Mumbai, 17th December 2017: Today, CSR in India has gone beyond merely ‘Charity and Donations’. Corporate Social Responsibility acknowledges the corporation’s duty that the corporation owes to the community within which it operates. It regards the community as an equal stakeholder. As per provision of Companies Act 2013, it is now mandatory for all companies to contribute 2% of their three-year average annual net profit on their CSR activities as mentioned in Schedule VII of the Act with effect from April, 2014. Further added in Scheduled VII, there is provision of aids and appliances to Divyangjans under ‘Promoting Health and Care including Preventive Healthcare’.
Activities undertaken by corporates under their CSR obligation could prove a gamechanger for providing sustainable development in the social sector. Disability sector is one of the areas which needs to be addressed for inclusive growth of the society, and CSR provides a huge opportunity to serve persons with disabilities that fall under the vulnerable section of society.
In this front, Power Finance Corporation Ltd has set an exemplary example by coming forward and sponsoring cochlear implant surgeries for 100 children with profound hearing loss under their CSR project implemented by Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO). PFC and ALIMCO signed a MoU on July 25, 2016 at Urjanidhi, New Delhi for conducting surgeries of 100 beneficiaries for FY 20-16-17 on PAN India basis valuing Rs. 630.00 lakhs under the CSR initiative of Power Finance Corporation Ltd.
The MoU was signed by Shri R. Murahari, GM (CSR & SD), PFC& Shri D.R.Sarin, Chairman & Managing Director, ALIMCO. Cochlear implant surgeries are done through Ali Yavar Jang National Institute of Speech and Language Disabilities (Divyangjan), Mumbai under the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India. Post-operative rehabilitation is undertaken by an audiologist and speech language pathologist and special educator of Hearing Impaired. Parent have a very important role in stimulating the child to learn speech and language at home. Detailed process of home-bound training is also available on website: www.adipcochlearimplant.in
The Chief Guest of the event, Hon’ble Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Shri. Thaawarchand Gehlot graced the occasion. Rajeev Sharma, Chairman & Managing Director, PFC & Shri D.R. Sarin, Chairman & Managing Director, ALIMCO were also present during the press meet.
This major CSR initiative of PFC will help the children to completely overcome their hearing disability, thereby enabling them to hear and speak coherently and making them fully independent to lead a normal and productive life. This effort will not only bring these underprivileged children to the mainstream, but will also contribute to national economy.
Hearing impairment has a significant impact on the child and his family. Considering the wide ranging impact of hearing impairment, early identification and intervention during the critical learning years, has been found to be very important to minimise the impact of the hearing impairment in the child’s overall development. Most of children who are born deaf or hard of hearing can learn to listen to their own voices, listen to the voices of others and listen to the sounds of life.
An estimate shows that around 35,000 children need cochlear implant annually in India. The Government of India has made provision to sponsor 500 numbers under the ADIP Scheme which is minuscule in comparison to actual requirement. Till date, more than 1000 numbers of cochlear implant surgeries have been successfully conducted in the country under the ADIP Government of India and CSR funds.
The event is an effort to sensitise various organisations to come forward for the noble cause of supporting hearing impaired children under their CSR initiatives.
