Vedanta inaugurates Project Panchhi for recruiting 1,000 girls

At its Alumina Refinery in Lanjigarh (Kalahandi, Odisha), Vedanta rolls out the project with the recruitment of the first 40 girls.

In the week leading up to International Women’s Day 2023, Vedanta has announced the launch of its path-breaking talent acquisition programme – Project Panchhi – for recruiting 1,000 girls from its communities across the country. 

The objective of the programme is two-fold: 

• To recruit young women from remote areas, in the operational areas of the company’s metals, mining and oil & gas businesses in Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Karnataka, and Goa.
• To increase the diversity in its workforce by specifically focusing on the recruitment of girls, who are underrepresented in the metals, mining and heavy engineering industries.

The programme aims to recruit girls from marginalised communities. Many of these are first-generation learners who aspire for further studies to have professional careers. Vedanta is undertaking a selection process to identify the right candidates based on various criteria and will support their higher education in leading institutions. After graduation, these girls will join Vedanta’s operations as graduate trainees.

The programme has been inaugurated at Vedanta’s Alumina Refinery operations at Lanjigarh (Kalahandi, Odisha) where in the first phase, 40 girls have been identified.

Vedanta’s Chairman, Anil Agarwal, strongly believes that Project Panchhi will offer young girls wings to soar. He has shared that this programme will enable girls from remote parts of the country to pursue higher education, learn skills and financially empower themselves.  He further looks forward to seeing these girls succeed and emerge as tall leaders in the organisation.

For Madhu Srivastava, Group CHRO, Vedanta, Project Panchhi is a unique initiative towards inclusive development and is in line with the company’s overall vision for diversity, equity and inclusion. She is confident that these upskilled young girls would emerge as leaders and become shining examples for others in their communities, states and the country at large.

Vedanta’s Lanjigarh operations, the site of the first roll-out of this project, houses a world-class 2 MTPA alumina refinery, which feeds the company’s state-of-the-art aluminium smelters at Jharsuguda (Odisha) and BALCO (Chhattisgarh). The refinery is currently undergoing expansion to 5 MTPA and will deploy significant manpower. This offers immense opportunities for the recruits to get a hands-on learning experience. It will also serve as an inspiration for thousands of other girls and women across the country to aspire for a career in the manufacturing industry.

Chakri Majhi, father of Suriyakanti Majhi, one of the girls selected under this programme has shared his thoughts on the initiative. For him, Vedanta coming up with this initiative gives him immense happiness to see that the company is taking a step towards giving young girls the opportunity to pursue higher studies. He is delighted to see his daughter get selected as part of the programme. Vedanta has contributed immensely to the growth of our communities and the Kalahandi district.

Source: https://www.manufacturingtodayindia.com/sectors/vedanta-inaugurates-project-panchhi-for-recruiting-1000-girls