The Adarsha Vidyalaya (Model School) at Mallikapur, under Dasarathpur Block in Jajpur district, was inaugurated today by Shri Pranab Prakash Das, Hon’ble MLA, Jajpur. The school has been constructed by Tata Steel.

Present on the occasion were Shri Ranjan Kumar Das, Collector, Jajpur and Mr Sunil Bhaskaran, Vice President (Corporate Services), Tata Steel, Mr Prasanta Mallick, General Manager (Corporate Services), Tata Steel Kalinganagar, Mr Manikanta Naik, Chief Resident Executive, Tata Steel and Shri Krushna Chandra Nayak, District Education Officer (DEO), Jajpur.

The school has been constructed at an expenditure of nearly Rs 4.57 crore besides furnishing the classrooms. Built by Jamshedpur Utilities and Services Company (JUSCO), a subsidiary of Tata Steel, the two-story school building is spread across 25,000 square feet built up area.

Addressing the gathering, Shri Pranab Prakash Das said: “I thank Tata Steel for its commitment towards the construction of Adarsha Vidyalayas in the State. We appreciate the Company’s stand of promoting inclusive growth. Adarsha Vidyalaya will improve quality education and harness the potential of meritorious students of the area in future”.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Bhaskaran said: “We are committed to partnering the Government of Odisha in leveraging education in the State. The construction of Adarsha Vidyalaya is an act of this commitment. As education ensures future successes, the model school will be able to provide quality education especially to the children of underserved communities of our society. I am certain that the School will be able to provide best-in-class education which will harness their future.”

In order to make quality infrastructure available to students in far-flung areas of Odisha, Tata Steel has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Odisha to construct 30 model schools across the state. This initiative by the steel major is part of the Government of Odisha’s grand plan of setting up Adarsha Vidyalaya (Model Schools) in each block in the state. The model schools at Danagadi, Kamakhyanagar, Nayagarh and Korei constructed by Tata Steel were inaugurated recently and many more schools are under construction. All efforts are being made to complete construction of the remaining schools at the earliest.

Tata Steel Group stands among the top global steel companies with an annual crude steel capacity of 28 million tonnes per annum (MnTPA) and a turnover of US $17.69 billion in FY16. It is the world's second-most geographically-diversified steel producer, with operations in 26 countries and commercial presence in over 50 countries. Established in 1907, the Group’s vision is to be the world steel industry benchmark in “Value Creation” and “Corporate Citizenship” through the excellence of its people, approach and overall conduct. Underpinning this vision is a performance culture committed to aspiration targets, safety and social responsibility, continuous improvement, openness and transparency. Having bagged the Deming Application Prize and Deming Grand Prize for continuous improvement in 2008 and 2012 respectively, Tata Steel has now been recognised as the global ‘Industry Leader’ in ‘Steel category’ by Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Besides being one of ‘worldsteel’s’ Climate Action members, it has also been awarded the CII ITC Sustainability Prize, the ‘Best-in-class Manufacturing’ by TIME Award, the Prime Minister’s Trophy for the best performing integrated steel plant, among several others.

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