May 2022, New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh is setting a new benchmark for women and child development through high quality service delivery. Anil Agarwal Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Vedanta announced that 150 Nand Ghars in Uttar Pradesh have been certified by International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

75 Nand Ghars in each of the districts of Varanasi and Amethi have now been conferred with an ISO certification 9001:2015 for providing a wide gamut of services including improving quality of services in early childhood education, improved maternal and child healthcare at doorsteps, improved nutrition outcomes and sustainable skill livelihood for women.

Nand Ghar is the flagship CSR project of the Anil Agarwal Foundation under the aegis of Vedanta Resources Limited. The Project is working in collaboration with the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development and is modernizing anganwadis across the country. Currently, there are more than 3300 Nand Ghars working across 12 states.

Dr. Bhaskar Chatterjee, the CEO of the Anil Agarwal Foundation shared, “The integral goal of Nand Ghar is to create a gateway for change and empowerment of the community while also rendering the potential of the rural landscape and fostering self-sufficiency. Through quality services delivery, Nand Ghar shall emerge as the weather glass for WCD across the country.”

These Nand Ghars are excellent centres for early childhood education and development. By leveraging technology and state-of-art infrastructure, Project Nand Ghar is working towards eradication of malnourishment among children, providing early childhood education, doorstep delivery of health services and sustainable skilling of women.

With Nand Ghar, Vedanta is bridging the urban and rural divide, making significant improvements in the overall service delivery of anganwadi ecosystem. Vedanta has committed to develop 4000 Nand Ghars across India. The project aims to transform the lives of 7 crore children and 2 crore women in the 13.7 lakh Anganwadis in India.

ISO 9001:2015 is an international standard that outlines the criteria for a quality management system (QMS) highlighting consistent delivery of products and services that fulfil consumer and regulatory requirements. ISO 9001:2015 is much beneficial in terms of AWC as it promises increased engagement and efficiency of FLWs, Improved beneficiary satisfaction (women and children), reduced risks and ensuring proper delivery of the six services under ICDS.