Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Dharmendra Pradhan today launched a scheme of SAIL to promote Voluntary Philanthropist Activities (VPA) by its employees. The scheme called “SAIL Employee Rendering Voluntarism and Initiatives for Community Engagement (SERVICE)” will promote and facilitate philanthropist activities by the employees in a structured manner. The Minister also launched a portal for the employees to register for the scheme. The dedicated interactive “SAIL SERVICE” portal for implementation of this Scheme shall act as a platform for enabling faster interaction and communication amongst the various stakeholders. It shall eventually be developed as a repository of knowledge management in this regard.Speaking on the occasion, ShriDharmendraPradhan said that it is a great initiative of SAIL to encourage its employees and their families to give back to society in a positive manner. He said “This year marks 70 years of our Constitution coming into effect. Honorable President of India ShriRamnathKovindji has said that while being alert about their rights, citizens should also be conscious of their duties. Through SERVICE, employees of SAIL will come forward to perform their social duties voluntarily and contribute towards social welfare and nation building.”ShriPradhan called for mass scale mobilisation of employees towards achieving social good through voluntary activities, based on their interest areas. He said that the SAIL employees and their families can contribute in nation building and community development.
He called upon the SAIL employees to participate in this Scheme whole-heartedly andmake the habit of helping others an integral part of their lives.He also called for incentivising initiatives taken by employees aimed towards social welfare.There are about 70,000 regular employees of SAIL and 60,000 contractual employees in various plants of SAIL. All these employees and their families will be encouraged to come forward and undertake such VPA for community development. They will be encouraged to undertake Voluntary Philanthropist Activities preferably under the identified thrust areas under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). These include education and health, women empowerment, sustainable income generation, assistance to Divyangjan, access to water and sanitation, village development, environment sustenance, sports coaching, and traditional arts and culture. The Scheme may also promote other related VPAs by employees which should not be related to any other organisation or receiving any funding from any organisation.SAIL will undertake mass mobilisation programmes in its plants and units to spread awareness about this scheme and to encourage employees to participate in VPS. A pledge shall be administered at all plants and units of SAIL on the SAIL Foundation Day i.e. 24th January for VPS towards community development.SAIL shall provide logistic support to such employees or groups for undertaking the VPAs, subject to evaluation and assessment. Due recognition will also be given for the employees or groups under the scheme, based on their contribution. On this occasion, Shri Anil Kumar Chaudhary, Chairman, SAIL, also apprised the media about the SERVICE scheme.