The Business Bytes
TBB BUREAU
BHUBANESWAR, MAY 20, 2022
HCL Foundation (HCLF), the CSR arm of IT major HCL Technologies, on Friday hosted the 8th edition of the HCL Grant Pan India Symposiums 2022 on the theme “CSR for Nation Building” for NGOs, at XIM University here with the aims to build capacities through critical masterclass and panel discussions with experts. It was an insightful and cross-learning experience for more than 100 NGOs from Odisha and other neighbouring states who participated in the event.
The HCL Grant Symposium held here today, was an effort by the HCL Foundation to bring together NGOs, government, corporates, and policymakers on one platform, such that they can interact, develop regional as well as a sectoral understanding of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and deliberate upon how it can contribute towards Nation Building.
The participants also got opportunity to know about the experiences of previous year’s HCL Grant winners, along with key insights on the process and selection criteria for applying in HCL Grant Edition VIII.
The day-long event comprised a panel discussion with local NGO representatives and civil society experts on the theme “Management and retention of effective partnerships.”
The symposium comprised several sessions such as a Masterclass/workshop on CSR Law and New Amendment by Bhomik Shah, CEO and Founder, CSRBox and NGOBox; and Nikhil Pant, Chief Executive Officer, REACHA. A motivational talk was conducted by Bhagaban Prakash, Founder of India International Institute for Election Management.
Through this Symposium, HCL Foundation reached out to the NGOs on CSR mandate, challenges, and opportunities in the local area development, Proposal Writing, and Project Management and encouraged them to apply for the HCL Grant 2022.
Through HCL Grant Symposiums, being conducted across 10 States and UTs of India this year, HCL Foundation aims to inform NGOs about HCL Grant, which identifies NGOs doing path-breaking work in rural development through an independent, robust, anddemocratic process.
This is the 8th consecutive edition of the HCL Grant, where the total committed fund is Rs 16.5 crore for projects in the thematic categories of Education, Health, and Environment, with a commitment of Rs 5 crore for a three-year project in each category. The Grant would also reward the other finalists with Rs 25 lakh for a one-year project.
“HCL Foundation, through HCL Grant Symposiums Edition VIII, aims to bring together NGOs, government, corporates, and policymakers across India on one platform to develop a regional and a sectoral understanding of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and deliberate upon how it can contribute toward Nation Building,” said Nidhi Pundhir, Director, HCL Foundation.
“We believe that the symposiums will efficiently empower NGOs with the latest information on best practices and transformative ideas and support them in building a better India,” she added.
