Tata Trusts ties up with Maharashtra govt for social initiatives

The Maharashtra government and Tata Trusts today joined hands to roll out a series of social development initiatives in Chandrapur district in the areas of livelihood, digital literacy, data driven governance and child protection.

Talking to PTI, Head of Grant & Finance of Tata Trusts, Ashish Deshpande, said, "Tata Trusts will facilitate the district administration to advance community development indicators in the district, by improving existing projects and aiding administrators in facilitating multi-sectoral development."

"The state government and Tata Trusts will jointly work on a village-level micro planning exercise Data, Evaluation, Learning, Technology and Analysis (DELTA), which was launched in three blocks Mul, Pombhurna and Jivti -- earlier, will now be expanded to the entire district," he added.

Deshpande said the Tata Trusts will partner with the Center for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA) to work with the Chandrapur administration for district-level budget analysis and streamlining fund flow.

This project is being taken across five districts in five Indian states, of which Chandrapur is one.

These areas will be agriculture, education, health and nutrition, rural development and social welfare.

Similarly, the education department in association with Tata Trusts will be introducing 10 mobile computer literacy buses through the 'Palak Mantri Sanganak Prashikshan Prayogshala' project for a year, to boost literacy indicators and make the education programme robust.

The 10 literacy buses will span the entire district, with each bus reaching out to 15 schools once a week, targeting students from class 5 to class 10.

Deshpande claimed that in a first ever effort in the country, Tata Trusts will be striving towards child welfare with POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) compliance by building a child-friendly environment.