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India, April 27^th, 2020: Amidst the coronavirus (COVID-19) lock down and outcry from several poor and marganilised families, vulnerability girls and young women has come to the fore. Communities with scanty access to health and sanitation facilities for their girls in this time of crisis are facing the biggest hardships. In response to this, Plan India’s Project Suraksha aims to fight the COVID-19 crisis while working in close coordination with the Government, civil society organisations, corporates and donors to support weaker sections and communities in peril. In order to support Plan India’s cause by means of this project, Eicher Group Foundation and Metso India Pvt. Ltd have come forward to fulfil the organisation’s purpose and mission to provide gender sensitive public health and humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable families so that the impact of the crises on children, girls and young women is minimized and mitigated.

Extending his gratitude towards the supporting corporates, Mohammed Asif, Executive Director, Plan India, said, “Plan India team is ever grateful for the support it is receiving from leading corporates, namely Metso and Eicher Motors, who have come forward to provide much needed humanitarian relief to some of the poorest and most vulnerable families and in particular the girl child. As a leading national NGO, working for social development and humanitarian causes, we are committed to promote awareness and sensitization in adolescent girls and young women on the ways to prevent the spread of Novel Coronavirus in India. Together, we are partnering the most vulnerable families and supporting their immediate needs of food and personal hygiene. Moving forward we will be working closely with the poor and vulnerable families to help restart education and learning for their children and promote skills and livelihoods in young women and men. While we are committed to our social development mandate, it is indeed encouraging to have socially committed corporates join hands with us to achieve the larger national development goals.”

Plan India’s humanitarian response aims to reach 2 lakh people on the ground with a focus on communicating public health information, distributing hygiene kits, dry ration kits and personal protective equipment (PPE) while ensuring that the needs and rights of girls and young women are addressed.

Eicher Group Foundation has donated to Plan India to provide dry ration and hygiene kits to daily wage workers, small vendors, pregnant and lactating mothers, orphans/abandoned children, primitive and nomadic tribes, families with disabled members, elderly headed household, female headed households, migrant labourers in Pune and Bhubaneshwar.

Mr. G Sekar, Director, Eicher Group Foundation, said, “We are committed to supporting the Government and various NGOs in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic. We are working on several fronts to provide relief and support measures across various parts of the country. With Plan India and their on-ground partners, we plan to support 1500 families each, in Pune and in Bhubaneshwar.

In Alwar, Rajasthan, Metso India Pvt. Ltd. is supporting the most vulnerable communities affected by COVID-19 by providing dry ration, hygiene kit and personal protective equipment to doctors  and medical kits such as gloves, sanitizer, floor cleaner to the frontline workers (ANM, ASHA, AWW & Lab Technician).

Commenting on the immediate action and commitment towards the crisis, Mr. Sanjay Sehgal, Senior Manager- HR and IR said, “We have been working globally with many not for profit organisations and here in India, we have joined hands with Plan India and hope to ensure that those in need have enough to eat and can protect their families during this lockdown due to COVID-19. This support will reach out to the daily wage earners, migrant labour and poor farmers meeting their day to day needs.” Metso aims to support more than 1560 most vulnerable and economically weaker families with dry ration kits and hygiene kit, 2395 frontline workers with medical and 131 doctors with PPE kit.

Plan India is also supporting the initiative of national agencies like Niti Aayog, National Disaster Management Authority and Ministry of Home Affairs to name a few. Simultaneously Plan India is engaging with local government agencies, civil society organisations, donors and healthcare experts to ensure that correct messages and immediate relief measures reach our beneficiaries to keep them healthy and protected during this pandemic.

Plan India believes that given the nature and scale of the crisis, it is of critical importance that governments, civil society organisations and corporates undertake strategic and collaborative actions spanning both, public health and humanitarian domains. Their focus must be on bolstering public health efforts to contain the COVID-19 disease; and minimising the disruptions and humanitarian fallout on poor people’s livelihoods, education of children, safety and protection of girls and young women and the healthcare of persons with HIV and other chronic illnesses.

Until 25^th April 2020, Plan India has distributed 22,066 + Dry Ration Kits, distributed 24,296 + Hygiene Kits reached 1071 + villages with COVID-19 messaging.

About Plan India

Plan India is a nationally registered NGO striving to advance girl child rights and equality for girls, thus creating a lasting impact in lives of the vulnerable and excluded along with their communities.

Plan India is active in 24 states and has been working with its NGO partners to improve the lives of millions of women and young girls by enabling them access to protection, quality education and healthcare services, a healthy environment, livelihood opportunities, and participation in decisions which affect their lives.

Plan India is a member of the Plan International Federation, an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances girls’ rights and equality for girls. Plan International is active in more than 70 countries.

About Metso India Pvt. Ltd.

Since its inception in India in 1992, Metso has evolved hand in hand with its customers, introducing innovations and services, and at the same time making large-scale investments in its assets across the country. Metso was the first Nordic company to set up a wholly owned subsidiary in India.

We have over 7 regional offices, 4 manufacturing units and 40+ service locations in India. With 1300+ committed employees and 150+ service professionals we provide our customers with world-leading products and services. Headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana the regional offices are located in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata and Chennai along with manufacturing units in Alwar (Rajasthan), Dombivli & Ambernath (Maharashtra), two foundry in Vadodra and Ahmedabad (Gujarat) and two Authorised Repair Facilities (ARF) in Bangalore and Faridabad. We also have a global engineering centre in India performing equipment & systems engineering for local and global needs.

About Eicher Group Foundation

Eicher Group Foundation is a Private incorporated on 19 November 2015. It is classified as Non-govt company and is registered at Registrar of Companies, Delhi. Its authorized share capital is Rs. 500,000 and its paid-up capital is Rs. 500,000. It is involved in Business activities n.e.c.

Eicher Group Foundation’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) was last held on 22 April 2019 and as per records from Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), its balance sheet was last filed on 31 March 2019.

The Novel Coronavirus ¹ (COVID-19) outbreak, which has now been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation, has alarmed health officials in India, following a spike in new cases being reported from several States over the past few days.

More than 210 countries have reported cases of COVID-19 ¹. Globally, there are now over 3,349,786 confirmed cases and over 238,628 COVID-19 related deaths ². As the virus continues to spread, affected countries are implementing a range of measures to contain the further transmission, including travel restrictions and quarantine. In India, there are 29,453 confirmed cases of COVID-19, as per Ministry of Health and Family Welfare ³.

As a leading child rights organisation striving to advance equality for girls and young women, Plan India is closely monitoring the evolving situation and is following all public health guidelines issued by the Government of India. Also, the organisation is working towards spreading awareness and is encouraging children, youth and women to take necessary preventive measures through hand hygiene and social distancing, to keep themselves
protected from the virus.

At the workplace, the work-from-home policy for staff members has been put into effect immediately, to encourage social isolation, thereby reducing the risk of social contact and curb the spread of COVID-19. Additionally, Plan management has cancelled all interstate and international travel for its staff members. This policy is effective until 10 May 2020.

As part of programming, Plan India has decided to not conduct group meetings with children, youth, women and other citizens. As of today, there are no cases of COVID-19 reported from its communities, and field operations have remained unaffected so far. With support from its partner NGOs, the situation is being monitored consistently at the community level and they are being made aware to keep personal hygiene and regular use of soaps and sanitisers as part of precautionary measures. Plan India’s field staff are also ensuring that citizens have the right information about COVID-19 so that they know when they are required to seek medical help.

A technical and go-to ‘Quick Response Team’ (QRT) is also set up, to be the first point of contact for an emergency situation; to monitor the situation; to take immediate decisions; and manage any situation that might emerge.

For further advice and media guidance, please contact:
Shompa Mahanty, Manager, Media & PR: shompa.mohanty@planindia.org
(Mobile: 9899414178)

Pinky Pradhan, Director, Marketing & Communications: pinky.pradhan@planindia.org
(Mobile:9810788435)

1 & 2 https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/situation-reports
3 https://www.mohfw.gov.in/

Last Updated: May 4, 2020

Hyderabad, January 29, 2020: Over 130 children from across 10 states will come together to participate, to express their dream, aspirations and ideas on gender equality as Plan India hosts its second edition of National Children Literary Festival in Hyderabad from 29th-31st January, 2020. The festival aims at providing children with a platform for child-led advocacy with educationists, policy makers, teachers, writers, story-tellers, and publishers to promote quality education, joyful classroom learning and gender equality in children’s literature.

Given the steady decline in children’s reading habits and the fact that most children’s books and literature are seen as propagating gender and other social stereotypes, the three-day literary festival would also provide a platform for children, teachers, educationists and authors to influence and advocate with key stakeholders to publish low cost, gender-sensitive and socially inclusive children’s books and stories.

Children Literary festival (CLF) is Plan India’s initiative to encourage children to rediscover the joy of reading and reimaging gender in children’s literature, including textbooks, stories and imagery. As the first of its kind in the city, the literary festival for children will provide an excellent avenue for creativity, imagination and joyful exchange of ideas between children from different states. Additionally, there will be about 100 delegates representing key stakeholder groups including development workers, storytellers, children’s book publishers, teachers, educationalists and policy makers.

Plan India is supporting NITI Aayog’s ongoing efforts to bring in an overall transformation of the districts leading to the rise of India in the Human Development Index ranking as well as Sustainable Development Goals. Therefore until 2020, Plan India as part of the SoI commits its support through technical and thematic assistance, assessing and building the capacity of the stakeholders, aiding in the monitoring of the implementation of the district level action plans and engaging the civil society to steer issue-based research.

Since last two months, over 100,000 children from ten Plan India states participated in the regional and state level editions including Bihar, Delhi, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttrakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana where they read schoolbooks, newspapers, poetry and stories to their peers, teachers and parents, enhancing their interest in reading and improving the quality of their education. Storytelling and writing chaupals (community spaces) enabled children to write gender positive and gender transformative stories. Workshops were also conducted at multiple levels on gender sensitisation, communication for development and media tools and techniques (e.g. writing, arts, comics, photography) to help children address development issues in their families, schools, villages and communities.

Speaking at the event, Mohammed Asif, Executive Director, Plan India said, “We are happy to see the participation and enthusiasm of the children from different states. Coinciding with the five years of government’s flagship initiative Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, this year’s Children Literary Festival aims at promoting interest in reading and generating awareness around gender stereotypes. We hope to help children identify, on their own, the gender representation in what they read. By means of the Children’s Literary Festival, we hope to train girls and boys to be able change the way gender is portrayed in books and create a gender-neutral world, expressing the same by various other forms of art.”

Sharing her experience on the National workshop, Preeti, a member of Plan India’s Children’s Club, said “I was not at all familiar with the terms gender equality and inclusion, but during the workshop, I got an understanding and now will promote it in our monthly meetings with children. I also learned the value of reading. I wish that there could be many more interesting books in my school library which will benefit both boys and girls.”

This year’s CLF at Hyderabad will enable and engage children to learn about gender equality and the significance of playing the central role in ensuring that girls and boys are equally able to learn, lead, decide and thrive. The Festival will promote quality education with a focussed approach to understanding the importance of gender equality, how to bring gender transformation and the appropriate representation of girls and young women.

The children will be encouraged to use creative media tools like story writing, drawing, painting, singing, theatre, pottery, etc. to create awareness around the issue. They will present their ideas of establishing gender equality in their communities using audio-visual presentation, and exploring traditional art forms like folk art, folk songs, drama, and poems, writing, story-telling and more. The writings of children from the First Edition of CLF held in Lucknow in 2018 will also be released.

In the first-year edition of the CLF, children celebrated gender equality at schools and several block levels during which they actively participated in reading, internalising the gender concept and learnt to communicate their thoughts through ‘Gender, Creative Writing and Art’ workshops.

The most commonly used tools were story writing, drawing, painting, and puppetry – different types of puppets, folk art, folk songs, drama, and poems. This year, a few other tools will be explored that include audio visuals, photos, collages, and comic strips to name a few. This will help them craft their expressions in the form of their dreams and aspirations for themselves, their family, home, school and community and beyond.

About Plan India

Plan India is a nationally registered NGO striving to advance children’s rights and equality for girls, thus creating a lasting impact in the lives of vulnerable and excluded children and their communities.

Since 1979, Plan India and its NGO partners have improved the lives of millions of children and young people by enabling them access to protection, quality education and healthcare services, a healthy environment, livelihood opportunities and participation in decisions which affect their lives.

Plan India is a member of the Plan International Federation, an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. Plan International is active in more than 70 countries.

Ahmednagar and Puducherry: Power management company Eaton today announced the launch of its ‘Adopt a School’ programme in association with Plan India in the Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra and Puducherry. This programme ensures that underprivileged children from the adopted schools will have access to quality education through safe and joyful learning environment in the school and have provision of adequate water and sanitation facilities for students in schools.

Commenting on the programme, Ashish Kapoor, Director – HR, Eaton, India, says, “With our commitment to improve the quality of life and environment, we kick started the ground work of ‘Adopt a School’ programme in the first quarter of 2019. Through our partnership with Plan India we aim to empower these 20 schools in peri-urban and urban blocks of Puducherry & Ahmednagar District by providing them the support and resources required for all round development of children in these schools. I am confident that Eaton, in association with our experienced partner Plan India will bring in a tangible and sustainable change though this initiative and make the communities stronger.”

Further talking about the programme, he adds, “With this programme, we aim to help children to have smooth transition from childhood to adulthood with knowledge, skills and wisdom and further help themselves, their families, and their communities move forward. We expect the project to span over 3 years, till June 2022.”

Mohammed Asif, Executive Director, Plan India says “Through this programme our focus would be to develop a safe child-friendly environment for 10,000 children studying till secondary level and provide them an equal opportunities for learning. We will also engage and encourage parents to participate in the overall development of children and the school.

“We are thankful to Eaton for the partnership and the commitment to improve the quality of education in our country. He added.”

In this programme, Eaton plans to support key developments in the school like building child friendly class room, remedial classes to promote age appropriate learning level, sports capabilities, low cost science labs, well equipped libraries, safe drinking water and basic hygiene and sanitation by upgrading toilet facilities.

This project will also indirectly benefit to more than 50,000 adults and children through community engagement process for awareness on Rights to Education (RtE) and School Management Committee (SMC). Remedial classes would be specially designed to help such children to clear the basics conceptual issues so that they get mainstreamed in the education system. Special focus will be given to girl children. Further, children of 20 targeted schools will be trained, guided and supported to demonstrate leadership in Bal Panchayat (Children Parliament), as per the guideline of RtE, which will help these children to be an active and responsible citizen in the society. Additionally, with this programme, the project aims to engage with parents and community to build awareness on Rights to Education (RtE) and empower School Management Committee (SMC).

About Eaton
Eaton is a power management company with 2018 sales of $21.6 billion. Its energy-efficient solutions help customers effectively manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power more reliably, safely and sustainably. The company is dedicated to improving the quality of life and the environment through the use of power management technologies and services. Eaton employs 1, 00,000 people worldwide and sells products to customers in more than 175 countries. For more information, visit Eaton.com.

Eaton entered India in 1999 through the global acquisition of Aeroquip Vickers. India today forms a key part of Eaton’s overall business strategy with continued expansion of the company’s manufacturing, marketing, engineering and services footprint in the country over the last two decades. With 5500+ employees, 8 manufacturing sites, presence in 19 key locations, two decades of proven capabilities and customer engagements, Eaton is uniquely positioned to play a distinct part in India’s ongoing growth story. Eaton’s India Professional Services Center’s spectrum of capabilities from a single integrated facility in Pune is enabling Eaton globally to innovate, continuously enhance efficiencies, make effective decisions, strengthen customer focus and create value and competitive advantage by engaging diverse skill-sets of over 2000 employees. The Eaton India Innovation Center in Pune, with its 1900+ strong engineering workforce is driving cutting-edge R&D projects for all of Eaton’s global businesses. Eaton has opened its first Aerospace manufacturing facility in Bangalore, India.

About Plan India
Plan India is a nationally registered not for profit organisation striving to advance children’s rights and equality for girls, thus creating a lasting impact in the lives of vulnerable and excluded children and their communities.

Since 1979, Plan India and its partners have improved the lives of millions of children and young people by enabling them access to protection, quality education and healthcare services, a healthy environment, livelihood opportunities and participation in decisions which affect their lives. Plan India is a member of the Plan International Federation, an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. Plan International is active in more than 70 countries.

In past Plan has worked with more than 3,000 schools (both Government and Government Aided Private Schools) through various programme namely School Improvement Programme (SIP), School WASH Programme (SWP), Project on Implementation of Right to Education Act in Mumbai, Quality and Holistic Education Programme, Support My School Campaign (SMS), Swachha Bharat Swaccha Vidyalaya (SBSV) initiatives benefiting one million children in the age group of 3-18 years across 3,000 villages and urban wards / slums

New Delhi, December 18, 2019: Plan India, a not for profit organisation striving to advance children’s rights and equality for girls, announced today the appointment of Mr Mohammed Asif as the Executive Director.

On his appointment, Ms. Rathi Vinay Jha, Chairperson, Plan India Board said, “With his extensive experience of over 20 years in the Development and Humanitarian sectors, the Plan India Board is completely assured that under Asif’s able leadership the organisation will continue to advance the ambitious mandate of impacting the lives of 10 million girls so that they can realise their full potential to learn, lead, decide and thrive.”

Asif joined Plan India in 2006 and took on a national role as Director, Programme Implementation in 2009. Over the past decade, he has ensured the successful implementation of over 500 development projects across India, with an aggregate budget of USD 250 million in partnership with more than 100 grassroots NGOs. Among other successes, the Saksham project for youth economic empowerment has transformed the lives of over 80,000 young women and men. He has been an active member of several working groups within Plan International and is the global Chair of Plan’s National Office Programme Directors Network. Prior to Plan India, Asif served with ActionAid International India and the Indian Social Institute.

Plan India is a nationally registered not for profit organisation striving to advance children’s rights  and equality for girls, thus creating a lasting impact in the lives of vulnerable and excluded children and their communities. Since 1979, Plan India and its partners have improved the lives of millions of children and young people by enabling them access to protection, quality education and healthcare services, a healthy environment, livelihood opportunities and participation in decisions which affect their lives.

Mumbai,17th October 2019: Palladium, Mumbai’s unrivalled luxury and lifestyle destination that personifies elegance with a gamut of retail offerings, restaurants, cafes, and spas for shoppers to indulge in, is celebrating its tenth anniversary. Open to consumers since 2009, Palladium offers an eclectic mix of high street and luxury brands.

Palladium Mall has been the purveyor of luxury right since its inception and have completed a decade this year. A decade of retail supremacy, novel experiences, art, gourmand experiences and exciting offers has pinned Palladium as the leader on the shopping and retail forefront. Customer satisfaction being the paramount of Palladium’s existence, it is always offering new experiences and luxury brands for customers to shop from. From housing high street brands like H&M, Zara to high street luxury like Michael Kors to the ultimate in luxury- Burberry, Tods, Gucci, Jimmy Choo, Palladium always ups the ante. Besides brands to shop from, Palladium has touted itself as a gourmand destination and boasts of a variety of restaurants, dine-ins and bars.

Gayatri Ruia, Director, Phoenix Mills, has been keenly involved in the curation of the experiences at the mall and art has been her forte. Owing to this, Palladium has redefined the art and culture scene in the city and revamped the entire landscape. Commenting on this ten-year journey of Palladium, Gayatri Ruia, Director, Phoenix Mills said “This 10-year journey with Palladium has been extremely close to my heart. Seeing it build brick by brick to now brand by brand, we have come a long way and will continue to delight our customer in every possible way. We want to thank our customers for making Palladium, their go to shopping destination.”

Besides the enviable location, Palladium has always worked unremittingly to offer unsurpassed customer experience. With a hands-on team focusing only on incredible customer experience, Palladium’s extensive marketing calendar covers all the pivots- food, shopping, entertainment, events to cater to the varied consumer needs. Setting the perfect example of “Retail-tainment”, Palladium has redefined Shopping Malls.

As one of the many efforts of Palladium to give back to the society, a percentage of their total sale proceeds on September 26th was donated to Plan India, a nationally registered not for profit organisation striving to advance children’s rights and equality for girls, thus creating a lasting impact on the lives of vulnerable and excluded children and their communities. Building on efforts over the past forty years, Plan India impacts the lives of 10 million girls and young women though its’ on- ground programmes and outreach. The cheque was given away by Bollywood actresses Tapasee Pannu & Bhumi Pednekar at the mall. Apart from this, the actresses also interacted with the girls from Plan’s community and posed for pictures as part of Plan India’s #GirlsGetEqualChallenge – a call to support girls rights and equality.

Commenting on their association, Pinky Pradhan, Director, Marketing & Communications, Plan India, said “Marking a decade in the business, Palladium’s coming forward to support Plan India is a great example of solidarity towards supporting the issue of girls’ leadership and rights. Girls and young women continue to be a critically marginalised section of society simply because they are young and female. They are often denied their right to education, engage actively and equally in society, take important decisions about their future and their physical body and protection from gender based violence. As part of its efforts to positively change the situation which girls find themselves in, Plan India works towards a youth-led global movement for girl’s rights through the economic, political and social empowerment of girls and young women.”

Plan India welcomes this gesture and association. We are certain that Palladium’s further association will help us mark relevant change in the field of girls and women empowerment and equal opportunities for all. The funds will be utilised to strengthen the ongoing projects and programmes of Plan India.

“Saand Ki Aankh”, a Tapsee Pannu & Bhumi Pednekar starrer, is an upcoming movie which also emphasizes on girls and women empowerment. Trailer of the movie was played at the event. Commenting on the brand Palladium and its offerings, Mr. Rajendra Kalkar, President (West), The Phoenix Mills Limited said, “Palladium, as a destination always offers something special and engaging for our customers. With years of inundated love and support from our customers, we only want to amplify customer experience and satisfaction, driving us to incessantly work towards creating new experiences, brands and events. We hope to please our consumers as 360-degree one stop shop-fashion, food and festive events.”

Palladium, India’s first and only true lifestyle destination strategically located at High Street Phoenix, Lower Parel, Mumbai presents an environment that spells refined elegance, while shoppers soak in the retail offerings, restaurants, cafes, spas and more! Promoted by Atul Ruia, Managing Director, The Phoenix Mills Ltd, India’s premier retail-led (a mixed-used development company), Palladium has redefined the experience of shopping for the high street and luxury labels as well as fine dining & entertainment, under one roof.

Mumbai, October 13, 2019: Pledging to rally support and action for girls’ rights on the eve of International Day of the Girl, on 11th October, Plan India launched the Girls Get Equal Challenge on social media. Prominent Bollywood celebrities took the challenge, in a show of solidarity and support for equal power, freedom and representation of girls and young women. Given the circumstances of girls and women in India, and the advent of digital media for public mobilisation, the Digital Challenge is all about creating awareness on social media channels about girls’ rights.

In view of their immense popularity and relevance in their field and beyond, there could not be better faces than that of celebrated personalities such as Anil Kapoor, Soha Ali Khan, Zareen Khan, Dia Mirza and Neha Dhupia, among others, to create an impact and share their views on why Girls MUST Get Equal. The challenge was held across Twitter and Instagram. Taking the challenge, Anil Kapoor who was also last year’s ambassador to Plan India’s initiative on International Day of the Girl said, “Equality cannot wait & I am taking the #GirlsGetEqualChallenge with Plan_India.” He nominated Neha Dhupia to take the challenge, who later shared a post sporting the ‘=’ sign. She posted, “Women are power houses and are lesser to none. They are storming new bastions each day and are surpassing all stereotypes.” Former Miss Asia Pacific, Dia Mirza, donned the sign too. She tweeted, “I am all for #GirlsGetEqualChallenge with Plan_India because until girls are equally represented & take decisions that impact them, gender equality will not be achieved.”

This three-month long initiative will give a platform for call to action for change and equality. The #GirlsGetEqual Challenge on social media is an equal sign on the face with a message on why they think that it’s time for girls to get equal. The ‘=’ sign is the campaign signage and signifies the call-in support for the girls’ right movement. The challenge was posed to drive visibility and conversation around Girls Get Equal campaign.

Girls Get Equal is the global campaign demanding power, freedom and representation for girls and young women. The target is to achieve a world free from discrimination, harassment and violence. Plan India hopes to create a world where one sees and hears girls equally in the corridors of power. Girls Get Equal is campaigning in support of girls’ power, voice, participation and leadership in over 60 countries. The girls’ rights movement is changing our world, but girls can’t achieve equality alone, they need the world to come together.

Speaking on the digital initiative, Plan India’s Executive Director, Anuja Bansal said, “Gender inequality is happening worldwide and there is a strong need to break stereotypes and tear down barriers of discrimination that hold girls back. We are grateful to all the celebrities who have come forward and are sharing their power to bring the spotlight on girls’ rights and the need to act on it. Empowering girls and women and showcasing their potential is the need of the hour and social media is a fitting platform to make girls’ voices heard.”

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Achieving gender equality is one of the Global Goals (SDG 5) agreed upon by world leaders in 2015, which promises to transform the world by 2030. But girls everywhere are undervalued, undermined and underestimated. Girls Get Equal is one of the world’s biggest campaigns co-created with girls and young women themselves. Girls Get Equal is about ensuring every girl and young woman has power over her own life and can shape the world around her.

Steps to participate in the Girls Get Equal Challenge:

Step 1: Click a photo with the = to sign on your face. The = sign can be created using two fingers on your face or using blue colour.

Step 2: Write a message using the hashtag #GirlsGetEqualChallenge and tagging Plan India.

Step 3: Upload on Twitter tagging three more people to take the challenge. And you are done!

Other celebrities who also donned the ‘=’ sign for the challenge:

• Soundarya Sharma : https://twitter.com/soundarya_20/status/1182703180901056512
• Ahana Kumra : https://twitter.com/AahanaKumra/status/1182914444252372992
• Randeep Rai : https://twitter.com/irandeeprai/status/1182552012904230912
• Pragya Vats : https://twitter.com/pragyavats/status/1182967995917725696
• Mini Mathur: https://twitter.com/minimathur/status/1183058489146368000
• Miss Malini: https://twitter.com/MissMalini/status/1183083391584894976
• Shruti Seth: https://twitter.com/SethShruti/status/1183229657149136897
• Gul Panag: https://twitter.com/GulPanag/status/1183293483009708035

Plan India

Plan India is a nationally registered not for profit organisation striving to advance children’s rights and equality for girls, thus creating a lasting impact in the lives of vulnerable and excluded children and their communities. Since 1979, Plan India and its partners have improved the lives of millions of children and young people by enabling them access to protection, quality education and healthcare services, a healthy environment, livelihood opportunities and participation in decisions which affect their lives.
Plan India is a member of the Plan International Federation, an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. Plan International is active in more than 70 countries.

Media Contact:

Ayushi Anand | ayushi.anand@edelman.com | +919582535851

New Delhi, October 11, 2019: Plan India’s Girl Changemakers from 10 states in India stepped into the roles of Ambassadors and High Commissioners from 22 Diplomatic Missions today to mark the International Day of the Girl Child (IDG). The IDG Diplomatic Missions takeovers is a multi-stakeholder collaboration between Plan India and the Delegation of the European Union to India, actively supported by the participating Diplomatic Missions from Australia, Belgium, Slovakia, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Norway, Estonia, Finland, New Zealand, Germany, Israel, Poland, Slovenia, Mexico, Lithuania, Latvia, Ecuador, Sweden, Bulgaria, Argentina and Switzerland. This is the third year that Plan India and Diplomatic Missions have partnered for IDG – a UN-declared international observance day to support greater opportunities for girls and awareness of gender discrimination they endure worldwide.

Taking senior positions reinforced the need to provide equal opportunities for girls and young women to demonstrate their potential to make decisions and ensure that all girls can ‘Learn’, ‘Lead’, ‘Decide’ and ‘Thrive’ in a healthy, happy and safe environment, and that their voices are heard, and problems are addressed.
The Girl Changemakers are from Plan-supported communities, representing 10 Indian states: Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Odisha, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan and Jharkhand. Selected based on detailed analysis of their leadership abilities and commitment towards achieving girls’ rights in their community, they bring forth their stories of courage and their unequivocal commitment to the larger movement of girls’ rights and leadership. On the occasion, girls were provided an opportunity to share their unique perspectives at the national level, and actively participate in the day-to-day operations of Embassies and High Commissioners.

The Takeovers also extended to corporates, government offices, media and local governance bodies. Girl Changemakers from communities supported by Plan India took over 270 Gram Panchayats across the nation. This initiative brought attention to the need to ensure equal power, freedom and representation for girls and women. Through these takeovers, the Girl Changemakers asserted their rights to be heard and seen.

Every year, on 11th October, girls from Plan-supported communities take over positions of power and significance, demonstrating their potential to lead the way into the future championing girls’ voice, power and leadership to achieve gender under the ‘Girls Get Equal’ campaign which is a bold new global initiative that calls for increased investment in girls’ power, activism and leadership. As part of the takeovers today, Plan India and the Diplomatic Missions also initiated a digital pledge. The pledge serves as a call to action for the audience that is encouraged to show support for the cause by pledging to do their part so that #GirlsGetEqual.

Mr. Ugo Astuto, Ambassador of the European Union to India speaking on behalf of all the 22 Diplomatic Missions said, “Gender equality is both a matter of justice and a smart investment towards a more equitable and inclusive society. The European Union is a strong supporter of Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality and women empowerment. We work closely with India and other partners around the world to foster equal opportunities for women and girls. I hope that the takeovers will help to break stereotypes and to encourage girls to follow their dreams, to lead and to realise their full potential”

Ms. Anuja Bansal, Executive Director, Plan India, said, “Gender inequality is a global issue that affects men and women in every country. Opportunities for girls and young women to be heard at a high level are few and far between. They are vastly underrepresented in leadership roles across the globe. Girls’ Takeovers provide an opportunity for girls and young women to step up to take positions of power and speak for themselves and the changes they want to see. The platform is an opportunity to highlight significant issues in their communities in a meaningful way with a view to create real change.

We hope to ensure that young women feel that they are represented and what they have to say truly matters. It also encourages girls to find confidence in their own abilities – to envision themselves rightfully as future leaders”, she added.

Girl Changemaker Jyothi, from Telangana, who had the opportunity to be part of this initiative said, “Lack of awareness among parents and community on child related issues is one of the major gaps in achieving equal opportunities.” As Youth Advocate for Girls Advocacy Alliance, a Plan India Initiative, she believes that equal opportunities are essential to reduce gender disparity. She focusses on issues concerning girls in multiple forums. She further said, “My experience during the Embassy of Switzerland takeover has helped me understand that the world is so much beyond what we already know or have access to and understand. I am grateful to Plan India for giving me the opportunity and will go back even more motivated to work towards the cause and empower girls in my community.”

Girl Changemaker Ruby from Delhi took over as Radio Jockey for Radio City said, “It was a great experience to take over the role of RJ Ginnie.” As a Champion of Change from Plan India’s Safer Cities for Girls programme that works to build safer and inclusive cities for girls and young women, she believes that engaging adolescents is the best way to bring about lasting change.

Globally, Girls Takeovers took place across 60 countries with over 1,000 girls taking charge. Girls took over and broke stereotypes by taking significant positions and voicing their opinions against discrimination, harassment and inequality. The Girl Changemakers, unanimously, sent out a strong message on the urgent need for girls and young women to have equal rights to education, health, socio-economic and political participation. They also called upon their peers and those in power to raise their voice to support girls ‘rights.
Achieving gender equality is one of the Global Goals (SDG 5) agreed upon by world leaders in 2015, which promises to transform the world by 2030. It is time for equal, fair and just world. Initiatives like the Girls’ Takeover by Plan India that are aligned with SDG 5, envision a gender-equal world free from discrimination, harassment and violence.

1 UNDP Human Development Indices and Indicators – 2018 Statistical update ; 2 UNDP Human Development Indices and Indicators – 2018 Statistical update; 3 National Family Health Survey IV;4 Niti Ayog SDG India Index baseline 2018 report

Editor’s Note

Plan India

Plan India is a nationally registered not for profit organisation striving to advance children’s rights and equality for girls, thus creating a lasting impact in the lives of vulnerable and excluded children and their communities. Since 1979, Plan India and its partners have improved the lives of millions of children and young people by enabling them access to protection, quality education and healthcare services, a healthy environment, livelihood opportunities and participation in decisions which affect their lives.

Plan India is a member of the Plan International Federation, an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. Plan International is active in more than 70 countries.

Girls Get Equal

Girls Get Equal is the global campaign supported by Plan International, championing girls’ voice, power and leadership to achieve gender equality. We are demanding equal power, freedom and representation for girls and young women. Launched in 64 countries and counting, Girls Get Equal is about ensuring every girl and young woman has power over her own life and can shape the world around her.

Delegation of European Union to India

For over 55 years, the EU and India have worked together to reduce poverty, prevent disasters, expand trade, and promote joint research and innovation, amongst others in areas of water, health, energy and societal challenges in general. More information at: http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/india
The EU is deeply committed to the implementation of all SDGs not only in Europe and India but all over the world, and the EU is working actively with various partners, including the Indian government, to achieve the SDGs globally and locally. SDG 5 on gender equality and women’s empowerment is particularly critical for the EU and for India. Amongst various projects and initiatives, the EU delegation to India has been participating in Girls’ Takeovers with Plan India since 2016.

New Delhi, August 09, 2019: Plan India, a not for profit organisation striving to advance children’s rights and equality for girls, today announced the winners of the third edition of Plan India Impact Awards. The Awards, nationally, acknowledge and celebrate outstanding contributions of the grassroots workers who are at the forefront of helping local communities to bring positive and sustainable change.

Building on the success of previous two editions, the Plan India Impact Awards 2019 reinforced some of the key learnings and saw active, meaningful participation from more than 190+ NGOs partners, enlisting nominations across 21 states. They were shortlisted through a process oriented third party nominations, stringent review and selection which included Regional Jury deliberations and finally the National Jury selection, leading to the winners in eight categories: Anganwadi Worker, Accredited Social Health Activist/Auxiliary Nurse Midwife, Community Volunteer, Outreach Worker, Youth Champion for Girls’ Rights – Male & Female and Best Child Welfare Committee (Urban & Rural).

Anuja Bansal, Executive Director, Plan India said, “Since inception i.e. 2017, the Plan India Impact Awards have recognised exceptional functionaries who have gone beyond their call of duty while ensuring last mile delivery of critical services and long lasting change in their community. This year, the scale and scope of the Awards has been further widened to encourage nominations from across the country and recognise the exemplary contributions of frontline workers and volunteers. It is their inspiring work that has given us confidence and encouragement to seek greater participation and we hope to continue and be able to tell even more powerful stories of change in the coming years.”

Shabana Azmi, National Award-winning Actress and Philanthropist, who was also the guest of honour for the event, gave away the awards to the winners. Commenting on the occasion, she said, “My third year with Plan India Impact Awards has been very enlightening and a heart-warming experience. The awards were instituted to nationally acknowledge and celebrate outstanding contributions of grassroots workers who are at the forefront of helping local communities to bring positive and sustainable change. This recognition has not only gone a long way in providing these last mile champions, with an impetus to continue in their efforts but also inspire many others, to follow, join hands, strengthen communities and bring about real, measurable, change.”

Other delegates who were present at the event included Rathi Vinay Jha, Chairperson, Plan India Board, Mr Kamal Singh, Executive Director, United Nations Global Compact; Ravi Bhatnagar, Director, External Affairs and Partnerships Africa, Middle East , South Asia at Reckitt Benckiser and Shailendra Singh, Vice President, EXL Services. The event also hosted a panel discussion on Youth Action for Achievement of SDGs by 2030 that saw some of the renowned names in the industry exchange opinions.

Winner in the Anganwadi Worker category, Ms. R Sundari from Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, who has spent seven years of her life focusing on enabling community wellbeing, said, “This award is an example of the fact that our work doesn’t go unnoticed and that is motivation enough for us to continue our efforts. Let us look beyond caste and gender lines and do all that we can to promote health and well-being for children, women and adolescent girls.”

On receiving the award in the Youth Champion for Girls’ Rights – Malecategory, Mr. Prafull, from Mumbai, Maharashtra, who strives towards educating under-served children, using a hands-on curriculum, nutrition, mental health and family care initiatives, said, “I firmly believe that Education shouldn’t come at a cost. It’s truly disheartening to know that so many underprivileged girls don’t have access to education and many families prefer to send their boy child to school. I consider it as my duty to provide a level-playing field for girls. Compassion doesn’t favour a gender, after all.”

Amongst other categories, from Odisha, Ms. Padmabati Naik was awarded for her contribution as an Accredited Social Health Activist/Auxiliary Nurse Midwife. Amruth Rao and Committee Members were awarded in the Best Child Welfare Committee (Rural). Volunteers from Maharashtra bagged the maximum awards across categories: Vijay Diapode and Committee Members, from Mumbai for The Best Child Welfare Committee (Urban), Alka Gujnal from Pune was awarded for her contribution as Community Volunteer. Additionally, Mohammed Taher from Telangana won for his contribution in the Outreach Worker category; Yogendra Pathak as the Field Officer from Agra and Sarathi was awarded for her contributions in the Youth Champion for Girls’ Rights – Female category.

About Plan India Impact Awards

The Plan India Impact Awards is a one of a kind platform in India that recognises and awards exemplary work of grassroots champions who have battled numerous challenges in their lives to bring a change in the society. Instituted in 2017, Plan India Impact Awards are now an annual recognition of positive contribution of community frontline workers and volunteers.

New Delhi, 03rd May, 2019: Plan India is poised to respond to Cyclone FANI, which made landfall today in coastal Odisha with wind speeds recorded at 200km per hour. The cyclone categorized as an ‘extremely severe cyclonic storm’ by the Indian Met Department has been building up in the Bay of Bengal. As per the government reports, the eastern coastal states are at risk, including Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.

As part of the emergency response management, Plan India will focus its relief work in the worst affected areas of Puri across four coastal blocks of Konark, Brahmagiri, Gop and Krushnaprasad. Humanitarian aid will be provided to around 25,000 person. The aid will include food and non-food items in these areas. 2000 children from these affected families would be provided with education kits to help them get back to schools. In the past, from the year 2000-2009 Plan India has implemented large scale impact programmes in these areas.

Post relief work, Plan India will align its focus in rebuilding the lives of the affected community members. The aim is to provide support to 5000 families to overcome the immediate distress caused by the disaster. This will include shelter rebuilding, providing access to basic households such as furniture and utensils; clothing and books among others. Special focus will be given on catering to the needs of the children in the form of creating child friendly spaces and re-opening of educational institutions.

Ashok Seth, Official Spokesperson, Plan India said, “We are closely monitoring the situation and stand in solidarity with Odisha. We are, in collaboration with our partner NGOs and volunteers, actively assessing the situation and developing our response. Over the many decades, Plan India has been at the forefront of providing emergency response, and while doing so, the safety, well-being and interest of the children particularly of the girl child, features as one of the topmost priorities for us.

Plan India has positioned a team of 15 trained humanitarian staff in areas where the cyclone is expected to make landfall. The trained resources would make a quick assessment in the aftermath so that a timely and fitting response could be ensured.

Plan India has responded to Cyclone Phailin in Odisha in 2013 and helped in rebuilding the lives of over 20,000 Cyclone affected families in Ganjam, Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar district.

Plan India has been working in India since 1979, and has been responding to natural disasters, while continuing it’s work with children and their families to prepare for disasters to reduce risks and save lives. Since last four decades, Plan India has supported children, families and communities to access basic rights like education, proper healthcare, a healthy environment, protection and livelihood opportunities. Plan India currently works in 24 states with 5,400 communities and has touched the lives of over a million children and their families.

For further information please contact:

Pinky Pradhan, Director, Marketing and Communications

Email: pinky.pradhan@planindia.org

Shompa Mohanty, Manager, Media and PR

Email: shompa.mohanty@planindia.org