Kerala-based NGO Planetearth receives a ₹5 crore grant from the HCL Foundation

Kerala-based NGO Planetearth has found a spot among three NGOs selected by the HCL Foundation for the 2023 edition of its flagship HCL Grant program, which supports pioneering work in sustainable rural development in India.

Three NGOs – Planetearth, Innovators in Health India and Meghshala Trust – each receive ₹5 crore for their projects under the HCL Grant Foundation. This year’s winners were selected from entries from more than 15,000 companies, an 80 percent increase over the previous year.

Since the HCL Grants program began eight years ago, the HCL Foundation has funded over £130 million for NGOs, reaching over 1.8 million beneficiaries in more than 25,000 villages in remote counties in 19 states and two union territories.

water protection

Planetearth was awarded the HCL Grant in the Environment category for its project to conserve water bodies by cleaning oceans of plastic and invasive species such as water hyacinth from ponds and backwaters. At least 170,000 fishermen in 45 villages in Kerala are expected to benefit directly. The project aims to improve the quality of the waters and have a positive impact on the fishermen’s livelihoods.

The world’s oceans, and particularly the coastal waters of Kerala, are polluted with plastic, which is seriously affecting the livelihoods of marine fishermen. The HCL grant is the only way to achieve our goals of helping Kerala’s rural fishermen and preserving the planet, said Sooraj Abraham, Founder of Planatearth.

Other recipients

Innovators in Health (IIH) India received the HCL Grant in the Health category for a universal tuberculosis care project in rural Bihar, while Meghshala received the HCL Grant in the Education category for a technology-enabled teacher capacity building project, with a focus on local languages.

Nidhi Pundhir, Vice President, Global CSR, HCL Foundation said: “HCL Grant works with these NGOs to strengthen their governance and scale their innovative ideas for sustainable rural development. We look forward to working with this year’s selected NGO partners to scale innovative interventions that will drive progress for rural communities.”