Future Generali India Life Insurance Adopts 7 Hamlets in the Jalgaon Block of Buldhana district

Joins hands with The Energy Resources Institute (TERI) to provide solar lighting to over 140 un-electrified households

by Suman Gupta

Mumbai, 20 September 2016: With the objective of making a positive and long-term sustainable impact on the community, Future Generali India Life Insurance initiated its first CSR project in Maharashtra. This project has been launched in partnership with The Energy Resource Institute (TERI) to provide clean lighting to un-electrified households through the Light a Billion Lives (LaBL) campaign.

Lighting a Billion Lives is a global initiative that facilitates access to clean lighting for poor communities across the world. It was launched in 2008, and enables communities to transition from harmful kerosene based mediums to cleaner, more efficient and sustainable lighting alternatives through an entrepreneurial model of energy service delivery.

The Company adopted 7 hamlets (small villages) in the Jalgaon block of Buldhana district in Maharashtra, which covered over 140 households and over 500 villagers. The financial contribution was used to erect solar panels for each household in the targeted villages, with each household getting two solar connections – one for electricity and one for mobile charging. The solar lanterns provide a sustainable option for electricity where kerosene lamps have been used for decades. This initiative has not only helped them reduce health hazards but enabled them to be more productive.

The solar lantern which gives 6 hours of powerful light, enables them to carry out their daily chores, cook in proper light and also helps them safeguard their fields at night. The solar panel has been installed on the roof of every house so the villagers do not need to travel long distances to charge the lanterns or pay any maintenance cost.

Mr. Pradeep Pandey, Chief Marketing Officer, Future Generali India Life Insurance said “It has been our endeavour to give back to society in every way possible. It was indeed a great opportunity for Future Generali India Life to partner with TERI on the Light a Billion Lives campaign. This initiative has helped in replacing the use of kerosene / paraffin based lanterns with cleaner, more efficient and reliable solar lighting devices. With the installation of solar lanterns, these villagers are now able to use their after evening hours more productively and there has been significant reduction in health hazards that were caused due to smoke and soot. This has also facilitated the creation of cleaner indoor environments and further improved livelihood opportunities. While we have taken a small step towards making a difference to society, we aim to launch this on a larger scale reaching out to many more villages with fullest participation from our employees as well as our customers.”

Future Generali India Life Insurance Company Ltd. is a joint venture between Future Group - the leading retailer of India, Assicurazioni Generali - a global insurance group and one of the world’s 50 largest companies* and IITL - a leading NBFC.

Watch the 3 minute video on https://life.futuregenerali.in/about-us/corporate-social-responsibility

GENERALI GROUP

The Generali Group is one of the largest global insurance providers with 2014 total premium income exceeding €70 billion. With 78,000 employees worldwide serving 72 million insured persons in more than 60 countries, the Group occupies a leadership position on West European markets and an increasingly important place on markets in Central Eastern Europe and Asia. In Asia, the Group operates in 10 markets: China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Generali ranked among the world’s 50 smartest companies in 2015 according to the MIT Technology Review and is the only insurer to be part of this ranking.

Future Group

Future Group operates some of India’s most popular retail chains including Central, Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar, Home Town and eZone. Apart from its allied businesses in Life and General insurance, the Group is also present in the domain of logistics infrastructure and supply chain and brand development. The group operates over 17 million square feet of retail space in over 90 cities and towns and 60 rural locations across India. The group’s retail formats connect over 300 million customers to over 30,000 small, medium and large enterprises that supply products and services to its retail chains. Future Group believes in developing strong insights on Indian consumers and building businesses based on Indian ideas, as espoused in the group’s core value of ‘Indianness.’ The group’s corporate credo is, ‘Rewrite rules, Retain values’.

ABOUT TERI

It is a research institute established in 1974 in New Delhi. It conducts research work in the fields of energy, environment and sustainable development with a focus on formulating local- and national-level strategies for shaping global solutions to critical issues.