OREANDA-NEWS. April 09, 2012. Tata  Steel has partnered with the Government of Jharkhand and Iskcon Food Relief  Foundation to roll out a Mid-Day Meal scheme for underprivileged school-going  children in East Singhbhum districts of Jharkhand, Seraikella and Kharsawan. The  programme was inaugurated today by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Mr  Arjun Munda, at Tata Steel’s Community Centre, Jamshedpur.

The scheme will benefit approximately 65,000 students  initially and is envisaged to ramp upto 1 lakh students within the next three  months. This initiative is the first of its kind in Eastern India. A total of  389 schools will be taken care of under this scheme, out of which 89 are  situated in the Gamariah block. 25 vehicles will be plying from Monday for  delivering the food to the various locations.

Tata Steel will provide the infrastructure that would be  required for the successful rollout of the mid-day meal programme while Iskcon  Food Relief Foundation, an NGO that provides top-class mid-day meal services in  various towns and cities across the country, will take charge of the day-to-day  management of the programme.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Arjun Munda appraised the  efforts of Tata Steel towards securing a healthy future of Jharkhand. Free  mid-day meals can achieve a great deal with regard to child education and  health. They promote the participation of the child in school, facilitate the  healthy growth of a child and fosters social and gender equality as all  children get the same quality food. He expressed  his happiness and said that, “with the implementation of this project it is  expected that the nutritional status of the school going children in the select  districts would improve. We are planning to launch the ‘Right to Food Act’ in  our state, so that every child can have access to safe and food of a superior  quality. We look forward to get further help from Tata Steel so that we may be  able to spread the initiative in other areas of Jharkhand, once it’s  successfully launched in Jamshedpur.”

In his address, Mr HM Nerurkar, Managing Director, Tata  Steel, said: “Tata Steel’s association with this Mid-Day Meal Programme for  underprivileged school children is in line with the Company’s philosophy of  serving and empowering communities around it. It is a small but meaningful  effort that reaffirms the Company’s Vision of Value Creation & Corporate  Citizenship. I am sure this Mid-Day Meal Programme will attract more and more  young children to schools and, in the long run, facilitate their education and  empowerment in society. Tata Steel is grateful to the Government of Jharkhand for  being given the opportunity to be part of this Mid-Day Meal Programme for  school children.”

Earlier while welcoming the hon’ble guests present, Mr  Sanjiv Paul, Vice President, Corporate Services, Tata Steel, emphasized that  such efforts are in line with the proposed Strategic Corporate Social  Responsibility (CSR) program of Tata Steel to address Education in and around  Company’s area of work. He stated, “When Tata Steel was approached by the  Government of Jharkhand for support to implement the Mid-Day Meal Programme for  school going children, the Board of Directors of the Company was quick to clear  a proposal to create the infrastructure that would be required to provide a  healthy meal and facilitate education among children in the region. The move  was aimed at providing the necessary fillip to the Government of India’s  efforts to make education compulsory for children in the age group of 6 to 14  years. Subsequently, a capital expenditure of Rs 4.28 crore was approved by the  Board towards this end.”

Also present on the occasion were President and Members of  Zila Parishad, members of Legislative Assembly, elected members of local  bodies, community leaders, members of district administration, members of  professional bodies & Chamber of Commerce, officials from Tata Workers’ Union  and Tata Mazdoor Union and senior officials of Tata Steel Limited.

Established in 1907 as Asia's first integrated private  sector steel company, Tata Steel Group is amongst the leading steel  manufacturers in the world with an annual crude steel capacity of over 27  million tonnes per annum (mtpa). It is now the world's second-most  geographically-diversified steel producer, with operations in 26 countries and  a commercial presence in over 50 countries. The Tata Steel Group, with a  turnover of USD  26.64 billion in FY '11, has over 81,000 employees across five  continents .The Group’s vision is to be the world’s steel industry benchmark in  “Value Creation” and “Corporate Citizenship” through the excellence of its  people, its innovative approach and overall conduct. Underpinning this vision  is a performance culture committed to aspiration targets, safety and social  responsibility, continuous improvement, openness and transparency.