ITC e-Choupal

Recognising the various challenges faced by the farmer, the ITC e-Choupal was designed to provide a 360-degree intervention to trigger a virtuous cycle of higher farm productivity, higher income, enlarged capacity for farmer risk management, and thereby larger investments to enable higher quality and productivity.

The first level of the e-Choupal system consists of a network of village internet kiosks that enables even small and marginal farmers in rural India who are delinked from the formal market to access real time information on weather, market prices, relevant knowledge and quality inputs to enhance farm productivity and quality and command better prices, thus making them more competitive in the national and global markets. The kiosks are managed by farmers themselves and one selected farmer called the sanchalak is trained to help his community access ready information in their local language. At the next level of the e-Choupal system are the Choupal Saagars, which are procurement-cum-retail hubs located within tractorable distance of 25-30 kms. The e-Choupal network also provides customised extension services, knowhow on best farming practices, quality agri-inputs like seeds, herbicides, fertilisers and pesticides through a single channel.

By providing knowhow and connecting farmers to markets, the e-Choupal network has enabled a virtual integration of the supply chain and eliminated wasteful intermediation and multiple handling, which led to significant reduction in transaction costs apart from expanding markets and enhancing rural incomes.

The e-Choupal initiative today covers 40,000 villages benefitting 4 million farmers. As a result of these interventions, ITC e-Choupal initiative has enabled farmers to raise productivity levels and incomes through capacity building, technology transfer including knowhow, building market linkages and value chain integration. There is visible development in the e-Choupal villages with rising purchasing power, as well as infrastructure development arising out of increased economic activity. Efficient market signals have also led to crop quality improvement, aligning it with consumer preferences.

The e-Choupal is an important component of ITC's multi-dimensional Integrated Rural Development Programme that had evolved from its deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities inherent in the farm sector. The strategy of this intervention which is aimed at empowering farmers and raising rural incomes is broadly centred around four distinct dimensions, which together enable a comprehensive development of the rural ecosystem. These dimensions are in the areas of (a) information and knowledge dissemination. (b) Access to quality inputs and markets. (c) Generating supplementary incomes and (d) Natural resource augmentation. Farmers are provided with critical information and relevant knowledge on farm productivity, prices and markets through the ITC e-Choupal. This platform also enables access to quality inputs for better productivity besides expanding the reach to markets. Initiatives such as Livestock Development and Women Empowerment create avenues for supplementary non-farm incomes to protect against agri-income volatility as well as build capacities for investment. Watershed Development as well as Afforestation Programmes augment natural resources to enable higher productivity, create a green cover and restore soil health.

Taken together, the ITC-Choupal programmes have had a transformational impact in many areas of rural India.

ITC'S SOCIAL INVESTMENT PROGRAMMES

ITC has put in place a mutually reinforcing CSR Programme_christened Mission Sunehra Kal (MSK) _ which has been designed to liberate even the most underprivileged and marginalised among these stakeholder groups, from the shackles of poverty and underdevelopment through economic empowerment based on grassroots capacity building. ITC is ideally positioned to respond to these challenges, given its core objective of empowering its stakeholder communities to promote sustainable livelihoods, which, in turn, is strategically aligned to the national goals of poverty eradication and environmental regeneration.

Rural Households - Climate Smart Agriculture

Already water-stressed and facing widespread environmental degradation, approximately two-third of the country's population is rural and dependent on agriculture and allied activities for their livelihoods. The overwhelming majority are small/marginal farmers whose only option is rain-fed agriculture. With a direct and symbiotic dependence on climate sensitive sectors, they naturally have low adaptive capacities. Stagnating productivity is exacerbated by the fragile natural resource base, fragmented land-holdings, unscientific land management practices, overuse of chemical fertilisers, falling incomes and, increasingly, by the growing effects of climate change. Dwindling bio-mass has created pressure on fodder and energy needs for these households. Livelihood security is further constrained by limited off-farm employment options, poor infrastructure and inadequate marketing channels. These factors all combine to perpetuate a cycle of endemic poverty.

Given the geographical diversity of its stakeholder communities, ITC's main challenge is to develop models that could be replicated across locations with the flexibility to be tailored to individual community needs. These twin concerns are addressed by a faithful adherence to four fundamental tenets:

• Enhance the ecological resource base of the rural economy by strengthening community-based governance of natural resources that protects, preserves, nurtures and expands such resources;
• Employ a bottom-up participatory approach that ensures an in-built flexibility to address diverse needs _ aiming to create empowered village institutions and enable communities to co-operatively conserve and manage their resources;
• Encourage collaborative processes and multi-stakeholder partnerships to enable identification of the best strategies to address community needs and expand the development footprint of each project;
• Put in place end-to-end solutions that address the spectrum of needs of these communities instead of focusing solely on a single issue.

COVERAGE

The projects promoted under the CSR programme increased from 107 in 2012-13 to 110 during the reporting period. These projects are spread across 13 states covering 61 districts. The interventions reach out to more than 6.40 lakh households in more than 9,100 villages. Of the total projects currently being implemented, 83% are designed for rural stakeholder households, while the balance 17% addresses stakeholders residing around our factories. The CSR programme is spread across the states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development

ITC's Livestock Development programme promotes animal husbandry as a viable livelihood option by leveraging the fact that the majority of rural households own cattle. It is estimated that animal husbandry contributes 30-50% of rural household incomes, but livestock quality is poor and milk yields abysmal. ITC provides doorstep artificial insemination (AI) services to produce cross-bred progeny with yields that are significantly higher, converting a low-yielding asset into a profitable new livelihood opportunity. A comprehensive package of services, covering AI and all aspects of cattle health, is provided through Cattle Development Centres (CDCs) which are manned by local youth trained as technicians.

Commencing in 2003-04, there are currently 261 CDCs, spread across 7 states. 3.98 lakh cross-bred progeny have been born to date and animal husbandry services were provided to over 10 lakh breedable cattle.

The Company's CSR initiatives aimed at enhancing milk production, increasing dairy farm productivity and ensuring remunerative prices to farmers in multiple locations continued to make good progress during the year. A unique cashless milk payment system which enables direct electronic payment into farmers' bank accounts, together with a comprehensive package of extension services such as veterinary care, breeding, supply of balanced cattle feed and feed supplements, fodder propagation and training of dairy farmers has been initiated. In Munger (Bihar), the milk procurement network has increased to 194 Milk Producer Groups (MPGs) with over 4,500 members. The average daily procurement in Munger was 13,729 lpd with a peak of 35,441 lpd. Extension services were also promoted in 28 villages in Nanauta and Gangoh blocks of Saharanpur (UP). Baseline surveys to determine the status of the livestock economy in Pune district (Maharashtra) was completed during the year.

Social Forestry

PROGRAMME DESIGN

The Social Forestry programme is specifically targeted towards small-holders (in particular Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes). Marginalised, both economically and socially with landholdings generally less than 1 hectare, they are not considered credit worthy by formal lenders and are compelled to work as daily wage earners or indebted labour. They are often forced to resort to seasonal out-migration to earn their livelihood. These households are mobilised to form Wood Producers Associations (WPAs) through which ITC provides long-term interest-free loans and a package of extension services – silvicultural training, land development, financial management, plantation and documentation maintenance.

Members are mandated to repay their loans (single payment or in instalments) to the association after the first harvest to build a corpus for the Village Development Fund (VDF), which is used to extend loans for further plantations, for emergencies and to invest in community assets. During the gestation period, lops and tops help to meet household fuel requirements while intercropping is encouraged to provide a source of income and nutrition.

PERFORMANCE

Commencing in 2001-02, the programme has cumulatively  greened nearly 45,000 hectares in Andhra Pradesh and 2,600 hectares in Karnataka. Plantation activities like land development, planting, felling, debarking, etc. generate employment, especially for the landless. To date, both the Farm and Social Forestry programmes have generated over 73 million person-days of employment. A total of 1,058 village WPAs have a collective VDF of Rs.1.14 crores.

The highlights of this year included: (a) the incorporation of bio-diversity conservation as an integral part of the Social Forestry programme, which aims for in-situ conservation of the local flora by protecting and improving production conditions in the selected plots; and (b) Expansion in the coverage of agro-forestry, aimed at food and wood security; 3,848 hectares were brought under agro-forestry, an eight-fold increase compared to the previous year. The most common intercrops grown comprised cotton, pulses, vegetables and chilli.

The total area harvested by the end of the year (1,623 hectares) was more than double that of the previous year as was the total harvest (61,000 tonnes) generating a total wealth of nearly ` 30 crores for poor and marginal farmers. This resulted in an appreciable increase in the earnings per hectare and per household, sufficient to pull poor households out of a low income/debt trap. Plantation incomes represent earnings from a previously unproductive asset, which has gained value as the tangible economic benefits of the programme have escalated land prices and lease rates.

IMPACT

An impact assessment survey was conducted in November–December 2012 by iKOnet Research & Consultants covering 1,648 beneficiaries in 62 sample villages in the Khammam District. Some of the significant findings of the study are as follows:

• Change in Land-use pattern: The Social Forestry (SF) Plantations were found to cover large tracts of uplands and fallow lands which are generally under no productive use. The plantations thus emerged as a superior land-use option against other agricultural crops for such lands. As a result, SF plantations have emerged as the second most important crop in the region after foodgrains.
  
• Share of Total Income by Source: The study found that earnings from SF were a significant addition to the total income of the beneficiaries, amounting to Rs 7,000/- annually, which was found to be 11% of the total annual income of the households. More importantly, the increase in income from various sources post introduction of the project was the highest for SF plantations. It accounted for nearly half of the increase in total household incomes, significantly higher than even agricultural crops.
  
• Asset ownership changes: The most noticeable impact has been on asset creation as a result of the lump sum earnings every 4 years from the plantations. More than half the households have invested in better and safer housing (pucca homes or cement floors). Expenditure on household durables like TV, mobile phones and even air coolers has increased with 60% of the respondents attesting to the presence of one or all of the above in their households after earnings from the SF programmes. A significant section of the beneficiaries purchased bicycles and motorbikes. Expenditure on agriculture also increased, especially in investments on tractors, irrigation facilities and livestock.
  

Soil and Moisture Conservation

PROGRAMME DESIGN

ITC's Integrated Watershed Development programme targets the most disadvantaged sections of the community _ small and marginal farmers who are almost entirely dependent on common property resources, including water. Extensive Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) exercises identify target beneficiaries who are constituted into Water User Groups (WUGs), with priority on the adequate representation of women. PRAs also lead to the formation of village micro-plans that identify optimal watershed initiatives and detailed planned interventions including locations, responsibilities for implementation at various levels and the financial outlay involved. Though ITC is the major source of funding, community contributions range from 20-75%, depending on their socio-economic conditions. Local contribution helps generate a high level of ownership, which leads to more efficient conservation and use of resources.

WUGs undergo intensive training in watershed management techniques, structure maintenance, water use regulation and formulation of user charges. They plan, implement and monitor all activities including the building of micro-water harvesting structures (check dams, village ponds, percolation tanks, etc.) adopting suitable water saving technologies and soil and moisture conservation measures (contour bunds, loose boulder contours, gully plugs, etc.), and eco-restoration through revegetating common lands. Community wisdom and local knowledge is an important input in planning, e.g. the type of structure, biomass needs, etc. The emphasis is on using traditional methods in conjunction with modern techniques to build location-specific, low-cost structures, relying on local materials and simple technology. Water user charges go towards creating a corpus used to maintain the structures _ a key factor in the long-term sustainability of the projects.

PERFORMANCE

Commencing in 2000-01, the programme is currently spread across 1,027 villages in 7 states. 1,234 WUGs have built 4,974 water harvesting structures and accumulated a Maintenance Fund of ` 79 lakhs. The total area brought under soil & moisture conservation is 1.49 lakh hectares, including provision of critical irrigation to 50,465 hectares, benefiting 1.27 lakh households. By extending critical irrigation and improving water availability throughout the year, the programme has enabled these farmers to increase yields (by an average of 20%) and return to multi-cropping across the majority of the programme area. To date, the programme has created 4 million person-days of employment through construction activities and the rise in agricultural productivity.

Three new MOUs were signed with the Government of Maharashtra (for Satara district) and the Government of Madhya Pradesh (for Sehore district) to implement the government's Integrated Watershed Management Programme. With this, the total area to be brought under soil and moisture conservation through PPP projects has increased to over 1.58 lakh hectares.

By the end of the financial year, 66% of the total target area under the NABARD projects had been completed in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Bihar. 27% of the target had been met in the collaboration with State Governments of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

IMPACT

• Household Incomes: The watershed development programme in Yavatmal district (Maharashtra) was implemented during 2007-12. The impact study of the project, carried out by Access Livelihoods Consulting, revealed that income as a result of the watershed interventions increased by nearly 50% for both agriculturalists and farm labourers.
  
  Changes in Household Incomes
  
  

  	Before Intervention	After Intervention	% change
  Agricultural Income	37,981	58,036	53%
  Daily Wage Income	21,126	31,566	49%

• Groundwater Recharge: The same study for the Yavatmal watershed project also showed the change in groundwater status as a result of the watershed interventions. The well survey data of the study shows that increase in the water column was observed for all seasons, with a significant increase observed even in the winter months. The very fact that water is available in the summer months clearly demonstrates that the project was successful in ensuring recharge.
  
  
• Irrigation Costs: The soil and moisture conservation programme was started in Prakasam district (Andhra Pradesh) in 2001 and continues till date. The impact evaluation of the project, undertaken by Synergyz Resource Advisory Consultants, found that water was now available in the water-harvesting structures for periods ranging from 25 days to round the year. As a result, farmers have access to water for at least one irrigation cycle and sometimes, depending on the precipitation, for both cycles. Further, with water now available locally, the cost of sourcing water has reduced. Savings, as estimated by the farmers, average between Rs.10,000 - Rs.15,000 per acre.

Improved Agricultural Practices

PROGRAMME DESIGN

Mutually reinforcing ITC's Watershed Development programme, the Sustainable Agricultural Practices initiative promotes a combination of solutions to optimise water management, enhance land productivity and realise better incomes through high value crops. These include water saving technologies (drip and sprinkler systems, group irrigation wells), the establishment of compost units (especially as an additional source of income for women), encouraging the use of organic compost, promoting organic and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) spices and scientific land-use models.

PERFORMANCE

In line with our objective on planned expansion of sustainable agriculture (SA) practices on a large scale, there was significant increase in the number of compost pits, demonstration plots and Farmer Field Schools (FFS). With the formation of 37 new Agri Business Centres (ABC) during the year, the total functional ABCs stand at 88, that deliver extension services and knowhow on advanced Package of Practices (PoP) to over 13,600 farmers.

IMPACT

The combined impact of soil and moisture conservation and improved agriculture practices on crop productivity has been very significant in all the project areas. A study by iKOnet Research & Consultants for the project in Bhilwara (Rajasthan) revealed that productivity increased for almost all crops in both seasons.

• Rabi: A 25% increase in productivity of wheat, a major rabi crop, was observed in all programme villages. Mustard production had doubled in the project villages and productivity of lentils and grams had increased by nearly 50%.
  
  
• Kharif: Productivity of maize and soya, major kharif crops, increased by 20% and 33% respectively. Yields of urad, cotton and groundnut increased to more than 50%.
  
  

The study also found that changes in productivity were significant compared to the control plots, where productivity status was found to be almost similar to the situation that existed before the project was introduced in the villages.

Factory Catchments - Creating Social Capital

Habitats around industrial clusters are typically overcrowded and congested. Infrastructure is poor or creaking under the pressure of an increasing population base, drawn to such regions in the hope of gainful employment. Sanitation facilities are almost non-existent, creating unhygienic conditions which have a direct bearing on the high morbidity rates, especially among women, a distinctive trait in such settlements. The exposure to our factories is on two counts:

• A concentration of unemployed or under-employed youth with aspirations to work in our factories but who do not possess the necessary skills or qualifications to work in modern production facilities.
• Sharp disparities between lifestyles represent an ever-present threat of our operations getting disrupted.

The primary focus in the catchment of our factories is to create the necessary and enabling pre-conditions for future growth and prosperity of households living below the poverty line. A few of the fundamental causes for people feeling disempowered and apathetic towards their future are lack of employment opportunities. These are aggravated by illiteracy and ill-health, which prevent them from seizing opportunities that the labour market offers because they are either unqualified or energy-deficient.

Women's Empowerment

PROGRAMME DESIGN

ITC's Women's Economic Empowerment programme mobilises poor women to form micro-credit Self Help Groups (SHGs). Members make compulsory monthly contributions to create an initial corpus which is built upon with seed money from ITC. They receive training on managing funds and handling bank accounts to enable them to take their own financial decisions. Once the SHGs mature, financing loans for income generation activities are given to members, either from their own corpus or through banks.

Agarbatti Production and Sales

PERFORMANCE

Commencing in 2000, the programme currently supports 1,682 operational SHGs with 20,230 members and cumulative savings of Rs.3.52 crores. 31,034 women are self-employed, while 7,731 women are employed in micro enterprises.

Agarbatti production was given a fillip during the year with the introduction of pedal machines, which increased output and, therefore, incomes for women. 1,368 pedal machines were operational in the states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra to create livelihoods for women in rural areas. Production of raw agarbattis was 1,445 tonnes during the year. The women owned and managed scenting units dispatched a total of 319 million sticks with a turnover of Rs.4.17 crores.

IMPACT

The impact assessment of the women-led micro-enterprise programme in Munger (Bihar), launched in 2004, was conducted by SHAPE. The study findings give evidence of a profound shift in the status of women in these villages:

• From homemakers to earners of independent supplementary income - 74% of the respondents who had been solely homemakers, with no independent income of their own, now cite agarbatti rolling as their chief source of income. Of those who were previously earning incomes, most were engaged in agricultural labour (6.7%) or sewing (4.5%). Virtually all these respondents continue to pursue these activities along with agarbatti rolling which provides a convenient means to augment their incomes
• Expenditure pattern by virtue of income from rolling – 87% of respondents stated that extra income from agarbatti rolling helped in meeting day-to-day household expenses, while 53% cite school fees as their major expenditure, 55% spend on festivals and family occasions and 24% were able to spend on house infrastructure.
• Better positioned for Savings & Loan Repayment - The impact was seen to be more significant in the case of pedal rollers. About 33% of pedal roller respondents invested some of their income in savings, compared to only 9% of hand roller respondents. Similarly, about 31% of pedal roller respondents reported that they found it easier to pay back loans and borrow less (both in terms of amount and frequency) in contrast to 4.5% of hand roller respondents.

Primary Education, Vocational Training and Health & Sanitation

Primary education is one of the major indicators for raising overall cognitive development in a child and has a direct correlation with the country's Human Development Indices (HDI). It is equally important to upgrade skills of youth to better compete with the emerging needs in the job market.

ITC's primary education programme provides furniture, books, teaching aids and structural additions e.g. classrooms and toilets as infrastructural assistance to Government primary schools in the vicinity of its operating units. Supplementary Learning Centres (SLCs) set up by the programme provide additional coaching to help children keep up in school. Educated unemployed or college-going local youth are trained and employed as tutors in the SLCs which are situated in premises provided by the community. The programme also supports a network of libraries and resource centres and builds parental and community involvement in education through regular interactions and meetings. An initiative called Read India Plus Programme was introduced in the latter part of the year that aimed at improving education levels of children in and around ITC's production units. 30,000 new students were covered through all these above initiatives during the year, taking the total number of children covered till date to 3.36 lakhs. Infrastructure support was provided to 47 government primary schools during the year, taking the total number to over 1,011.

More than 2,400 youths were covered this year by the skill development initiatives, of which 38% belonged to the SC/ST communities, thus contributing to the Company's affirmative action commitment.

In order to promote hygienic environment through prevention of open defecation and to reduce incidence of water-borne diseases, 829 low-cost sanitary latrines were constructed for poor households on a cost sharing basis, around the factory locations of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Conclusion

For India to progress on a path of sustainable and inclusive growth, and secure long-term economic competitiveness, ITC believes that it is imperative that the private sector plays a more proactive role in the social sector. Anchored in community based self-help initiatives, the ultimate aim of ITC's programmes is to build self-reliant, empowered local institutions that can catalyse change at the grassroots and develop leadership within stakeholder communities. ITC's CSR programmes are working towards this objective by building competencies at the local level – managerial, administrative and financial capabilities – that will eventually make the roles of external funding and implementation agencies redundant. The aim is to give communities control over their own resources and enable them to participate in the formulation and implementation of development strategies.

The Road Ahead

Going forward, in a continuing affirmation of our commitment to sustainable and inclusive growth, we have set the following targets for the next 3 years:

SOCIAL FORESTRY

In our endeavour to provide fuelwood and fodder security to small and marginal farmers, the area to be brought under Social and Farm Forestry in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka will increase by an additional 70,000 hectares, taking the total area to 2.30 lakh hectares.

WATERSHED DEVELOPMENT

Our commitment of improving the soil moisture regime of farmers operating in the rainfed regions of the country will find expression in watershed development of 1.30 lakh hectares, taking the total to more than 2.80 lakh hectares. To provide critical irrigation to these farmers, 3,000 new water-harvesting structures will be constructed, taking the total to 8,000 leading to a total freshwater storage of 29 million cubic metres.

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

To ensure higher yields on a sustainable basis and lower costs of production, sustainable agricultural practices will be significantly ramped up from the current 9,000 hectares to more than 50,000 hectares.

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY DEVELOPMENT

In order to hedge risks of farmers, we will continue to improve the performance of the livestock sector in our project villages by providing integrated services to 4 lakh additional milch animals, taking the total number of animals covered to 14 lakhs. More than 35,000 farmers will benefit through higher realisations for their milk through state-of-art milk procurement network and transparent measurement systems.

WOMEN'S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT

The Company's women's empowerment programme will continue to find avenues for gainful employment or supplementary incomes for 3,000 poor women from our project areas, taking the total coverage to 45,000.

EDUCATION & SKILLS

We will continue to improve the learning levels of primary school goers by reaching out to 25,000 additional children, taking the total to 3.60 lakh children. Acknowledging the urgency of creating a large pool of skilled human resources, the vocational training programme will be ramped up significantly to cover 36,000 additional youth, taking the total to 43,000 youth.

CREATING ENDURING INSTITUTIONS

CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development

The CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development is a co-creation of the apex national Chamber, the Confederation of Indian Industry, and ITC. With its abiding objective of promoting sustainability amongst corporates, the Centre is engaged in a wide spectrum of value-added and targeted initiatives that create awareness, provide thought leadership, build capacity amongst Indian enterprises and reward exemplary performances.

During the year, the Centre has made a meaningful contribution in drafting rules for Section 135 of the Companies Act 2013. The Centre was also awarded a four-year EU Switch Asia project titled 'Green Retail India' to promote sustainable development of India's food and beverage retail sector. The Centre has also partnered with the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) to promote Integrated Reporting (IR) in India. The Centre will further constitute an IR business network in the country to provide Indian business ownership in the development and implementation of the IR framework. Based on a request from The Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) the Centre is hosting the India Business and Biodiversity Initiative (IBBI) platform. This national level initiative will represent India's business sector at the UN Global Business and Biodiversity Initiative. Over the last year, the Centre also published several case studies and research papers on Sustainability and CSR.

The Centre also instituted the world's first corporate sustainability label, "Sustainable Plus", that provides a brand identity tool for companies to communicate that they are sustainable, responsible and well-governed. The Centre's 31 open programmes and 40 in-company programmes on a gamut of areas including Value Innovation, Sustainability Reporting, Stakeholder Engagement, Social Return on Investment (SRoI), Supply Chain, and Corporate Sustainability Performance management, conducted both in India and abroad, reached out to over 2,700 participants.

The 8th Annual Sustainability Solutions Summit continued its legacy of bringing together thought-and-action leaders from across the globe to discuss and propagate innovative and actionable solutions towards building a more sustainable future. The Centre also recognises and rewards the most significant contributions to sustainable development in the country through the CII-ITC Sustainability Awards.

The Centre is today playing a major role in engaging with policy makers to create an environment that encourages the adoption of sustainable business practices. The Centre is a consulting partner in several policy interventions such as Green Guidelines for Public Procurement, Low Carbon Expert Group of the Planning Commission, National Innovation Council, Ministry of Corporate Affairs on CSR Policy, National Awards for Prevention of Pollution, Rajiv Gandhi Environment Awards for Clean Technology and Technology and Finance Committee under the Montreal Protocol. It is also represented on the Board of the Central Pollution Control Board and other bodies.

ITC Sangeet Research Academy

The ITC Sangeet Research Academy (ITC-SRA) is a true embodiment of sustained corporate commitment to a priceless national heritage. It is a unique institution which has been at the forefront of disseminating the ancient tradition of Hindustani Classical Music. The Academy is also recognised for being the finest repository of Hindustani Classical Music. With a commitment that has remained consistent for over 37 years, ITC-SRA is the world's first and only professionally managed modern Gurukul, blending scientific research and technology methods with the purity of the age old Guru-Shishya tradition. While relentlessly focusing on Hindustani Classical Music, the Academy has also expanded its performance watershed to include the Carnatic genre as well as the rich heritage of folk music of Bengal. The Academy is currently engaged in carrying the message of Hindustani Classical Music across our country from the metros to rural India. Recent forays into neighbouring Bangladesh have brought home another dimension of the shared sub-continental heritage. The Academy also constantly endeavours to work together with other music organisations and institutions of repute.