November 09, 2020: The capital city of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, witnessed the inauguration of the Tata Trusts’ Mission Gaurav Programme and flagging off of the mobile Apna Seva Kendra recently, in the dignified presence of the Labour Minister of the State, Swami Prasad Maurya. The event was planned virtually in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic situation to maintain utmost safety and health of all participating stakeholders. The project is being spearheaded with the support of the Tata Trusts’ PMU, headquartered in Lucknow, and in association and partnership with its 10 local partners (Aga Khan Foundation, Trust Community Livelihoods, Grameen Development Services, Sahbhagi Shikshan Kendra, People's Action for National Integration, Gorakhpur Environmental Action Group, Sustainable Human Development Association, Solidarity of the Nation Society, Vigyan Foundation and Samvad Samajik Sansthan).
Mission Gaurav has been designed to provide support to migrants by building on the strengths of Apna Seva Kendras (ASKs) and mobile ASKs, a unique feature to the state of Uttar Pradesh under Mission Gaurav. The focus is to support, empower and build resilience within the vulnerable migrant households (HHs) to withstand future shocks by providing access to entitlements and schemes, facilitating banking operations, connecting to non-farm-based livelihood opportunities, skill mapping and linkage to available skilling opportunities. The project will leverage on the existing ASK centres and extend outreach through an agile system of last-mile delivery through community volunteers (Shramik Mitras) and mobile ASKs, with technology as an enabler. Building awareness on schemes and entitlements, food security, livelihoods, social security through cash transfers, banking operations, effective outreach and counselling, and policy and advocacy are some of the key activities being undertaken under the ambit of the programme. Approximately, 31 ASK centres, 35 mobile ASKs and more than 300 Shramik Mitras will be engaged in the project to cater to 10 districts and 65 blocks, with an overall outreach target of 4.5 lakh HHs.
The Hon’ble Minister appreciated the initiative of the Tata Trusts and said, “I am thanking Tata Trusts for this historical self-motivated initiative for the betterment of workers’ lives by linking them to welfare schemes of the government. And this unique initiative is a great example for other organisations to follow.”
The launch event started with the welcome of the Minister by the Tata Trusts Uttar Pradesh Migration Support Programme team headed by Salil Srivastava. N Srinath, CEO, Tata Trusts, introduced the Minister to the work of the Tata Trusts, especially in Uttar Pradesh, followed by Santosh Pathak, West Zonal Head, Tata Trusts, who shared information about the Trusts’ objective behind the Mission Gaurav initiative and its scale at the state and at nation level. Suresh Chandra, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Labour / Chairman, The Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, talked about the efforts made by the Uttar Pradesh Government and the Labour Department for migrant workers.
Vineet Jain, Regional Manager, Uttar Pradesh, Tata Trusts, thanked everyone for attending the launch event and requested the Hon’ble Minister to flag off the Mobile Apna Seva Kendras (M-ASKs). The event was attended by Amita Jain and Amrita Patwardhan of the Tata Trusts and Deputy Labour Commissioner Shamim Akhtar. Labour Department officers and other administrative officers were present at the online launch event and, with the help of partner organisations, flagged off the M-ASKs from their respective district offices.
Mission Gaurav, being implemented by the Tata Trusts, is spread across six states of the country: Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand. The project aims to reach out to migrants and vulnerable and socially excluded HHs across 49 districts and 215 blocks within a span of six months, facilitating government schemes.
