Vedanta rolls out Project Panchhi for recruiting 1,000 women

New Delhi [India], March 7 : On the eve of International Women's Day, Vedanta on Tuesday launched a talent acquisition programme - Project Panchhi - for recruiting 1,000 women from marginalised communities across the country.
According to a company statement, the project's aim is to recruit young women from remote areas, in the operational areas of the company's metals, mining and oil and gas businesses in Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Goa, etc.
The firm also said it plans to increase the diversity in its workforce by specifically focusing on the recruitment of women, underrepresented in the sector.
Project Panchhi aims to recruit girls from marginalised communities. Many of these girls are first-generation learners who aspire to further study to have professional careers.
Vedanta said the firm was undertaking a selection process to identify the right candidates based on various criteria and would support their higher education in leading institutions. After graduation, these girls will join Vedanta's operations as graduate trainees.
This programme is 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 said, "I strongly believe that Project Panchhi will give young girls wings to soar. It will enable girls from remote parts of the country to pursue higher education, learn skills and financially empower themselves."
The Chairman added, "Vedanta's motto 'Transforming for Good' embodies our mission to bring positive change in the lives of our communities. I proudly look forward to seeing these girls succeed and emerge as tall leaders in our organisation."
Madhu Srivastava, Group Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), Vedanta, said, "Project Panchhi is a unique initiative towards inclusive development of our communities and in line with our overall vision for diversity, equity and inclusion. We are confident that these upskilled young girls would emerge as leaders and become shining examples for others in their communities, states and 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. 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.