BAE Systems to support education, healthcare programmes

"The partnership with Smile Foundation will enable BAE Systems to support development programmes in the areas of primary education and healthcare in rural and urban communities across seven states of the country," a statement from the company said.

It committed to support the educational mainstreaming of over 1,000 children aged between 6-16 years across seven rural and urban locations in Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh, the statement said.

It would also help establish and operate a purpose-built mobile medical unit called Smile on Wheels equipped with the latest equipment, trained personnel and supplies to serve selected underserved population clusters of Bangalore.

Smile Foundation, the NGO, has an outreach of over 200,000 underprivileged children, women and youth across 25 Indian states.

"Our partnership with Smile Foundation is an expression of our commitment to make a positive contribution to the development priorities of the communities where we live and work," said Dean McCumiskey, Managing Director and Chief Executive, India, BAE Systems.

"The design of our partnership with BAE Systems not only strengthens our flagship programmes of Mission Education and Smile on Wheels but also enables us to expand their reach," Santanu Mishra, Co-Founder of Smile Foundation said.

The company would support the school infrastructure, teaching staff and classroom material requirements for children in Bilaspur, Pune, Subarnapur in Odisha, Chennai, Lucknow and Ghaziabad and a greenfield site in Haryana.