, 3750
families and 22,500 people and helped mobilize women’s groups and communities in
Gujarat for their long-term sustainable development. Credit fund will be provided as a
revolving fund to self-help groups.

The operational cost for each Centre is Rs, 25,000 met by P&G. The centers have
been built from a Gujarat Earthquake Relief Fund created after the earthquake of 26th
January 2001 by employees of P&G India, Brussels, Japan, Canada, among others
and the Company contribution. P&G employees also made contributions directly to
the Red Cross Society for other rehabilitation work in Gujarat.

In addition, P&G is currently working on forming women’s micro-credit groups to

ensure the sustainability of these community centers and to further empower these
women and increasing the number of community centers from four to seven.

P&G and UNICEF launched Project Poshan to combat malnutrition in India. India has 40% of
the world’s malnourished children. POSHAN targeted three key projects: an Adolescent Girls’
Initiative to educate girls in Mumbai slums on health problems and improve their lives with
Anemia prevention through IFA tablets; a Women’s Parenting Network in Chennai to provide
information on care during pregnancy; and Day care projects in Jaipur, which focused on
increased food intake and micro-nutrients. Once again, P&G raised Rs. 50 lakhs by contributing
Re. 1/- from sales of large size packs of Ariel, Whisper, Head & Shoulders and Pantene sold in
the months of May, June and July 2000.

P&G in partnership with UNICEF launched Project Open Minds to support and educate children
across the Australia, ASEAN and the India (AAI) region. According to UNICEF, only 55% of the
children of India complete primary education. The support that P&G provided was in terms of
money and publicity. For every large size pack of Vicks VapoRub, Whisper, Ariel Power
Compact, Head & Shoulders and Pantene purchased by consumers during November 1999 to
January 2000, P&G on behalf of consumers contributed the cost of one day’s education of a
working child to the ‘OPEN MINDS’ fund. In India P&G raised Rs. 1.25 crore for ‘OPEN MINDS’
which was donated to UNICEF in February 2000
PROJECT DRISHTI
P&G tied up with the National Association for the Blind (NAB) to launch Project Drishti and
restore eyesight to 250 blind girls through corneal transplant operations. FOGSI (Federation of
Obstetricians and Gynecologist Societies of India) and UNICEF had declared 1999 as the Year
of the Adolescent Girl. On studying the problems of the blind girl, P&G realized that, what better
way to celebrate the FOGSI-UNICEF, Year of the Adolescent Girl (YOGA) than to attempt to
give sight to as many blind girls that the company could. Till date 138 sight restoration
operations have been successfully conducted across the country.

CSR activities:
At P&G, Social Responsibility stems from our Corporate PVP (Purpose, Values, and Principles). Social Projects are in
keeping with P&G’s credo of ‘Business with a Purpose’. P&G has always demonstrated its commitment to the community
not just through the quality of its products and services, but also through socially responsible initiatives for the community.
We believe in building the community in which we live and operate by supporting its ongoing development.

Our effort to live up to the credo “Touching Lives, Improving Life” continued with Shiksha (education) – a P&G initiated and
led national consumer program in partnership with leading Child Rights organization, Child Rights and You (CRY). Shiksha
seeks to support the education of underprivileged children in India. Over the past three years, Shiksha has made a
difference to the lives of over 67,000 children through a contribution of about Rs. 5 crores. Today, Shiksha enjoys the
goodwill and support of leading luminaries from diverse fields. Shiksha 2007 had the proud distinction of being blessed with
the best wishes of the former President of India, Dr. Abdul

Kalam. Shiksha has come a long way. Today it has evolved from a one company one NGO initiative to a national
consumer movement with 15 projects across 9 states in India making the lives of over 67,000 children a little better. To
quote Mother Teresa, “We may feel what we are doing is only a drop in the ocean . . . but if that drop was not there, the
ocean would be less because of the missing drop.”
CSR OF ITC

Envisioning a larger societal purpose has always been a hallmark of ITC. The company sees no conflict
between the twin goals of shareholder value enhancement and societal value creation. The challenge lies Let's Put
in fashioning a corporate strategy that enables realisation of these goals in a mutually reinforcing and India First
synergistic manner. Film

As a corporate citizen with enduring relationships in rural India, ITC has a history of collaboration with
communities and government institutions to enhance farm productivity and the rural resource base. ITC’s
commitments in agricultural R&D and knowledge sharing have spanned vital aspects of competitiveness
– efficient farm practices, soil and water management.

ITC is committed to a national agenda of raising agricultural productivity and making the rural
economy more socially inclusive. ITC believes that the urgency and scale of these tasks make
market linked solutions and innovations more effective and sustainable than capital intensive
approaches.

In 2000, harnessing the empowering force of information technology and its scalabilty, ITC launched e-Choupal – a
knowledge portal providing farmers with a range of information and services. Designed to enable them to bargain
collectively and enhance their transactive power, e-Choupal became the much needed and easily adoptable tool farmers
had been waiting for. Today e-Choupal is a vibrant and rapidly growing zone of business and interaction for over 4 million
farmers.

ITC moved rapidly to apply the economic momentum of e-Choupal to solving urgent social and environmental tasks. ITC
launched Mission Sunehra Kal, a rural capacity building programme fostering local initiatives to develop water and forest
resources, open up new non-farm livelihoods, empower women economically and expand primary education.

The Mission now embraces a community of thousands of villages that are influential nuclei of change in rural localities
spread over 11 States. A clearly focused self-help movement has gained ground in village after village in these areas,
with farmers co-operating to create much needed economic, environmental and social assets out of their own resources.

By linking knowledge and technology transfer to the creation of economic and social capacity, ITC has brought a new
dynamic to rural development.

ITC has consciously chosen the path less travelled. A path that has led it to create sustainable livelihoods for 5 million
people. For ITC this is an expression of a commitment beyond the market. Of a conviction that country must come before
corporation. Of a true pride in being Citizen First.
 Download ITC CSR Booklet

Milestones

4 million farmers empowered,

e - Choupal
6,500 e - Choupals installed

111,578 hectares greened,

Social & Farm Forestry
generating 50.20 million person - days of employment

Watershed 56,171 hectares

Development brought under soil and moisture conservation

Women's 11,822 women members

Empowerment 863 self - help groups

Livestock 176 Cattle Development Centres

Development 3,520 villages covered annually

244,547 children covered

Primary Education
through 2,334 Supplementary Learning Centres

Before ITC introduced us to e-Choupal, we were

restricted to selling our produce in the local mandi. We
had to go through middlemen and prices were low. ITC
trained me to manage the Internet kiosk and I became
the e-Choupal Sanchalak in my village. Today we are a
community of e-farmers with access to daily prices of a
variety of crops in India and abroad – this helps us to
get the best price. We can also find out about many
other important things – weather forecasts, the latest
farming techniques, crop insurance, etc. e-Choupal has
not only changed the quality of our lives, but our entire
ABHISHEK JAIN
outlook.

Soya Farmer
& e-Choupal Sanchalak
Dahod Village,
Raisen District,
Madhya Pradesh

e-Choupal Now
 States covered 10

Villages covered 40,000

No. of e-Choupals 6,500

Farmers e-empowered 4 million

A powerful illustration of corporate

strategy linking business purpose to
larger societal purpose, e-Choupal
leverages the Internet to empower
small and marginal farmers – who
constitute a majority of the 75% of the
population below the poverty line.

By providing them with farming know-

how and services, timely and relevant
weather information, transparent price
discovery and access to wider
markets, e-Choupal enabled economic
capacity to proliferate at the base of
the rural economy.

Today 4 million farmers use e-Choupal to advantage – bargaining as virtual buyers’ co-
operatives, adopting best practices, matching up to food safety norms. Being linked to
futures markets is helping small farmers to better manage risk. e-Choupal has been
specially cited in the Government of India’s Economic Survey of 2006-07, for its
transformational impact on rural lives.

ITC’s strategic intent is to develop e-Choupal as a significant two-way multidimensional delivery

channel, efficiently carrying goods and services out of and into rural India. By progressively
linking the digital infrastructure to a physical network of rural business hubs and agro-extension
services, ITC is transforming the way farmers do business, and the way rural markets work.

The network of 6,500 e-Choupal centres spread across 40,000 villages has emerged as the
gateway of an expanding spectrum of commodities leaving farms – wheat, rice, pulses, soya,
maize, spices, coffee, aqua-products. The reverse flow carries FMCG, durables, automotives and
banking services back to villages.

ITC has continued to build new infrastructure by

supplementing the farmgate presence of e-Choupal
with new physical infrastructure – rural marketing hubs
called Choupal Saagars, positioned within tractorable
distance of 30 e-Choupal centres and their user
communities.
 The e-Choupal – Choupal Saagar hub and spoke
combination is unprecedented grassroots click and
mortar infrastructure transporting rural local
economies to a new level of productivity and
consumption.

Choupal Saagars offer a combination of services to rural India.

Made-to-design agri-business hubs, they function as:

1. ITC agri-sourcing centres providing farmers a transparent best price sales window,
2. shopping centres bringing a range of products comparable to urban levels of choice, and

3. facilitation centres delivering a host of farm-related services – training, soil testing, product quality certification,
medical and clinical services, cafeteria and fuel station. 24 Choupal Saagar hubs are already in operation in 3
states, to grow to 100 by 2010.

Springboard for competitive farming

The digital and physical infrastructure has a third

dimension. It galvanises ITC’s constant agency for
propagating adoption of best practices in farming
and soil and water management.

In 2006-07, ITC’s unique paid Choupal Khet

Pradarshan farm extension service conducted over
15,000 Field demonstrations in 9 states. This
continuous interaction sustains the rising tide of
productivity channeled by the click and mortar
infrastructure.

The 1 million tons of wheat sourced by ITC over e-

Choupal – strategically supporting its packaged foods business – makes e-Choupal robust and open, a successful
application of business logic to serve a larger cause.

e-Choupal is transforming the traditional, low value

agricultural marketplace into an open arena – enabling
more people to participate and succeed in the rural
economy.
Mission Sunehra Kal, ITC’s rural capacity building programme, now active in 11 States, empowers rural communities to
adopt
sustainable changes that make them economically competitive and socially secure.

In the rural communities where the mission has put down roots there is a new spirit of optimism and confidence. People
have augmented and diversified their livelihoods. Education for children, employment for women, sanitation and family
health have taken on a new urgency. Every family and every farm has resources to build a better future. Stagnation and
deterioration have given way to change and improvement.

To accomplish this change, ITC targets four problems, which it believes are the fundamental obstacles to productivity and
growth in the farm sector :

1. Loss of productivity through soil erosion caused by intensification of land use and
decline of water tables and forest resources.
2. Dependence on out-moded farm practices and inferior inputs.
3. Loss and disruption of farm incomes and non-availability of alternative livelihoods.
4. Inadequate access to primary education and healthcare.

ITC’s mission is to build community based capacity to remove these adverse conditions
and create the basis for renewed agrarian prosperity:

• help farmers to achieve higher farm productivity,

• enable communities to develop and manage water, soil and forest resources for long term
ecological security,
• empower rural men and women by creating new non-farm livelihoods,

• facilitate development of infrastructure for primary education, health and sanitation.

ITC enables farmers to implement solutions that are sustainable because they are

1. mutually reinforcing,
2. based on knowledge transfer and co-operative application of technology,
3. dependent on mobilisation and optimisation of local resources.

The delivery model mobilises a four-way partnership between village communities, specialist NGOs, the Government and
ITC, bringing to every initiative the best relevant management and technical expertise.

ITC has also worked with State Governments in pioneering public-private partnerships. In Andhra Pradesh, 3,596
hectares of wasteland have been developed so far through a collaboration with the State Government’s rural poverty
reduction project, Indira Kranthi Padham, and its Comprehensive Land Development programme. ITC has also signed a
landmark agreement with the Government of Rajasthan to bring 5,000 hectares under soil and moisture conservation in
the drought-prone Bhilwara district.

By augmenting water resources and forest cover and fostering organic soil management, ITC has enhanced farm
productivity. It has simultaneously opened up new avenues of non-farm income and employment to reduce
pressure on land.

ITC takes a holistic view of the linkages between the

decline in agricultural productivity and the deterioration
of the natural resource base.

It works to bring farm productivity back to a path of

sustainable and remunerative growth by enabling
farmers to:

• develop water and forest resources to

enhance soil fertility,
• adopt soil and water management practices,

• apply superior farming methods to improve

quality and quantity of farm yields.

ITC’s contribution to augmenting forest

cover and water harvesting works in
tandem with its internal practices of energy
efficiency and conservation. ITC has been
water positive for the past 7 years, creating
more than twice water harvesting capacity
than its consumption, and carbon positive
for the last 4 years, sequestering twice the
amount of carbon dioxide emitted by its
operations.
Indian agriculture – the eco-picture

• Long term unchecked

deforestation has reduced forest
cover to only 11%. A minimum of
33% is considered desirable.
• Diminished biomass cover has
made water tables fall and caused
loss of agricultural topsoil, severely
impacting farm productivity already
eroded by the decreasing size of
landholdings.
• Rural demand for water depends
almost entirely on groundwater
sources, which account for over
45% of total irrigation; and are the
only source of water during
drought.
• Nearly 90 % of annual precipitation
is lost due to surface run-off. Only
10% is harvested.

• 67% of cultivable land suffers from

moisture stress 5 -10 months of
the year, badly disrupting
livelihoods.
 Despite being a farmer for over 50 years, I have never
been able to save much. I joined an ITC-supported
forestry group and my fortunes changed. My 4.6 acres
of barren wasteland is now a flourishing pulpwood
plantation.

My first harvest yielded enough to repay my loan, as

well as purchase a motor pump and an acre of paddy
land. I have also been able to put something away for
SATYAVADI
the future – a fixed deposit and an LIC policy.
LAXMINARA
YANA

Social Forestry
Group Member
Nandigamapadu
Village
Khammam District
Andhra Pradesh

Social & Farm Forestry Now

Area developed ( hectares ) 111,578

Saplings planted ( nos.) 465 million

Employment generated ( person-days ) 50.20 million

ITC has helped to bring over 16,400 hectares of wasteland under
social forestry benefiting 19,376 poor households in 480 villages.

ITC’s social forestry programme simultaneously addresses the livelihood

problems of marginal farmers and the ecological imperative of regenerating
biomass and nurturing depleted soils.

In the moisture-stressed districts of Guntur, Nellore, Khammam, Nalgonda

and Prakasam in Andhra Pradesh, marginal wasteland owners, who mostly
make a living as farm labourers, are often out of work for long stretches.

In an innovative move, linking these farmers’ need for income to the

wood fibre needs of its paperboards business, ITC has enabled them
to convert their wastelands to pulpwood plantations – a commercially
viable land use alternative that can end their marginalisation.

ITC organises wasteland owners into forest user groups who are trained in silviculture, land development and plantation maintenance.
Extension services support them with a package of loans and supplies of high-yielding, disease-resistant clonal saplings developed at
ITC’s R&D Laboratory at Bhadrachalam.

R&D to create alternative land use

"Bhadrachalam" clones, developed at ITC’s

R&D Centre, are 6-9 times more productive than
standard seedlings. Wasteland owners can get
their first harvest after just 4 years, earning
between Rs.14,000 to Rs.24,000 from each
acre. These clones make growing pulpwood
species a sustainable livelihood – a life-
changing proposition for marginal farmers.

The plantations also generate woody

biomass, fuel wood and intercrops, and
serve as sustainable ecological resources
for the drought-hit farmlands –
indispensable for returning them to round
the year multi-crop cultivation.

A cornerstone for village development

ITC requires group members to contribute a

portion of their earnings from each harvest
to build a village development fund in every
community. Contributions made by group
members continue to grow and the
cumulative fund with 543 social forestry
groups now stands at Rs. 94.21 lakhs.

Villages have already used this fund to develop community assets like watershed structures and
 ITC wins TERI Award for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

01 Jun 2005

ITC has won the prestigious Corporate Social Responsibility Award 2004 from The Energy and Resources
Institute(TERI) for its celebrated e-Choupal initiative. The Award provides impetus to sustainable development and
encourages ongoing social responsibility processes within the corporate sector.

ITC e-Choupal, the single-largest information technology-based intervention by a corporate in rural India, has already
received several national and international accolades as a unique transformation model for rural India. ITC has earlier
won the inaugural `World Business Award' instituted in support of the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals
and also the Wharton-Infosys 'Enterprise Business Transformation Award 2004' for the Asia-Pacific region. The
curriculum of the Harvard Business School now includes a case study on the ITC e-Choupal movement and how it is
enabling a paradigm shift in Indian agriculture.

ITC is also one of the first Indian companies to pioneer the concept of 'Triple Bottom Line' reporting, covering not only the
economic dimension, but also the environmental and social dimensions as well. ITC's Sustainability Report is the only
one in India certified to be fully in accordance with GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) Guidelines.

ITC e-Choupal empowers over 3.1 million farmers by enabling them to readily access crop-specific, customised and
comprehensive information in their native village habitat and language. Vernacular websites relating to each agricultural
crop that ITC deals in, created by the Company, provide ready and real-time information to even marginal farmers on the
prevailing Indian and international prices and price trends for their crop, expert knowledge on best farming practices, and
micro-level weather forecast. This significantly improves the farmer's decision-making ability, thereby helping him better
align his agricultural produce to market demand, secure better quality, productivity and improved price discovery. The e-
Choupal model and movement helps aggregate demand by creating a virtual producers' co-operative, thus facilitating
access to higher quality farm inputs at lower costs for the farmer. ITC e-Choupal also creates a two-way direct marketing
channel for rural India, eliminating wasteful intermediation and multiple handling, thus significantly reducing transaction
costs and improving logistical efficiency. Over the next decade, the ITC e-Choupal network aims to cover over 100,000
Indian villages, representing 1/6th of rural India, and create more than 10 million e-farmers.