Maruti Suzuki India has been announced as the recipient of the CII-ITC Sustainability Award 2016 for its CSR initiatives.

R C Bhargava, chairman, Maruti Suzuki India, received the award from Prakash Javadekar, minister of HRD, government of India, at a function on December in New Delhi.

The award, ‘Corporate Excellence – Commendation of Significant Achievement’ in CSR Domain Excellence, recognises the carmaker's performance in positively impacting the world of business and society with its strategic approach to CSR. The award is based on a detailed application form and field visit by assessors.

According to Maruti Suzuki India, through its CSR programmes, it strategically addresses issues and concerns that are of national interest and relevant to the local community. As part of its social strategy, the company works to address road safety issues, create an employable workforce by skilling youth in the automobile industry and also undertakes integrated water, sanitation and school upgradation programmes in village communities.

CSR initiatives

For Maruti Suzuki India, CSR has always been an integral part of its business approach and strategy which is seen in a number of initiatives including:  

Road safety: The carmaker’s main focus is driver training, as ‘driver fault’ has been identified as the major cause of road accidents in India, which result in over 150,000 fatalities in a year and leave over 450,000 injured.

By supporting driving training of underprivileged youth, Maruti Suzuki India has been able to enhance their employability while also making roads safer. Through its IDTRs and Maruti Driving Schools, the company has trained over three million people in over a decade. Its other road safety measures include enhancing awareness among school children and taking integrated measures on specific road stretches.

Skill development: In line with the government skills development programme, Maruti Suzuki works in partnership with over 140 government ITIs to offer vocational training to the youth through a curriculum that is designed to address the skill gap existing in the industry. Thousands of youth across the country have found gainful employment under this initiative.

Community development: Maruti Suzuki says it has taken various community development initiatives related to water and sanitation, education and infrastructure development.