Building strong community institutions is at the core of Tata Power Coastal Gujarat Private Limited’s (CGPL) community development initiatives. With an intent to help SHG members build their own micro-enterprises for sustainable income, the company introduced the ‘Udyamee’ program in 2008. Over 590 women from 57 SHGs have been trained so far to make household products and over 35 women from 15 SHGs have already started their own micro-enterprises.
Under ‘Udyamee’, these women were introduced to four broad categories of income generation:
- Manufacturing of household products such as soaps, washing powder, utensils, balm etc.
- Stitching cloth bags from old CGPL uniforms that were then bought back by CGPL
- Offering services as beauticians
- Manufacturing handicraft products
Sharing his thoughts on the Udmayee initiative, Mr. A.N.Ramesh, CEO, CGPL, said, “At Tata Power, we believe in enabling women to gain their financial independence and are thrilled about the success of Udmayee. Seeing the success of the Udmayee program, more women are coming forward to be a part of this initiative. They are enthused about starting their own enterprises, earn a stable income and be the leaders of change within their communities. We look forward to more women joining this program and be the catalysts of systemic development.”
These SHGs typically consist of 12-20 women, who voluntarily come together, for the upliftment of the community as a whole. Over the years, these groups have become a platform for inclusion and have helped link women with various income generating pathways. The groups have evolved to be self-governing entities with empowered members who become influencers and promote community development.
Tata Power is India’s largest integrated power company and, together with its subsidiaries & jointly controlled entities, has an installed capacity of 10,763 MW. A pioneer in the field, it has a presence across the entire power value chain: Generation of renewable as well as conventional power including hydro and thermal energy; transmission & distribution, trading and coal & freight logistics. With renewable energy assets in solar and wind accounting for 30% of the company's portfolio, Tata Power is a leader in clean energy generation. In line with the company's view on sustainable and clean energy development, Tata Power is steering the transformation of utilities to integrated solutions by looking at new business growth in EV charging & storage, distributed generation & rooftops, microgrids and home automation & smart meters. It has successful public-private partnerships in generation, transmission & distribution in India namely: ‘Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd.’ with Delhi Vidyut Board for distribution in North Delhi; 'Tata Power Ajmer Distribution Ltd.' with Ajmer Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd. for distribution in Ajmer; 'Powerlinks Transmission Ltd.' with Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. for evacuation of Power from Tala hydro plant in Bhutan to Delhi; 'Maithon Power Ltd.' with Damodar Valley Corporation for a 1050 MW Mega Power Project at Jharkhand. Tata Power is serving more than 2.6 million distribution consumers in India and has developed the country’s first 4000 MW Ultra Mega Power Project at Mundra (Gujarat) based on super-critical technology.
With growing international focus, Tata Power's global presence includes strategic investments in Indonesia through a 30% stake in the coal company PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC); 26% stake in mines at PT Baramulti Suksessarana Tbk (BSSR); in Singapore through Trust Energy Resources; in South Africa through a joint venture called ‘Cennergi’ to develop projects in sub-Sahara Africa; in Zambia through a 50:50 joint venture with ZESCO for 120 MW Hydro project; in Georgia through AGL which is a joint venture with Clean Energy, Norway & IFC for development of 187 MW hydro project; in Bhutan through a hydro project in partnership with The Royal Government of Bhutan.
With its 103 years track record of technology leadership, project execution excellence, world-class safety processes, customer care and driving green initiatives, Tata Power is poised for multi-fold growth and committed to 'lighting up lives' for generations to come. Visit us at: www.tatapower.com
