The Company has been continuously supporting Agriculture and Horticulture initiatives through collaborations with experts, institutions and interactions with farmers, including conducting of night meetings.
The Company has continued its support to 20,000 farmers (2,000 new farmers inducted during FY 2023-24) who have adopted good agricultural practices like intercropping, high density planting, soil management, etc. which have been monitored in a digital portal along with the geotagging of their locations. This data has enabled the Company to provide necessary recommendations to the farmers, to provide prompt solutions in a speedy manner.
The Company has continued its support for the Cotton High Productivity Initiative through the replication of best practices like High Density Planting System, mulching, drip irrigation, detopping and others, thereby increasing the yield of cotton by 159%.
On similar lines, during the FY 2023-24, the Company also initiated the Onion High Productivity Initiative and achieved 133% average increase in the yield on farmers’ fields.
The fruit and vegetable initiative of the Company has resulted in the development of 84 one-acre wadis with the addition of 24 new wadis during the FY 2023-24, as well as shade nets to replicate vegetable and fruit crops. The average additional income earned by farmers through this intervention has gone up to ` 1.05 Lakh per farmer per annum.
The Company has continued supporting the Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO). It has 1,593 farmer members (422 new members added during FY 2023-24) and over 6,000 farmers have availed the services from FPO and purchased good quality inputs at subsidised rates.
The total turnover of the FPO is ` 14.42 crores, contributing to a 41% growth in Agriculture input business, that aims to provide better quality of inputs to farmers at affordable rates.
The FPO has continued to support marginal farmers by providing agricultural equipment (like tractors, rotavators) at nominal rental rates, in collaboration with the Government of Gujarat through its Custom Hiring Centre, to mainly support farmers of Mota Khuntavada and the adjoining villages. Over 480 farmers have received the benefits. The FPO has continued the collective procurement of groundnuts and gram at Minimum Support Price (MSP), from farmers’ doorsteps. During the FY 2023-24, a total of 821 MT groundnuts, 410 MT gram and 723 MT of onion has been procured, so that farmers get better and assured returns.Further procurement is still ongoing.
The Company has taken several initiatives in the area of Agriculture and Horticulture through the Centre to educate farmers about the latest recommended cultivation practices (known to both universities and the Government, etc.) to boost sustainable agriculture and horticulture growth along with the value addition of their produce. The education and training of farmers is carried out both at the Centre and also at farmer’s field/land. The Centre also provides support to Women’s Self Help Groups (SHG) in the area of value added products.
Due to the initiative, farmers from 45 adjoining villages have visited the centre to learn the best practices and expand their understanding of agri-knowledge and technology. The Centre has trained 13,081 farmers since its inception and in the FY 2023-24 has trained over 2,281 farmers (at the Centre and in the farmers field/land).
The Centre, through its concentrated efforts, has developed various value-added products, both fruits and vegetables, which target the increase in income of farmers and SHG women. The products include mango pulp, tomato puree, aromatic candles, oils and others.
The Centre has, during FY 2023-24, provided 430 kgs of spice seeds to 42 potential farmers who were trained at Manar Centre. A total of 85 acres is covered under cultivation of coriander, cumin, fennel and fenugreek at Maidhar, Sihor, Palitana, Surendranagar and Upleta talukas in collaboration with National Research Centre on Seed Spices (NRCSS).
The Company has continued its support for water management activities (check dams, ponds, etc.) with the Narmada, Water Resources, Water Supply and Kalpsar Department of the Government of Gujarat, in the PPP (Public-Private Partnership) model.
In FY 2023–24, 68 check dams, deepening of 22 ponds and 223 farm ponds were completed. With the assistance of the Company, a total of 337 check dams, and the deepening of 136 ponds and 949 farm ponds have been completed. The Company has also completed check dam repairs and canal linking work across 200 kms.
The Company has also initiated the development of water structures (20 check dams, 15 ponds and 3 large check dam deepening) for the coming year, and further water structures are under discussion with the Government for the next year.
During FY 2023-24, 1,361 hectares of additional farmland were converted into micro irrigation. Cumulatively, over years, it has translated into 5,800 hectares of micro irrigation on farmland spanning across 100 villages.
With all such initiatives in FY 2023-24, the Company has helped to conserve on surface, 175 million litres of water in the state of Gujarat.
The Company has also successfully completed massive pond development in Palitana district with a storage capacity of approximately 82 million litres.
The Company has continued its support for cultivation of Seaweed through Centre for Agriculture-Horticulture Development, Manar to 140 farmers who have been trained in seaweed cultivation.
Under this project, the Company has successfully created India’s first ever working land-based tank cultivation system, thereby achieving 87% survival and 100% regeneration rate of Gracilaria dura seedling.
The Company has also trained Self Help Group (SHG) of women for seaweed cultivation and they are the pioneers to receive Government subsidy in this sector under Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana scheme.
The Company has collaborated with the State Forest Department of Gujarat and initiated a massive plantation drive with the help of the community.
In FY 2023-24, 5 lakh trees have been planted through mobilisation of Farmer Clubs, Schools and SHG Women, and cumulatively 13 lakh trees have been planted to increase green cover.
The Company is also supporting SHG women to develop large scale nursery for development of more than 2 lakh planting materials that shall be utilised during plantation drive.
The Company has continued its support to the Milk and Animal Health Initiative in Mahuva Taluka. The farmers are trained in the best animal husbandry practices like Animal Feeding, Breeding, Health and Cattle Management. We observed an average increase in milk yield by 27% per animal.
During FY 2023-24, veterinary doctors treated 3,868 animals, and have cumulatively treated 22,822 animals. Moreover, special cattle feed developed by the Animal Husbandry team has also been provided to farmers to increase the productivity of their animals.
Artificial Insemination (AI) service has been performed cumulatively on over 41,803 cattle, and for this year on over 3,603 cattle. The Company has also continued with the innovative project of sexed semen which ensures the delivery of a female calf. For FY 2023-24, 223 cattle have been given sexed semen doses of which 45% cattle were found pregnant. Cumulatively, 823 cattle have been given sexed semen doses of which 46% cattle were found pregnant. Based on the conception till date, the success rate is 97%, with female calves being delivered by pregnant cattle.
During FY 2023-24, the Company helped form, nurture and develop 304 new Self Help Groups (SHG)-Mahila Mandals in Bhavnagar and Amreli districts of Gujarat. More than 3,200 additional women became members of these SHG. With this, the total number of SHG reached 1,052 with the member count growing to 11,100 women. These SHG serve as a platform for women to gain financial freedom, a source of credit that acts as a stimulus for income generation and as a buffer to absorb various household financial crises.
To make all these SHG self-sustainable, institution creation was necessary. Hence, the Company helped to create 7 cluster federations of 60 Village Organisations (VO) - 19 new VO and 1 new Cluster Level Federations formed in FY 2023-24.
SHG Training and Quality Assessment Centre focuses on expanding the technical, managerial and financial skills of women to operate a business. In the FY 2023-24, the Company has conducted over 271 such trainings for more than 250 SHG (over 2,500 women), resulting in various mini businesses that help these women earn a dignified livelihood.
Cumulatively, SHG now run and manage 9 units of khakhra and other units for different products such as wooden toys, aloe vera, pickle, masala, bakery, bio phenyl, jute and cloth bags, soft toys, bio-pesticide, seaweed value-added products, banana fibre processing, milk processing, mukhwas, amla candy, instant mix, papad, mango pulp and others.
The initiative focuses on addressing the need for modernization, spinning, weaving, dyeing and value-addition along with training and testing, to make the Solar-based fabric making unit weaving process profitable for the community.
The Company has continued its association with Mahuva Khadi Bhandar.
The unit has produced over 11,341 metres of Solar-based fabric and sold cloth worth ` 35.52 lakhs for FY 2023-24.
The Company has continued its support for the implementation of Pre-Primary education initiative that focusses on learning through Shri Giju Bhai Badheka Methodology in collaboration with Daxina Murti Bhavnagar by emphasizing more on teaching young children (aged 3–5) following the concept of self-manifestation through rhymes, stories, action, songs, outings, games and other interactive methods that are effective in sparking curiosity among children.
The Company covered 289 anganwadis in FY 2023-24 (cumulatively 429 anganwadis), exponentially increasing the children’s attendance from 35% to 75%.
The Company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan for the implementation of Art and Craft syllabus in more than 170 Government Schools and has successfully achieved the same with coverage of more than 40,000 students. This is as per National Education Policy curriculum, where schools have to ensure bag-less education for 10 days.
The Company has continued its collaboration with Navneet for the digitization of 176 Primary and Secondary schools in Mahuva.
The Company has continued its collaboration with the Directorate of Employment and Training (under the Labour and Employment Department), Government of Gujarat, for the tenth year, to strengthen the skill ecosystem in the State. During the FY 2023-24, 11,282 trainees from 200 ITIs in Gujarat and Rajasthan, 6,693 trainees from 161 ITIs in Maharashtra, 2,254 trainees from 96 ITIs in Himachal Pradesh (HP) benefited through carpentry, plumbing, electrician and construction technician courses.
To channelise the emotional connect of teachers, alumni, trainees / students and to express gratitude towards the teacher, formal convocations have been introduced by the Company in ITIs.
To bring alumni together, to reconnect, network, and celebrate their experiences, knowledge, and achievements, the Company has started an alumni meet programme. The Company has conducted 21 Alumni meets in Gujarat and Rajasthan, 10 Alumni meets in HP and 19 Alumni meets in Maharashtra.
The industrial visits aim to provide exposure to practical application of concepts, safety parameters, how to use basic and advanced equipments, and also participate in world skill competition for advancement of their career. In Gujarat and Rajasthan, 464 expert sessions and 459 exposure visits to industries were conducted; in HP 50 expert sessions and 40 exposure visits to industries were conducted and in Maharashtra, 75 expert sessions and 43 exposure visits to industries were conducted.
During FY 2023-24, the Company continued its support to Hanumant Hospital in Mahuva, enabling them to treat 85,948 outpatients and 15,874 indoor patients and performed over 5,092 surgeries and 10,163 major surgeries. The Hospital also successfully handled 5,432 emergency cases. Four educational training programs were conducted for the medical fraternity.
The Hospital is enrolled under the Ayushman Bharat scheme of the Government of India, as a part of its commitment to affordable healthcare. Under this scheme, cashless treatment to 2,990 beneficiaries has been provided during FY 2023-24.
During FY 2023-24, Hanumant Hospital, under the urology cluster, provided cashless dialysis service to 7,173 patients under the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.
Cumulatively, 15,750 beneficiaries have availed themselves of various cashless services.
The Hospital has also conducted free eye checkup camps through mobile ophthalmic vans in 86 villages of Mahuva and surrounding areas and has screened 7,539 patients.
The Hospital has also conducted 370 free cataract surgeries with Intraocular lenses (IOL) in collaboration with Vision Foundation, Mumbai.
Furthermore, the Hospital is running three schemes namely, Chitrakut Dham Arogya Scheme, Senjal Dham Arogya Scheme and Arogya Sanjivani Scheme, under which it is providing free treatment to 11,208 beneficiaries.
The Company has continued its collaboration with Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), Government of Gujarat and Mahuva Nagar Palika for the cleanliness drive.
The Company has continued its tri-party collaboration with the Regional Commissionerate of Municipalities of Bhavnagar and Mahuva Nagar Palika and successfully commissioned Plastic Granule Making Facility with the help of an expert agency at Mahuva for waste segregation, processing and recycling of plastic waste.
To facilitate this process of plastic collection, 23 Plastic Collection Centres (PCCs) have been established in Mahuva City. These centres are responsible for purchasing scrap materials from the rag pickers. A total of 144.37 MT waste has been collected and 51.7 MT were sold to recyclers for value-addition, during FY 2023-24.
The Company has also extended the drive to the villages of Mahuva taluka in a phased manner. To ensure community involvement, SHG women have been roped in, along with the Panchayats, for the collection of plastic waste. 75 villages have been covered in Door to Door plastic collection drive.
The Company continues to support the rehabilitation of people with Parkinson’s disease, and their caregivers, with the aim of improving their quality of life.
The BKPPDMDS group continues its success streak with its Gujarat and Pune support group centres for people with Parkinson’s. We continue to expand our reach to our 14 Parkinson’s support groups through various multidisciplinary interventions such as Physiotherapy, Speech Therapy, Cognitive exercises, Dance and Movement Therapy, etc, empowering over 420 people with Parkinson’s and 740 caregivers. The Company has also initiated the Healthy Ageing Program, where the main focus has been to promote exercising and energizing of the mind and body in 18 community-based Old Age Homes and Senior Citizen groups, positively impacting over 520 senior citizens and around 90 caretakers and support staff.
The BKPPDMDS Team organized various events during FY 2023-24, to raise awareness about Parkinson’s including talks by Neurologists, awareness rallies, reaching out to over 11,000 people through television, radio shows, news articles and social media. The Movement Disorder Society of India (MDSI) held its 8th Annual National Conference in Ahmedabad this year, where BKPPDMDS team had arranged an awareness stall which was visited by many neurologists.
The Company continued its association with CPAA and assisted more than 320 cancer patients and their families during financial hardship, thus giving them a chance of treatment and survival.
The children with cancer were helped with medical aid, diet supplements, transportation, and a job for a family member. Additionally, all their psychological, social and spiritual needs were addressed.