JAIPUR, India — SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today launched the Rural Development Initiative targeted to empowering 30 villages under the gram panchayats of Malah, Jatoli, Peepla and Haten in Bharatpur district of Rajasthan. Through this Corporate Social Responsibility initiative, SAP endeavors to help the disadvantaged and underserved population in these gram panchayats where the Human Developmental Indicators (HDI) e.g. socio, economic, health, demographic is poor compared to national and state average.
In its pilot phase, SAP in collaboration with its implementing Non-Profit Organization (NGO) partner Hope Foundation and facilitated by the local district administration, will enable quality education for 2000 children, skills development leading to employment for 2600 youth, provide safe drinking water and create sanitation facilities under Swachh Bharat initiative for 1700 citizens. SAP aims to leverage the power of technology to create sustainable and lasting impact in the lives of 60,000 citizens in 30 villages in the next one year.
SAP’s aspirational priority is to reduce the student drop-out rates by improving the quality of education through access to study materials, e-libraries, quality teachers and enable IT skills through state-of-the art computer training centers in schools. The aim is also to increase employment opportunities in these communities by imparting sector specific skills through training for tourism & hospitality industry and catering along with digital literacy. It is targeted to include teaching spoken English, soft skills training and providing career counseling, all of which lead to employment generation.
SAP aims to set up 33 Community Service Centers (CSCs) in 33 gram panchayats (GPs). Every CSC is intended to be Wi-Fi enabled, equipped with laptops and have access to trainers. The CSCs aim is to promote computer literacy and help citizens effectively utilize various digital services the Government offers. These CSCs will also target to facilitate use of and access to information on health services and empower women to benefit from the Government’s financial inclusion schemes.
“SAP is committed to embracing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by eradicating poverty, gender inequalities, imparting quality education, good health and well-being, clean water and sanitation, decent work and economic growth and creating sustainable urban village and communities. In this context, through our Rural Development Initiative, we aim to improve the living standards in the villages by empowering the citizens. Our objective is to take this pilot initiative across India by scaling it to 100 villages in next 3-5 years,” said Dilip kumar Khandelwal, Managing Director SAP Labs India and Executive Vice President, Enterprise Cloud Services, SAP SE.
“The Government of Rajasthan aims to create a sustainable and inclusive socio-economic environment in the State. It is through collaboration with multiple stakeholders we can effectively drive several of our social and development agenda. We are pleased that the Rural Development Initiative of SAP touching 33 Gram Panchayats in Bharatpur District will help in reducing the digital divide and bring about positive change in the lives of the citizens, “said Shri Kunji Lal Meena, IAS, Commissioner, Industries & Secretary CSR, Government of Rajasthan.
