KOLKATA, Mar 1: Tata Steel was honoured with the prestigious TAAP Jury Award at the Tata Affirmative Action Programme (TAAP) Convention, 2024, on Thursday.
The award recognised Tata Steel’s exceptional efforts in promoting inclusivity and opportunities among tribal and marginalised communities classified as Affirmative Action (AA) communities in the areas the company operates, according to a media statement.
The Tata Affirmative Action Programme (TAAP), adopted in April 2007, attempts to address the prevailing social inequities in India by encouraging positive discrimination for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) communities.
It is aligned with the framework on affirmative action (AA) prepared by the Confederation of Indian Industry, which focuses on four areas of development: employment, employability, entrepreneurship, and education, i.e., the four Es.
The event underscored the importance of initiatives like TAAP in addressing contemporary societal challenges and fostering a more equitable future.
The award was received by Chanakya Chaudhary, Vice President, Corporate Services, Tata Steel, and Sourav Roy, Chief, Corporate Social Responsibility, from N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons, in the presence of T. V. Narendran, CEO and Managing Director, Tata Steel, and colleagues across the Tata Steel and Tata Steel Foundation ecosystems.
T V Narendran emphasised Tata Steel’s vision of value creation and corporate citizenship that extends beyond profitability and creates sustainable value for all stakeholders, especially marginalised communities. The company’s significant achievements in the TAAP assessment reflect its commitment to affirmative action and community-centric initiatives.
Shreyas Desai, General Manager at TAAP Group Centre, Tata Business Excellence Group, praised Tata Steel for its impactful contributions to the TAAP movement.
Dr R A Mashelkar, Chair of the TAAP Governing Council, highlighted the company’s dedication to social responsibility and emphasised the role of compassion in advancing initiatives for a fairer society.
Receiving the TAAP Jury Award reaffirms Tata Steel’s steadfast commitment to social impact and community empowerment. The company’s advocacy for inclusive growth has set a high standard for corporate responsibility and sustainable development. This recognition serves as motivation for Tata Steel to continue its efforts towards societal progress and positive transformation.
The affirmative action (AA) journey at Tata Steel is not new. It began with the establishment of the “Adivasi and Harijan Welfare Cell,” later called the Tribal Culture Society, in the early 1970s, and the company has now established the Tata Steel Foundation as a wholly owned subsidiary with the clear mandate to build institutional processes, talent, collaborations, and anything else that may be required to solve the core development challenges of the least served and most silent.
The Foundation is building large-scale social change models that are now implementing impact programmes that reach every household in multiple aspirational districts, deploying technology through efforts like Operation Sunshine from MANSI, which has received multiple Tech4Good awards, drawing capital to Eastern India, where the gap between need and funding is the most, and also enabling businesses to embed a societal perspective in their operating models through Unurum immersion programmes and teaching courses at premiere business schools.
Other remarkable achievements include the Women@Mines, LGBTQI+, and Queerious Initiatives, which create a safe and supportive environment for women and LGBTQI+ employees; creating holistic platforms for community development through the Development Corridor; fostering empathetic leadership through Unurum, Sabal, and a completely accessible TSL website; creating sustainable living environments for urban communities through the Urban Habitat programme; and Johar Haat, to name a few. (UNI)
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