Indian Oil CSR: Sports coaching program extended to 17 prisons in 10 states

New Delhi: Indian Oil has extended its 'Parivartan – Prison to Pride' CSR initiative, to train inmates in select sports, to 17 prisons across ten states. The initiative was inaugurated in a physical event held at Tihar Jail in New Delhi and virtually at eight locations by Indian Oil Chairman Shrikant Madhav to coincide with Gandhi Jayanti celebrations. Simultaneously, the coaching camp went underway at another eight locations.

The Parivartan initiative aims to help prison inmates build a better life, boost the participants' self-esteem and confidence. The program will help inmates overcome the stigma associated with imprisonment and aid in smooth reintegration into society upon release. In the second phase, Indian Oil, in coordination with the Prisons Department of the respective state police, will facilitate coaching programs in multiple sporting disciplines including basketball, badminton, volleyball, chess, tennis, table tennis, kho-kho, and carrom across prisons in India to help improve the physical and mental well-being of prison inmates, especially during this pandemic period.

During the four-week-long training, over 1,000 inmates in various prisons will be coached in the basics of the sport, enabling them to participate in local competitions, besides recreation. Indian Oil will also provide the equipment and kits to the participants of the program.

Speaking on the occasion, Vaidya said, "Parivartan aims to reach out to the most disadvantaged and vulnerable sections of the society – prison inmates and add joy and health to their lives by inducting them into sports." Thanking the Prison Authorities from all over India for coming forward to collaborate on this special project, Vaidya added, "I am confident that this program would enhance inmates' overall physical health quotient and boost their mental health by helping them tackle depression, stress, and anxiety. Parivartan also aims to facilitate the complete social rehabilitation of the inmates by inculcating strong social values like self-esteem, autonomy and companionship."

The participating prisons in the second phase of Parivartan are Central Jail, Tihar, Delhi; Yerawada Central Jail, Pune; Kolhapur Central Prison; Central Jail, Patiala; Lala Lajapat Rai District and Open Air Jail, Dharamshala; Central Jail, Indore; Central Jail, Bhopal; Central Jail, Ahmedabad; Central Jail, Vadodara; Adarsh Karagar, Lucknow; Central Jail, Varanasi; Naini Central Jail, Prayagraj; Central Jail, Guwahati; Central Jail, Dibrugarh, Central Jail, Dimapur.

International-level sportspersons from Indian Oil will steer the program. The coaches include Manjusha Kanwar (former national champion), Abhinn Shyam Gupta (Arjuna awardee), badminton; Women's Grandmasters Esha Karavade, Soumya Swaminathan & Grandmaster SS Ganguly; tennis player Rushmi Chakravarthi (national champion), TT Arjuna awardee Soumyadeep Roy, and renowned carrom players Yogesh Pardesi, Mohd. Gufran, Kajal Kumari, Ramesh Babu.

In its first phase, Parivartan was launched in Chanchalguda Central Jail (Hyderabad), Puzhal Central Jail (Chennai), Poojapura Central Jail (Trivandrum), Special Jail (Bhubaneshwar), and Circle Jail (Cuttack). The valediction ceremony was also organised at these locations, and participants were provided with a certificate for their successful completion of the program.

Currently, Indian Oil employs prison inmates and people who have finished their prison term as customer attendants at 30 retail outlets in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan.

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