Arun Jaitley felicitates the winners of HCL Grant 2017

New Delhi [India], Feb 22 (ANI-BusinessWireIndia): Three winners of HCL Grant 2017 across categories of Environment, Health and Education were today announced at a ceremony held at HCL Technologies Hub, Noida. Arun Jaitley, Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, presided over the ceremony as the Chief Guest and felicitated the winners. Each winning NGO receives a Grant of up to Rs. five crores. At the occasion, Arun Jaitley also released a compendium titled "The Fifth Estate- NGOs transforming Rural India in Environment, Health and Education', which is a compilation of all the finalists of the second edition of HCL Grant. Arun Jaitley, Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs congratulated the winners of HCL Grant 2017 and appreciated the work of HCL and the jury. Addressing the gathering he said, "I must complement HCL for going into the larger society, creating an independent jury, looking at areas which need support and getting the jury to select the best so that the winners can be role models for others." Malcolm Gladwell, an eminent author and speaker, attended the ceremony as a Special Guest and addressed the gathering comprising of Board members, senior leadership and other distinguished guests from various walks of life. The winning NGOs across three categories are: -Environment: Foundation of Ecological Security (Gujarat) works towards conservation of nature and natural resources through collective action of local communities. The crux of FES' efforts lie in locating forests and other natural resources within the prevailing economic, social and ecological dynamics in rural landscapes. -Health: Child in Need Institute (CINI) (West Bengal) aims to enable economically disadvantaged women and children to take control of their lives and have a share in sustainable development. While their initial focus was on health and nutrition, they have now expanded this to also cover education and child protection. -Education: MelJol (Maharashtra) - focuses on empowering children from varied backgrounds and their ecosystems to build a spirit of confidence and entrepreneurship. MelJol seeks to develop children's citizenship skills by focusing on child rights and responsibilities and providing them with opportunities to contribute positively to the environment. Robin Abrams, Chairperson of Jury, HCL Grant said, "HCL Grant is so much more than the fund itself. The mark of the strategic value of any grant is leverage. From the focus on governance and sustainability, sharing of best practices and how corporate and their employees can engage with NGOs HCL Grant delivers on strategic value for the NGOs of India and for India's Fifth Estate. It is exciting to be a part of this kind of leverage." HCL Grant, a CSR commitment by HCL through HCL Foundation, envisions to contribute to rural development by strengthening NGOs through deep institutional involvement and commitment. The Grant stands testimony to the fact that only strong governance structures management capabilities and reliable impact measurement systems within NGOs can help them take up and sustain high impact, complex and social transformational projects. The nine finalist NGOs across three categories have been selected out of more than 3000 entries, through a rigorous selection process consisting of after field-level investigations, thematic Sub Jury and Jury deliberations. The winning NGOs have been selected by an eminent jury panel. Members of the panel are Robin Abrams Former President of Palm Computing, and the longest serving Board member of HCL Technologies, Dr. Isher Judge Ahluwalia Leading Economist and Chairperson, Board of Governors, the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, Pallavi Shroff Eminent Legal Counsel, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Co., Mr. B.S. Baswan Former Director, Indian Institute of Public Administration, Richard Lariviere President, Field Museum, Chicago and Former President of the University of Oregon, Dr. John E. Kelly Senior Vice President, Cognitive Solutions and Research, IBM Corporation and Shiv Nadar Founder and Chairman, HCL and Shiv Nadar Foundation. (ANI-BusinessWireIndia)