MargGroup

The CSR arm of MARG Ltd was born out of a vision to master plan the existing social fabric. Inclusive growth has been the guiding philosophy of MARG through which at all our major project sites we ensure that the surrounding population is included in the development processes and the progress is two way and mutual. MARG as an organization has redefined the fundamentals of urbanization by creating eco-systems where surrounding environment is an integral part of MARG's forward march.

At MARG, Corporate Social Responsibility has been the cornerstone of enriched quality of life of the community around us. While we continue to grow our areas of expertise and markets, we are also driven by a need to be socially relevant in helping shape a confident, healthy and responsible nation. Our CSR vision reflects this thought process:

"At MARG, we will approach CSR as a business model and a holistic approach to our communities of impact. Through this model, our communities will grow in sync with the development happening around them, thereby creating a balance in the system – both ecological & economical. We call this "Inclusive living" – simply including everyone in the process of creating and sharing progress"

Institutional Mechanism

A full-fledged CSR unit within the mainstream structure • Professionally qualified staff exclusively for CSR • Region specific CSR action plans
Decentralised CSR planning, implementation and monitoring • Employee volunteerism encouraged

THEMATIC PARIVARTHAN

MARG CSR initiatives have been developed as a business model, well integrated within our business operation. The commitment is for a complete SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION of neighborhoods with sustained and diligent focus through a spectrum of development programmes under 9 different thematic areas as depicted here:

Our CSR programmes are aimed at achieving the 5 A's that are vital access indicators for any developed society:
• Access to quality education for all (both academic & life skills)
• Access to health services at door step
• Access to basic amenities (livable houses, total sanitation, zero waste management)
• Access to profitable livelihood options
• Access to pollution free environment

Education plays a crucial role in developing children who in turn bring about a developed society. In rural education scenario, where majority of the children are first generation learners, many childern receives no proper guidance or motivation from their parents, inadequate facilities in local schools and the distance a child needs to travel for higher education thwarts the aspiration of children to access to higher education.
Towards ensuring quality & continuous education to rural children, MARG has evolved a three-pronged strategy to address the issue holistically i) Improving school infrastructures to enhance teaching and learning environment ii) Facilitating children's education through guided evening study centres at villages and iii) providing hassle free timely and safe journey between school and home.

School Infrastructure & Amenities

MARG's efforts towards improving healthcare and its delivery systems enable rural poor access to quality health services.


Medical camp supported under Varummon Kaapom Thittamm	General Medical Camp - K.Vanjore, Karaikal on 31st Jan'10	Round the clock health care service, MARG Swarnabhoomi	MARG's village health centre at Vanjore, Karaikal.	Ambulance service, MARG Swarnabhoomi	Eye screening camp, Seekinankuppam

MARG Parivarthan conducts medical camps regularly for villagers & laborers at site in collaboration with Govt Primary Health Centres and reputed private Hospitals & Research centres.


Health check-up for labours at MARG Swarnabhoomi on 8th April 2012	Polio drops immunization for migrant children on 25th Feb 2013	Medical camp at Vanjor village, Karaikal – July 2011	Dental check-up for labours at MARG Swarnabhoomi on 15th May 2012	Dengue detection camp at MARG Swarnabhoomi on 23rd Dec 2012	Comprehensive medical camp organized at MARG Swarnabhoomi on 7th April 2012

Growth of a country largely depends on its social infrastructure standards. MARG as an infrastructure developer is aware of the fact that private sector involvement and investment is essential to supplement Government's efforts.

Community Infrastructure developed under Namaku Namey Thittam


Flood protection wall, Thiruvathur	Concrete road at Perunthuravu	Concrete road at Madayambakkam	Drainage facility at Velur village	Concrete road at Kodur village	Concrete road at Thirupoorakoil

Direct Intervention


Bus shelter at Karaikal aesthetically designed with seating facility	Street lights helps illuminate 3 panchayats around MARG Swarnabhoomi	Water conservation - Pond at Karaikal	Gardening & landscaping at General Hospital, Nagapattinam	RO plant installed at Nagore Dargah	125 individual toilets constructed at Keezhavanjore thus making the village a model for total sanitation programe


Tar road laid at Madayambakkam village through State Government’s Self-sufficient scheme	Compound Wall for Seeknankuppam Panchayat School	Shed for balwadi centre, Pattinacherry, Karaika	Temple at Patinacherry, Karaikal	Drainage facility at Vellore Periya Colony	MARG block constructed at Panchayat Middle School, Seekinankuppam

We believe in the adage "Give man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime". While the changing new economy has opened up job opportunities across sectors, the need of the hour is training and skill development. The rural poor who have no means to learn are given training in the areas of their interest and competence. We help them find employment across industry segments.

GLSDI-MARG
MARG in collaboration with Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) initiated - Grassroots Level Skill Development Initiative (GLSDI) that targeted the Kancheepuram district's unskilled workforce by imparting basic training on employable skills. Through this initiative 800 youth were given a 15 day intensive pre - employment training with over 60 % being placed in jobs at a job fair.


GLSDI-MARG signed an MOU with CII	A section of the youth at the Job Fair, April 2008	30 youths trained in four wheeler driving	Coffee Kiosk run by SHG women groups in Karaikal Port	Tailoring training centre, Vanjore village	Food & Nutrition training to women group, Seekinankuppam

Pilot project on rural development - Veerabogam panachayat, Lathur block, Kancheepuram district

The project launched in January 2013, as a pilot project to develop Veerabogam as a model Panchayat will be for a period of 15 months and is based on the concept of ‘village self-governance’. The project aims to harness and synergize the key stake holders - Grampanchayat, farmers, women SHGs & youth for their own development.

MARG has been playing the role of a facilitator to employ locally available knowledge, skills & resources optimally with stakeholders participation in the whole process thus converging the Government schemes & bank linkages. Krishi Vigyan Kendra as a resource partner has conducted several need based trainings in Agriculture, Micro-Small Enterprises, Environment that promotes sustainable livelihood activities.


Awareness Meet - Dr. Kumaravel & Dr. Vimalarani of KVK addressing the villagers and SHG members

Uzhaikum Karangal – an innovative project for creating sustainable livelihoods for Womenfolk

MARG Parivarthan has conceived a novel, innovative concept called 'Uzhaikum Karangal' to help the rural and coastal women become self-reliant and economically independent, through promotion of SHGs. Launched in June 2010, with 22 members, the Uzhaikum Karangal project has gained momentum and been an inspiration in forming 4 more SHGs covering 107 rural women overall from the villages, around Karaikal Port. SHGs have been instrumental in promoting domestic savings which helps the members to take projects that generate supplementary income for their families.

Self Help Group (SHG) formation and encouraging women to access alternative means of livelihood are the prime objectives of the project.

The first venture by this women group was a Coffee kiosk at MARG Karaikal Port started during August 2010 by installing 4 vending machines at a monthly lease rental of Rs.400/machine. The working capital met from SHGs savings and income generation from the Coffee kiosk. Then SHG started mobile recharging business for the benefits of employees, contractors and workers in the port.

The Xerox copying service to the general public, workers, truck drivers, vendors of the port was another income avenue started by the SHGs. The Xerox machine was taken on monthly lease rental of Rs.3500. The Port provided the place and electricity at free of cost besides one CSR personnel to assist them on a continuous basis on micro-enterprises management, book keeping and also to scale-up their activities further.

In its quest for region development, MARG Karaikal port is exploring avenues too

		'Green Kalam', a mega environment friendly initiative spearheaded by Padmashree Actor Vivekh with the active support of MARG group has successfully completed plantation of more than 1 million tree saplings across Tamil Nadu. The continued support of MARG to this movement has helped achieve the desire of Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam to plant 10 lakh saplings across Tamil Nadu. It all began when Dr. Kalam asked Actor Vivekh to campaign against global warming by planting green saplings all over Tamil Nadu and the actor instantly agreed. This set the stage for the launch of Green Kalam project. Actor Vivekh began the project with active support of MARG Karaikal Port and named it after Dr. Kalam. MARG has planted 25,000 saplings at MARG Swarnabhoomi and another 25000 at MARG Karaikal Port as part of this initiative. The first phase of Green Kalam tree sapling drive culminated with a grand celebration, where Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam, Former President of India have planted the millionth tree sapling at Cuddalore and spoke on the importance of planting tree saplings as an investment for our future generations. Dr.Kalam appreciated the efforts of the Green Kalam team its supporters and distributed certificates of appreciation to those enthusiastically involved in the initiative. MARG's involvement in this endeavor is part of the Group's philosophy to constantly improve of our environment.

GRK Reddy, CMD, MARG Group and US Consul General Ms Jennifer Mclntyre at the launch of Green Chronicle campaign on e-waste management		Strategic 'Green chronicle' initiative in association with Deccan Chronicle & ExNoRa - Technological advancement and increased usage of Telecom, IT, Electronic digital equipments etc. have created an alarming situation of increased stream of electronic waste (e-waste). The high rate of obsolescence of these electronic equipments and the fast changing technology gives rise to replacement of the products, thereby increasing e-waste. The disposal of e-waste containing hazardous substances in an environmentally sound manner has become a challenge in India. Chennai being a major Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Hub, it is felt that for an urgent need of awareness and solutions on e-waste management. MARG an environmentally conscious organisation in association with Deccan Chronicle, Madras University and Youth ExNoRa has launched a month long campaign that aimed at spreading awareness about e-waste and its consequences. This public initiative seeks solutions through people-to-people partnership which motivate & educate the public about dangers of e-waste, importance of reduce, reuse and recycle. Experts, Government officials and environmental activists are roped in to interact with the public to manage e-waste at the household level. The campaign was kick started at the Madras University on 1st April 2011. The response that the campaign garnered from the public was overwhelming. The campaign will be spread to the other parts of the country gradually.

		*Mahayagnam of Tree Sapling Plantation* - On the occasion of Children's Day 2010, MARG in association with Indian Telegu Association (ITA), a non-profit Telugu cultural organization, organized a mass tree saplings plantation drive. 900 school students actively participated and planted 5000 saplings at MARG Swarnabhoomi.

		MARG Lightsout Campaign (10:10:10:10:10) - MARG partnered EXNORA'S Lightsout campaign popularly called '5 tens Lights Out campaign' to motivate people to switch off their lights for 10 minutes on 10.10.10 thereby acknowledging the importance of protecting our planet and our role in mitigating global warming.

		MARG Swarnabhoomi Puduvai Marathon - Thousands gathered in Puducherry on 14.02.10, to run around the town and show their solidarity to global warming. The Puduvai Marathon 2010, organised jointly by MARG Swarnabhoomi and the Rotary Club of Pondicherry Charitable Trust received a whopping response, with around 8500 people "going green to save the earth".

		EARTH HOUR 2012 - MARG in association with World Wild Fund for Nature India (WWF-India) organized Earth Hour 2012 – the global campaign inspiring governments, businesses, communities and individuals to take a stand against Climate Change in the city of Chennai. Enthusiastic and Environment friendly people of Chennai switched off the lights in their home to take part in the campaign. Famous youth icon and a popular actor from the Tamil film industry Dhanush joined hands with MARG and WWF-India to support Earth Hour 2012 in Chennai. The Earth Hour 2012 was observed in Chennai on 31st March 2012 from 8:30 – 9:30 PM at Spencer Plaza, Anna Salai, Chennai. School Children, Elite audiences across the city, film personalities, celebrities and media attended the Earth Hour event to support the noble cause. The event kick-started at 7:30pm with a cultural performance by the school children, followed by lighting of candles and switching off the lights. Over 350 people including the children took pledge on the energy conservation and to responsible actions that benefit our planet.

MARG has responded to emergency situations & disasters by providing timely help to affected victims and their families. The intervention has included provision of food grains, clothes, vessels, school books, uniforms etc - all with the aim to help affected families bounce back to normal life as soon as possible.


Kerosene pump stoves distributed to 3000 flood affected families at Kurnool, Andra Pradesh, March'10	10kg of Rice bags distributed to 530 families affected by flood at Vanjore villages - Nov'09	Temporary shelters for the fire accident victims, Karaikal	Food grains distributed to 700 Thane Cyclone affected families, Karaikal

MAHABALIPURAM - Unfinished poetry in stone
This is a coffee-table book authored by Prof. S. Swaminathan. The book is a study on the architectural and sculptural achievements of the Pallavas. It describes the form, content and style of the art in stone, conceived and wrought by the genius of the Pallava kings. To understand the significance of Mahabalipuram architecture and to preserve its rich cultural heritage, MARG has attempted to bring to the fore, this book, which is a unique study on Pallava architectural and sculptural achievements.


558 families were gifted with dhotis & sarees on Independence day celebration, 2009 at Karaikal	Differently-abled supported with tricycle	Sewing machines donated to women self-help groups (SHG) from Vanjore villages, Karaikal	Food and water distribution for Velankanni pilgrims	One lakh water packets distributed to the Tirunallar Sanipeyarchi devotees.	Independence day 2012 - Hot boxes distributed to school children, Karaikal

The MARG CHENNAI MARATHON, 2008 was partnered by MARG in aid of Give Life Charity that supports the cause of underprivileged children for their Right to education and health. Around 1.75 Lac people from various walks of life across different cities participated in this run.
A.R.RAHAMAN'S JAI HO WORLD SERIES in aid of The Sakthi Foundation and AR Rahman Foundation organised by MARG at MARG Swarnabhoomi saw over 75,000 people standup for the cause of the physically challenged. Apart from raising funds for medical equipments, the Adhiparasakthi Medical and Research Hospital at Melmaruvathur, this event sensitized the people of the need to include differently abled into the mainstream.
MARG CHENNAI MARATHON' 2010 - The event on 29.08.10 was in aid of GiveLife Charity, which takes care of the education of 8,000 underprivileged children. Over 1 Lakh enthusiastic participants cutting across different age groups made the annual event a roaring success.

Celebrating 100 years of Satyagraha
MARG in co-ordination with the Gandhi Study Centre, organized a one-day programme for underprivileged children to celebrate Gandhi Jayanti and 100 years of Sathyagraha (8th Oct 2006).

World AIDS Day – A mass campaign aimed at spreading awareness to bring an attitudinal change among public towards people living with HIV / AIDS. "Accept, Act, and Achieve" was the message delivered (1st Dec 2006).

EmployABILITY 2006 - A job fair for specially-abled people aimed at 'looking beyond disabilities and breaking barriers together'. The event saw several young job aspirants attending their first job interview (16th &17th Dec 2006).

AbilityFEST - Organized by Ability Foundation from October 5th to 8th, 2007. AbilityFEST is an international disability film festival. This is a biannual event of Ability Foundation to sensitise the community about their perception on disability. AbilityFest 2007 enabled the viewers to enjoy films from 24 countries - some funny, others moving – but every one of them thought provoking.

BYST & MARG- Best Business Idea Contest Programme – 2008
The contest encouraged young men and women in and around Chennai to come up with creative and viable business ideas that could be converted into successful dynamic micro-enterprises. The contest gave a boost to the entrepreneurial culture in Chennai and promote new business ideas among the youth.