Statutory Section
The educational landscape in India faces a critical challenge, as each year millions of deserving and academically talented students are forced to abandon their formal education due to financial limitations. CPIL initiated Colgate Keep India Smiling Scholarships in 2019, aimed to bridge the gap for meritorious students who, due to financial constraints, often miss out on opportunities to further their education or enhance their future employability.
Fulfilling Dreams Against All Odds
Ahmednagar, Maharashtra
From her father's military background, young Kiran Sathe learned invaluable lessons in discipline and perseverance. Motivated by her ambition to provide affordable dental care to the underprivileged, she pursued dental surgery despite the financial hardships following her father's untimely demise.
Her determination remained steadfast as she focused on her studies, eventually earning admission to Mumbai's prestigious Nair Hospital Dental College. Kiran's journey took a positive turn when she was selected for the Keep India Smiling scholarship program, which covered her tuition and provided essential dental equipment. Today, Kiran's mother takes great pride and relief in witnessing her daughter's academic success.
Kiran aims to give back to her community by establishing a community dental clinic, ensuring accessible dental care for all.
In the midst of a rapidly evolving digital era, the importance of digitalization across various sectors like education, healthcare, manufacturing, and financial services cannot be overstated. Digitalization drives efficiency, innovation, and economic growth, and is crucial for social inclusion. India, with its ambitious Digital India initiative, exemplifies this drive towards digitalization. However, a significant portion of the population, especially women in rural areas, lack adequate digital literacy, posing challenges to their participation in the digital economy and access to financial services.
In 2023, we took a significant step towards holistic empowerment of communities by means of Digital and Financial Literacy for Women and Persons with Disabilities. Colgate Digital Sakhis are trained to take this program to multiple households in their villages. The program is active in five locations: Baddi (Himachal Pradesh); Sri City (Andhra Pradesh); Sanand (Gujarat); Kundaim (Goa); and Udaipur (Rajasthan).
Financial Literacy Sparks Hope
Udaipur, Rajasthan
In India's rural heartlands, women even today are not the key decision makers on finances and provisions for family. Lack of access to Digital and Financial Literacy often leads them to being subjected to digital frauds, also many women aren't aware of the government schemes that exist for their benefit and some who do, still fall prey to dishonest microfinance companies and agents that misuse the government's e-mitra facility for their own gains.
The comprehensive Digital and Financial Literacy training is designed to break these chains. In this program, women not only learn essential money management skills and utilize digital tools but also gain access to beneficial government schemes like Jeevan Jyoti Beema and Sukanya Yojna amongst many others.
One standout example is Nanu Devi, who became a Digital Sakhi and inspired others in her community. Through her learnings, she was able to save 10 women in her community from losing their money to fraud e-Mitras. Nanu Devi's remarkable achievements have brought hope to the women of Malpur village, illuminating a path to a brighter and more secure future for all.
