With consistent efforts to uplift communities at Farakka, West Bengal since 2006, Ambuja Foundation commissioned an external Social Return on Investment Study to better understand the impact of its interventions. Conducted by the CII Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development (CESD), New Delhi, the study returned the finding that for every Re. 1 invested by Ambuja Foundation, a social return, valued at Rs. 9.91, was generated.

In rural India, where people are dependent on groundwater or weekly municipal water supply, getting fresh water every day is a major household chore, mostly shouldered by women. On an average, it takes about three hours to fetch water to meet the needs of a family of four - a rough estimate for when the water source is within a 2 to 5 km radius.

Ambuja Manovikas Kendra (AMK), won the Overall Championship for the 5th time in a row at the Punjab State Level Cultural Competition – Umang 2023. The event is the 5th Punjab State-level Cultural Competition organised by the Special Olympics Bharat, Punjab in collaboration with Ashadeep welfare society organized for the intellectually disabled students and special teachers.

Spend just half an hour of your time with Padmini Sekhsaria – the vivacious and accomplished daughter of Ambuja Foundation Founder Narotam Sekhsaria, and Ambuja Foundation Board member – and you quickly realise that your view of the world is terribly small! With an extensive career in the development sector; a diverse background in business; a rich family heritage of philanthropy; and a global perspective – Padmini brings immense value to the table in guiding the trajectory of Ambuja Foundation. She is fast thinking and talking – so strap on your seatbelts and enjoy the ride, as we discuss her journey, all things Ambuja Foundation and her thoughts on the future of development, globally.

Ambuja Foundation has partnered with NABARD to implement the Bari Watershed Development Project in Ropar district of Punjab. With the success of a pilot capacity building programme in 2020, the partnership continued with a watershed initiative.

Ambuja Foundation won the Indian Chamber of Commerce Social Impact Award 2023. The foundation has been awarded for its work in skills and women empowerment category in Sankrail, West Bengal and Bhatapara, Chattisgarh. The ICC Social Impact Awards is an initiative of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in which the Chamber engages with Corporate entities, NGOs and implementing agencies to recognize them for exemplary work done in the field of social investment, CSR and sustainability on a PAN India basis.

Over the last few years, much introspection was done on the issue of ‘Gender’ and Ambuja Foundation’s approach to it – at both a community and organisational level. Women empowerment has always been a core area for Ambuja Foundation. Till date, the need of the hour has been to take a ‘Women & Development’ approach – working directly and primarily with women and enabling them to gain access to information, opportunities and resources that till now, have eluded them.

As part of a 3-day inaugural event, Ambuja Foundation collaborated with Association of Breast Surgery, UK (ABS) along with its counterpart Association of Breast Surgeons in India (ABSI) and Tata Cancer Care Program, Chandrapur, to introduce Continuous Medical Education specific training on Cancer Awareness in the rural communities of Chandrapur, Maharashtra.

Ambuja Foundation, in collaboration with LEAD at Krea University, organized a closed door half-day workshop on 17th February 2023 in Mumbai, bringing together corporates, entrepreneurs, government, CSR leaders, NGO professionals and research consultants to understand how nano and micro-enterprises, and livelihood opportunities, can be scaled up.

Ambuja Foundation kicked off a month-long campaign (21st February – 22nd March) promoting water resource management across locations, with team preparing various activities in the communities to engage and educate children, youth, women and farmers.

In a vast developing country like India with deeply entrenched gender divides, the words ‘water’ and ‘women’ are synonymous with one another. For it is on the shoulders of the women of the family, where the responsibility of collecting water, rests. And as water becomes more and more scarce, it is a heavy, and unfair burden to bear – particularly with its impacts exacerbated by the consequences of climate change. As water scarcity, heatwaves and droughts become more widespread, women and girls find themselves walking greater distances to fetch water.

We are only just now beginning to understand the magnitude of the impact of the pandemic and subsequent closure of schools in India, on our children, with stark learning losses, increases in mental health and behavioral issues, and spikes in school dropout rates.