The digital landscape has evolved at a high pace. Here, Newgen Software stands as a beacon of technological innovation alongside recognizing its corporate responsibility. Renowned for its cutting-edge solutions that streamline business processes globally, Newgen is not just transforming industries but also making a tangible difference in communities.
In an insightful conversation with Business Connect, Priyadarshini Nigam, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Newgen, shared how the company’s CSR journey has become an integral part of its mission. Under her extraordinary leadership, Newgen’s initiatives have gone beyond traditional philanthropy, focusing on sustainable development, education, and environmental stewardship. Let’s hear it from Priyadarshani herself on how they are facilitating community upliftment, paired with Newgen’s technological prowess.
BUSINESS CONNECT: WHAT DRIVES YOUR PASSION FOR CSR, AND HOW HAS THAT TRANSLATED INTO THE COMPANY’S UNIQUE APPROACH TO SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY?
Priyadarshini Nigam: CSR is not merely social work, but it’s to make a difference in the lives of the communities around us. Much before the CSR mandate came into effect, Newgen started its philanthropic activity – Sadbhavna in 2006, with the active involvement of many employees and their spouses. The children of the support staff became the first members of the program. The monthly sessions included interactive activities to groom the personalities of the children and sensitize them about various aspects of life to build confident and dynamic youth.
Post the CSR mandate, Newgen implemented its flagship CSR initiative—Newgen Digital Discovery Paathshala (NDDP)—in 2016 that is designed to promote digital literacy and equitable education among the less privileged government schools for girls.
Over the years, the NDDP program’s journey has witnessed the transformation of traditional classroom teaching into fun digital learning sessions. The ultimate focus of the program is to bridge the digital divide and instill a habit of learning, research, and curiosity in the students.
Moreover, to reach the interior areas of the country, Newgen has tied up with non-profit implementation partners who have networks in the remote regions Fortunately, they are able to provide great results year on year in quality and in scaling up digital education, remedial education, and nutrition.
With great passion and dedication, the philanthropy as well as the CSR programs continue to reach over 10,000 students every year through digital education, 4500+ children through the mid- day meal program, and approximately 2000 girl students and 250 mothers through mental and physical well-being programs.
BUSINESS CONNECT: CAN YOU SHARE AN EXAMPLE OF A PARTICULARLY IMPACTFUL CSR INITIATIVE YOU’VE LED AND WHAT KEY FACTORS CONTRIBUTED TO ITS SUCCESS?
Priyadarshini Nigam: The flagship CSR initiative—Newgen Digital Discovery Paathshala (NDDP)—initiated in 2016, works each year with 3800+ girl students at government secondary schools to bridge the digital divide, create a habit of self- learning, ignite curiosity, and create awareness on managing physical and mental health.
In 2022, we witnessed the impact when the first batch of students joined higher education in college. At present, around 150 girl students are pursuing graduation/related courses and are working hard towards building a career and a self- dependent future. The vision and focus of the company’s CSR is to bring sustainable changes in the lives of the students. The creative and innovative approach with which the team interacts and implements the activities has been an added factor for the achievements. Looking at the success stories, we are excited and happy to share that we are moving in the right direction.
BUSINESS CONNECT: HOW DO YOU ENSURE THAT THE COMPANY’S CSR EFFORTS ARE ALIGNED WITH ITS CORE VALUES AND CONTRIBUTE TO ACHIEVING ITS BUSINESS GOALS?
Priyadarshini Nigam: The company’s CSR is thoughtfully planned and strategically executed. The flagship CSR initiative has been the vision of the company’s MD, who has designed the program with the aim to bridge the digital divide for the less privileged girl students and help them become digitally literate.
The core values of transformation, innovation, and sustainability reflect in the CSR programs, which form a life cycle approach to support the beneficiaries through education, life skills, personality development, mental health well-being, and nutritional support. Aligning with Newgen’s core values, the CSR efforts also aim to bring sustainable development to the communities the company is working with.
BUSINESS CONNECT: WHAT CRITERIA DO YOU USE WHEN SELECTING CSR PROJECTS OR CAUSES TO SUPPORT, AND HOW DO YOU MEASURE THEIR IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY?
Priyadarshini Nigam: The main criteria during the selection of projects as we move ahead with our CSR initiatives is to identify needs and fill in the gaps so that we have a holistic approach. Also, we aim to create and support projects that have long-term too much impact based on the program’s parameters being tangible or intangible. The implementation partners are selected based on their project’s goal being in sync with Newgen CSR’s vision and the ability of the organizations to reach remote areas of India.
BUSINESS CONNECT: HOW DO YOU INSPIRE AND ENCOURAGE EMPLOYEES AT ALL LEVELS TO ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE IN CSR ACTIVITIES?
Priyadarshini Nigam: Being involved in CSR activities gives an immense sense of purpose. At Newgen, we practice various methods to encourage the participation of the employees in the CSR activities. During the orientation phase, the CSR team holds sessions to sensitize the new employees about the company’s CSR projects and their impact on society.
Also, throughout the year, employees are encouraged to engage in the various CSR activities. For instance, employees attend the career counseling sessions as professionals and share their experiences to guide the students about building a career. Newsletters and case studies about special achievements and outcomes of the various CSR programs are communicated on a regular basis through the internal communication channel to keep the motivation high.
Social media is used extensively to promote the CSR activities of the organizations. Once a year, CSR week is organized to encourage participation of the employees and once again sensitize employees about the impact and achievements of the CSR projects.
When employees feel that their contributions matter and are genuinely making a difference, they are more likely to stay engaged and excited about future initiatives.
BUSINESS CONNECT: WHAT MOTIVATES YOU PERSONALLY TO CHAMPION CSR EFFORTS AT THE COMPANY?
Priyadarshini Nigam: Businesses have a crucial role and responsibility in shaping the society and environment they are engaged with. CSR initiatives provide a platform to be a part of bringing significant changes in the lives of less privileged and foster a sense of purpose for me. I feel delighted to witness the positive influences that the various programs have on the communities. Being able to implement the CSR at the company’s level has given me an opportunity to impact a larger number of lives.
BUSINESS CONNECT: WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES YOU’VE ENCOUNTERED IN SCALING UP THE COMPANY’S CSR INITIATIVES, AND HOW HAVE YOU ADDRESSED THEM?
Priyadarshini Nigam: Initially, there were numerous factors like logistics, coordination with stakeholders, etc., required to execute the project. Fortunately, Newgen’s inter-departmental collaboration support played a crucial role in addressing the concern.
Another concern that comes up now and then is the permissions required to implement the program in the government schools. As our country’s bureaucracy operates through many stages, it sometimes takes longer than usual to get the required approvals on time. To manage this, we have transformed the mode of implementing the digital education program to a hybrid mode.
Over the years, a big challenge has been working in the interiors of the country and scaling up to reach out to many more students who do not have access to digital education and nutrition. However, today, we are working with established non-profits (implementation partners) who can deliver efficient, quality education and nutrition in the remotest parts of India.
BUSINESS CONNECT: DO YOU SEE TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION PLAYING A ROLE IN ENHANCING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CSR INITIATIVES?
Priyadarshini Nigam: Absolutely! The NDDP program has its foundation laid on technology right from bringing digital awareness by providing tablets as a tool to fuel curiosity and bring substantial changes, creating digital labs, to other aspects of program implementation like documentation and facilitating sessions. As we operate in the age of digitization, innovation to connect with beneficiaries and use of digital technologies is of utmost importance. The program’s goal is also to bring digital literacy among the students and women.
BUSINESS CONNECT: HOW DO YOU THINK CSR CONTRIBUTES TO THE BROADER SUCCESS OF THE COMPANY AND ITS BRAND?
Priyadarshini Nigam: Socially responsible companies are well recognized and trusted in current times.
CSR is a strategic investment in a company’s future that aligns the goals and vision with the society’s need for development. In today’s world, the company’s CSR initiatives, linked with the global focus on sustainable development, help strengthen trust among our customers. Further, engagement in CSR activities creates a sense of pride in the employees as they witness their company making a positive impact on society. This leads to stronger company culture and brand loyalty, thereby improving the status of the company.
BUSINESS CONNECT: WHAT’S ON THE HORIZON FOR CSR AT THE COMPANY? ARE THERE ANY UPCOMING PROJECTS YOU’RE PARTICULARLY EXCITED ABOUT, AND WHAT KIND OF IMPACT DO YOU HOPE TO SEE?
Priyadarshini Nigam: With our CSR’s flagship initiative, NDDP has branched out in the last year to touch the aspect of women empowerment through skill development implemented through a training center. Women create handcrafted items and showcase the products during exhibitions in Newgen’s Delhi NCR offices. This also gave them an insight into the income creation source using their latent skill.
I am excited to witness how the women beneficiaries will bring substantial transformation in their own lives and their families and play the role of a catalyst and role model within the community. The inclusion of women will also indirectly aim to build a conducive environment for the girl students, who can then be educated and encouraged to learn and build a career. For the coming year, we are laying greater emphasis on mental health programs for the girl students and women. This will ensure mental health well-being that will support the overall shaping of the impact we are hoping for.
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