The role of CSR in OIL’s Business Ethics

Oil India Ltd. (OIL) is one of the fastest growing energy companies which has a significant global presence. Good quality products and efficient services at competitive prices are the hallmarks of this company. Over the years, OIL has created a vibrant learning space where initiatives are nurtured and innovations and aspirations are encouraged. This company is sincerely committed to holistic socio-economic development in its functional areas with the powerful role of CSR in business ethics.

With its meticulous CSR strategy, OIL has successfully achieved a fine balance of economic, environmental and social imperatives. The activities have been aligned with the goal of sustainable development. The prime idea embraced here is that to establish a firm’s sustainability, there must be sound financial security with reduced negative environmental impacts in consonance with societal expectations.

Following the guidelines of the Companies Act, 2013 and fulfilling its role as a responsible corporate citizen, OIL has undertaken the following initiatives:

1. Project Rupantar: Commenced in 2003, this project is the company’s chief CSR project on sustainable employment generation. This initiative was started in collaboration with the State Institute of Rural Development. The rural youth is offered opportunities for self-employment and entrepreneurship through the Self-help group (SHG) model. The project deserves appreciation for creating and training 300 SHGs on various agro-based activities such as poultry, handloom, farm mechanization etc. This immensely helped the socio-economic development of 2225 families in the operational areas of OIL in Assam.
2. Project Sparsha: In the remote areas of Dibrugarh and Tinsukia district, 1725 health camps were conducted. Primary healthcare services were extended to over 2.5 lakh patients in 2016-17.
3. Project Arogya: Health camps were organized in 20 villages. The objective was to achieve reduction in the Infant Mortality Rate and the Maternal Mortality Rate and to sensitize women about the same.
4. Education: Considering the educational development of the company, OIL remunerates exemplary students coming from operational areas with the OIL Awards and OIL Merit Scholarship. The ‘OIL Shikshya Ratna Puraskaar’ acknowledges the overall contribution of the teaching faculty from local schools and colleges of Assam. Six teachers were awarded under the project in the year 2016-17.
5. Project OIL Super 30: This project has emerged as a boon for the underprivileged students from the economically impoverished families of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The 4^th OIL Super 30 centre was established at Jodhpur in 2014 and the 5^th centre at Itanagar in 2015. It is a matter of great pride that 99 out of 147 students (in a batch) successfully cleared the IIT-Advance Entrance Examination (2017).
6. Project Dikhya: The project aims to provide computer education to the school children in remote sections of OIL operational areas in Assam. Mobile Computer Labs have been employed for the purpose. A range of value added sessions are conducted such as:

• Life skills education for girl students
• Cleanliness and behavioral sciences
• Teachers’ training to primary school teachers
• Distribution of innovative interactive audio-visual learning aid

7. Project Swavalamban: This initiative emphasizes upon equipping the unemployed youth in OIL’s operational areas with employment specific skills.
8. Project Urja: Mitigating carbon emissions is one of the most serious challenges of rapid climate change. With the aim to bring down these emissions and promote renewable energy, fuel-efficient cooking stoves have been installed in the rural domestic space of OIL’s operational areas in Assam.
9. Project OIL Jeevika: This initiative focuses on the promotion of sustainable rural livelihood and is presently being executed in the villages of Arunachal Pradesh.

These initiatives bring about an assurance that OIL consistently engages with the local communities for achieving inclusive development in sync with the role of corporate social responsibility in business ethics. The Sustainability Report of the company (2015-16) speaks volumes about the firm’s achievements on the economic, environmental and social front. The report reflects that as the second largest upstream Oil and Gas Company in India, OIL is sincerely committed to offering energy solutions for the country.