TFP Bureau, Raipur, April 30,2026: Development initiatives by Vedanta BALCO are helping rural families in Chhattisgarh increase their incomes by creating additional livelihood opportunities beyond farming.<\/p>\n
The programmes have so far benefited more than two lakh people in 123 villages across districts including Korba, Kawardha, Raigarh, Raipur and Surguja.<\/p>\n
Chhattisgarh is widely known as the \u201cRice Bowl of India,\u201d where paddy is the main crop. According to research by the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition, nearly 85 percent of farmland is used for paddy during the Kharif season. Because irrigation facilities are limited, most farmers depend on rainfall, which means their income often depends on only one crop cycle each year.<\/p>\n
To address this challenge, BALCO\u2019s development programmes are focusing on creating additional sources of income along with farming, such as small businesses, skill training and community enterprises.<\/p>\n
Women are playing a major role in this effort through Project Unnati, which has helped form more than 561 Self-Help Groups involving over 6,000 women. Through training in savings, financial management and small businesses, these groups have started livelihood activities in their villages. Today, over 600 women earn income through small enterprises, while more than 2,200 women across about 45 villages are engaged in different income-generating activities.<\/p>\n
One example is Cleanla, a small enterprise run by eight women that produces household cleaning products. With training and marketing support, each member now earns about \u20b96,000 per month.<\/p>\n
Another example is Vijay Lakshmi Sarathi from Korba, who started a home-based food business after receiving training under Project Unnati. She now earns between \u20b912,000 and \u20b915,000 per month, helping strengthen her family\u2019s income.<\/p>\n
Skill development programmes are also helping rural youth secure jobs. The Vedanta Skill School, established in 2010, has trained more than 15,000 young people so far. Every year, more than 1,000 youth receive vocational training in different trades.<\/p>\n
After completing training, many students get placement opportunities in organisations across 11 states with annual salaries of up to \u20b93 lakh.<\/p>\n
For example, Aryan Das Mahant from Podibahar in Korba completed a hospitality training course and now works as a Trainee Captain at Hotel Shri Maharaja, earning around \u20b92 lakh per year.<\/p>\n
Education initiatives are also helping create opportunities for rural youth. Two coaching centres in Korba and Kawardha train more than 300 students each year for government examinations, and 84 students have already been selected for jobs.<\/p>\n
In addition, 110 \u201cNand Ghar\u201d centres launched by Vedanta Limited through the Anil Agarwal Foundation in partnership with the Ministry of Women and Child Development provide early childhood education and nutrition support. These centres benefit more than 7,000 mothers and children, while school support programmes have assisted over 4,000 students.<\/p>\n
Along with livelihood programmes, efforts are also being made to improve healthcare, sanitation and community infrastructure in villages. These improvements help people access markets, training centres and employment opportunities more easily.<\/p>\n
Through these initiatives, rural families are gradually reducing their dependence on a single income source. By combining farming with small businesses, skills and education, communities are building more stable and secure livelihoods for the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Women\u2019s self-help groups, skill training and education programmes create new livelihood opportunities in 123 villages<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7172,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[116,118,117],"tags":[137],"class_list":["post-7171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","category-chhattishgarh","category-state","tag-balco-vedanta-korba"],"yoast_head":"\n