Schaeffler India continues rural community development in Savli, near Vadodara

In line with its commitment to support community development, Schaeffler India, a leading industrial and automotive supplier, recently (Saturday, February 06, 2021) held an inaugural ceremony of the newly constructed Boys Hostel for Lok Vidyalaya school in Lamdapura village near Savli.

The objective behind this initiative, which is fully funded by Schaeffler India, is to provide a much safer and healthier educational environment to the underprivileged boys and to expand their overall educational opportunities. This is in line with their flagship CSR initiative 'HOPE' and its vision of building a nation that is self-sustaining and prosperous by creating a pool of equal opportunities for young children.

The inaugural function took place at Lok Vidyalaya School and was inaugurated by - Harsha Kadam, CEO Schaeffler India and President, Industrial Business and Santanu Ghoshal, Vice President - Human Resources and Head - CSR, Schaeffler India, Schaeffler India. The Lok Vidyalaya school was adopted by Schaeffler India a few years ago and the newly built Boys' Hostel can accommodate approximately 156 students. The facility is built providing facilities that are at par with any modern urban schools. The hostel facility includes bunk beds for students with individual storage cupboards, a common dining hall, a well-equipped kitchen and storerooms, and proper common toilet facilities on each floor.

Sharing his thoughts on the same, Santanu Ghoshal, Vice President - Human Resources and Head - CSR, Schaeffler India added, "At Schaeffler, along with our business operations in the region, we deeply believe in contributing and making a positive impact in the societies around us in which we serve. These people of these villages have become like a second family to us at Schaeffler India. While we had already previously built a girls hostel at the Lok Vidyalaya school, it gives me immense satisfaction to inaugurate this new facility for the boys as well. We hope that this will bring about even further improvements in the number of enrollments at the school. We are positive that we

will be able to bring an about even greater change in the community, empowering the rural population to grow in a better and progressive environment."

Since the involvement of Schaeffler India, the effect on student enrollment has really inspired the student retention ratio to increase to 90 percent with a male-female ratio of 60:40. Infact, before the boys hostel Schaeffler India had previously built a girls' hostel.Schaeffler India's efforts towards supporting the education of lesser privilaged students at Lok Vidyalaya School also recently recieved appreciation in the form of 'Diamond' awards - the highest award for "Par Excellence Performance" at the Third HR/CSR Virtual Convention 2020-21 orgzed by the Vadodara chapter of the Quality Circle Movement in India (QCFI).

The Lok Vidyalaya School is a residential Grant-in-Aid Tribal Secondary School located in the village of Lamdapura in Savli, Gujarat, which was adopted by Schaeffler India back in 2016. Under our HOPE CSR program, Schaeffler India provides complete infrastructure and educational support to the school to encourage differently-abled and lesser-privileged students in the rural villages to pursue education and fulfill their dreams.

More than 93 percent of the students of Lok Vidyalaya School belong to marginalized communities (SC/ST/OBC) with nearly 40 percent of the students being girls. As a result of Schaeffler India's continuous efforts towards providing a holistic education for all, Schaeffler India has been investing in improving the school facilities, including the construction of a state-of-the-art girl's hostel at the school premises.

Since Schaeffler India's adoption of the Lok Vidyalaya school, there has been a significant improvement in both the enrollment of students (girl students in particular) as well as in the educational results of the students

Schaeffler India as a part of its CSR program has consolidated its activities and focus exclusively on a few core areas which will make a mengful impact on the community and make a difference. HOPE is Schaeffler India's umbrella initiative encompassing the values, vision, and mission of the orgzation. Through this initiative, Schaeffler India strives to contribute, to the motto of May everyone be happy. It is derived from the four core areas of focus - Healthcare, Occupational skill, Preservation of national heritage, art and culture, and Empowerment of society. Under HOPE, Schaeffler India runs a number of initiatives for the four focus areas.

Schaeffler has been present in India for over 50 years. With 3 well-known product brands LuK, INA, and FAG, 4 manufacturing plants, and 11 sales offices, Schaeffler has a significant presence in India. Schaeffler is among the largest Industrial and Automotive supplier with sales of INR 43.6 billion in 2019 and around 2800 employees. The manufacturing plants in Maneja and Savli (Vadodara), produce a vast range of ball bearings, cylindrical roller bearings, spherical roller bearings, and wheel bearings that are sold under the brand name of FAG. The plant at Talegaon near Pune manufactures engine and powertrain components for the front accessory drive system, chain drive systems, valve train, gear shift systems, and a range of needle roller bearings and elements, under the brand INA. The fourth manufacturing location is based out of Hosur, producing a wide range of clutches and hydraulic clutch release systems for passenger cars, light commercial vehicles, heavy commercial vehicles, and tractors sold under the brand of LuK. Schaeffler also has the largest after-market networks serving industrial and automotive customers. All of this is backed by dedicated engineering, research, and development support based in India in support of product teams.

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( With inputs from ANI )