Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Rajasthan (GoR) to set up a Mahindra Pride School in Jaipur. Mahindra Pride Schools provide vocational training and life skills to the socially weaker sections of society (SC/ST/OBC). The MoU was signed between Mr. G S Sandhu-Principal Secretary, Technical Education Department, Rajasthan and Mr. Arun Nanda, Executive Director & President, Infrastructure Development Sector, M&M. M&M has set up its first Pride School near Pune, whose first three batches have had a 95% placement.

The Rajasthan Govt. will provide 2500 Square Meters of land to M&M on their Government ITI premises at Bani Park, Jaipur for 25 years and M&M will bear the cost of building construction. The school will run on a not-for-profit basis and 600 students per year, from SC / ST / OBC will be given employability training. Apart from mandatory vocational training, the students will also be given training in spoken English, basic computer literacy, communication skills which will help them in their over all personality development.

Says Mr. Arun Nanda, Executive Director & President, Infrastructure Development Sector, M&M, "CSR has been basic to Mahindra's philosophy since our inception in 1945. Education forms a major thrust area of M&M's CSR activity. The Mahindra Group shares a special relationship with the state of Rajasthan, and we aim to further strengthen this relationship by setting up the Mahindra Pride School in Jaipur."

Mahindra Pride Schools aim to play an active role in uplifting the socially disadvantaged youth of the nation to aspire for and achieve better employment opportunities by providing livelihood training, thus enabling them to gain employment based on their skills. Mahindra Pride Schools offer equal opportunity for men and women, with a focus on rural youth. The students successfully graduating from Mahindra Pride School, Pune were placed in organizations such as Aviva Life Insurance Company, Jai Hind Retail, Silver Jubilee Motors, Inn Venue Hospitality Pvt. Ltd., Mcdonalds, Westside and Seasons.

Education, environment and health are the three thrust area for CSR of the Mahindra Group. In the field of education, the company has set up the KC Mahindra Education Trust, which was set up in 1953 with a vision to transform the lives of people in India through education, by providing financial assistance and recognition to them, across age groups and across income strata. Among various educational programs, KCMET runs the Nanhi Kali educational initiative, which currently provides free education to over 38,000 young girls from the economically disadvantaged sections of society.

During its 60th year in 2005, M&M had decided to set up a kitchen to provide free mid-day meals to approximately 30,000 children belonging to economically disadvantaged families. For the same, an MOU was signed between M&M, Government of Rajasthan and Naandi Foundation to set up this kitchen in a place called Govindgarh in Jaipur district of Rajasthan, which can feed 25,000 - 30,000 children in this backward area. Of the 38,000 Nanhi Kalis being provided free education, 10,000 of these belong to the tribal district of Udaipur, where K. C. Mahindra Education Trust has entered into a unique partnership with the Government of Rajasthan to ensure that these girls are given academic and material support through the Nanhi Kali project.  

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