OIL’S COMMITMENT TO SOCIETY AND SUSTAINABILITY

School of Nursing, OIL Hospital: Future nurses gain life-saving skills through hands-on training at OIL’s Duliajan Nursing School

OIL ensures continued support, guiding them toward scholarships to meet IIT expenses, empowering them to build a promising future. The initiative started in 2010-11 and offers coaching for JEE and NEET. Its consistent success inspired OIL to expand to five Assam and Arunachal Pradesh locations and one in Rajasthan. By 2023-24, 1,785 students had enrolled, 1,508 were admitted to engineering colleges, 454 made it to IITs, and 121 out of 230 medical aspirants cleared NEET. The Dibrugarh JEE centre achieved a remarkable milestone in 2024, securing 100% placement.

Established in 1991, the School of Nursing at Oil India Hospital, Duliajan, offers a three-year diploma in General Nursing and Midwifery. Recognised by the Assam Nurses’ Midwives’ and Health Visitors’ Council, Guwahati, and the Indian Nursing Council, New Delhi, the school admits 30 students annually.

Catering to young women who have passed 10+2 (any stream), the institution provides free education alongside free hostel accommodation, medical benefits, uniforms, books, and a monthly stipend throughout their three-year training, internship, and one-year post qualification certificate training at OIL Hospital.

Until now, 416 students have successfully completed their course out of which many are placed in various healthcare centers across the Country.

In response to the rising number of unemployed youths in its operational areas and the national emphasis on skill development, OIL Swabalamban was launched in 2013. This initiative offers placement-linked skill and capacity-building training to young individuals from Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura’s OIL operational areas and beyond. The programme focuses on industry-relevant skill trades and includes certifications by NSDC, Government of India.

OIL Pragyan Super 30 : Engineering aspirants from underserved backgrounds chase IIT dreams with OIL’s free coaching

(OIL Lakshya): Nurturing grassroots talent, OIL Lakshya turns rural passion into professional football training

Alongside trade-specific training, beneficiaries receive holistic preparation for employment through modules on soft skills, personality development, industry safety, computer skills, and English communication, ensuring sustainability in their careers post-placement.

“Our greatest motivation comes from seeing our alumni return as experts, now thriving with global hospitality brands abroad.” Pooja Chetia, student of Hospitality Management at OIL Swabalamban’s training centre at Guwahati.

Since inception, Project OIL Swabalamban had trained 21,507 youth, with 17,655 securing placements in industries across India and abroad. In FY 2023-24, 1,196 youths from Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and Tripura, secured placements.

In line with the Government of India’s Skill Development Mission, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas initiated the establishment of Skill Development Institutes across the country. Skill Development Institute, Guwahati (SDIG), set up by OIL with support from other oil and gas PSUs, focuses on equipping underprivileged youth from Northeast India with employable skills for the hydrocarbon and other sectors.

SDIG, one of only five such institutes nationwide, offers courses approved by the National Council of Vocational Training (NCVT), State Council of Vocational Training (SCVT), and National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF). It offers trades spanning diverse sectors, including hydrocarbons, health, capital goods, tourism and hospitality, and apparel.

“We train students as solar experts, industrial electrician, and industrial welder. Each batch accommodates 90 students, and current batch will be placed with Adani Group, Lumax Industries, and L&T, offering a salary package as per industry norms. So far, more than 3,500 students have been placed in various industrial and service sectors across the Country,” informed Himangshu Kumar Deka, Centre Incharge of SDIG.

As the autumn sun dips below the horizon, a crowd of villagers gathers, their eyes fixed on a spirited football match between two teams of schoolboys. Coaches shout directions, and onlookers cheer fervently, urging the players toward a decisive final goal. Clad in OIL jerseys, the young athletes of the United Chabua Football Club are not just playing a game — they’re competing in the OIL Lakshya Development League.

OIL launched Project OIL Lakshya, a grassroots football development initiative in FY 2021-22. Focused on the districts of Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Charaideo, and Sivasagar, the project addresses a pressing gap -- the lack of professional coaching and infrastructure in rural areas.

The project has provided over 1,800 budding players with professional training by engaging local coaches. These coaches are AIFF-certified, trained and empowered through workshops and renowned professionals. With 37 grassroots football centres, OIL Lakshya has also fostered a community spirit through environmental initiatives such as tree plantations and awareness drives.

The project envisions a future where these young athletes, nurtured from OIL’s operational areas, represent Assam and India, contributing to the nation’s dream of competing in the FIFA World Cup.

When Amiya Pathak Borpujari and Jay Prakash Borpujari struggled to educate their disabled daughter in regular institutions, they took matters into their own hands. Enrolling in courses across the country, they trained themselves to care for and teach children with special needs.

(OIL Sparsha): Bringing quality healthcare to doorsteps, OIL Sparsha has touched over 18.6 lakh lives

At the time, such awareness was minimal, and resources were scarce in Upper Assam. Thus, they founded the Mrinaljyoti Rehabilitation Centre in Duliajan in 1999, an initiative that has since become a lifeline, providing much-needed medical, educational and vocational assistance to children requiring special care with various nature of support received under Project OIL Sakshyam.

Through early detection drives, community-based rehabilitation, counseling, and awareness programmes, it has garnered community support to protect the rights of these children.

Currently supporting more than 1,000 children and persons with disabilities annually, mostly from underprivileged backgrounds, the Centre provides specialized care with support received under OIL’s CSR. Rehabilitation remains challenging, however, as most children need lifelong support. Yet, Mrinaljyoti under Project OIL Sakshyam continues to transform lives through its mission to empower the vulnerable.

Beyond the Duliajan Centre, OIL has played a key role in raising awareness and supporting similar initiatives in Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, and Charaideo districts. Additionally, the Centre, with OIL’s CSR backing, also runs Puspadalum, a vocational learning centre at Mrinaljyoti, trains ASHA workers, Anganwadi staff and nurses, expanding the reach of care and support to children with special needs.

(OIL Asha): At BBCI, OIL Asha supports children battling cancer with nutritious meals and family care

The Mobile Health Care Project – OIL Sparsha -- launched in the 1980s, is a cornerstone of community-based healthcare initiatives. Started under aegis of OIL Hospital, the project over the years has expanded to address the growing healthcare needs across OIL’s operational areas.

The mobile camps provide diagnosis, treatment, lab tests, and free medicines, supported by skilled medical professionals. Alongside healthcare services, OIL Sparsha offers counseling on lifestyle diseases, communicable illnesses, pregnancy care, emphasizing nutrition, regular check-ups, and institutional deliveries. In FY 2023-24, the project conducted 1,186 camps, benefitting 1,13,389 patients. Since FY 2010-11, it has impacted over 18.6 lakh lives through 17,208 camps, reinforcing OIL’s dedication to rural healthcare.

Project OIL Arogya is aimed towards improving maternal and child health amongst marginalised communities, particularly in Assam’s tea gardens. This initiative addresses high infant and maternal mortality rates, which significantly exceed the national average. Through a multi-faceted approach, it focuses on nutrition, sanitation, immunisation, and behaviour change communication to overcome healthcare challenges in rural areas. Nutritional kit distribution camps are organised whereby pregnant women receive a nutrition kit to support their dietary needs. In 11 years, the project has benefited over 1,10,000 individuals.

A woman harvests with a sickle under OIL Jeevika- Assam, a project introducing scientific farming to remote villages

Even today, the stigma surrounding menstruation in India often leads to unsafe and unsanitary practices. Recognising this challenge, Project OIL Shakti was launched in 2020-21 to provide a strategic and innovative solution.

In its first phase, a community-based sanitary napkin production, distribution, and awareness unit was established in Hijuguri, Tinsukia, called the PAHI unit. Managed by peer groups of women, adolescents, and health workers, the unit tackles issues such as access and disposal of pads, limited awareness, and social stigma. The initiative produces biodegradable sanitary napkins while also fostering livelihoods for 15-20 women involved in production, awareness campaigns, and distribution.

In FY 2023-24, two PAHI units under the project produced 48,833 pads, benefiting 5,793 women and adolescent girls, promoting sustainable and impactful change.

Indigenous saplings thrive inside protected enclosures under OIL Vasundhara’s afforestation mission in Upper Dihing Reserved Forest

For Smita Konwar (name changed for purposes of patient confidentiality) of Sivasagar, life took a challenging turn when her nine-year-old son was diagnosed with a brain tumor last year. She and her husband relocated to Guwahati for his treatment at Dr B Barooah Cancer Institute (BBCI), northeast India’s leading cancer care centre with the region’s only pediatric oncology department. The move, however, meant leaving behind their home and livelihood, making survival in a rented flat and managing treatment expenses nearly impossible until OIL Asha stepped in.

Launched at BBCI, the project provides holistic nutritional support to children battling cancer. Expert nutritionists offer personalised counseling and develop individualised nutrition plans. The programme ensures quality in-meal supplementation, hot meals at the hospital with progress monitored via the customised Food Heals application. It also extends monthly ration bundles for families, and educational and emotional support to caregivers and siblings.

In her late 20s, Bornali Gogoi hailing from Sasoni, Naharkatia found her passion for weaving silks under OIL’s CSR project Rupantar. Hailing from a marginalised farming family, her only skill was basic knowledge on weaving. Post her advanced training under the Project, today, she earns up to Rs 25,000 a month, weaving beautiful silk mekhela chadors, stoles, gamusas, etc. at OIL’s Swanirbhar Complex under the Project OIL Rupantar, a significant portion of which she sends home. Her handwoven products have made it to several state and national level exhibitions.

Bornali is one among many skilled women weavers, trained under Project Rupantar to craft exquisite traditional attire as well as value added products made of Muga, Eri & Mulberry silks and cotton. Their creations have found a secure market, with OIL procuring most of their products under its Buy Back Scheme for Corporate Gifting, while also enabling sales beyond the organization through the marketing outlet ‘Aastha’.

At the adjacent OIL’s Centre of Excellence for Handicraft, Handloom and Entrepreneurship, a group of women oversees the unloading of a truck filled with water hyacinth. These women, having completed six months of training in crafting with hyacinth and bamboo, are a part of Shrishti Cooperative Society.

A widely found and naturally grown in the water bodies of Assam, water hyacinth has become a source of empowerment for these women. With training and initial support under OIL’s Centre of Excellence for Handicraft, Handloom and Entrepreneurship, they now collect hyacinth from across Assam to craft lifestyle products like bags, mats, decoratives, and more. This initiative has not only fostered entrepreneurship but also provided income opportunities for those gathering hyacinth from local water bodies.

Both Project OIL Rupantar and Centre of Excellence for Handicraft, Handloom and Entrepreneurship aims to combat unemployment by encouraging entrepreneurship among rural women and youth. Started in the year 2003, Project Rupantar in addition to supporting women weavers had supported self-help groups (SHGs) and joint liability groups ( JLGs) in establishing ventures across agro-based industries, fishery, and organic farming supporting 4676 SHGs/JLGs covering 28,785 families to which OIL had extended subsidy, other financial and material inputs. To enhance the project efforts, Aastha, a marketing outlet in Duliajan, facilitates market access for the products created by these groups. Whereas established in 1984, and upgraded to OIL’s Centre of Excellence for Handicraft, Handloom and Entrepreneurship in 2021 functions in a Hub & Spoke model with the objective of implementing innovative and eco-friendly interventions towards socio-economic empowerment of rural women belonging to OIL’s operational districts, while also promoting indigenous crafts and handlooms of Assam. The Centre over the years has supported more than 2,000 women.

Started in the year 2022-23, OIL Jeevika-Assam is a sustainable livelihood initiative targeting remote communities. The project haws introduced integrated and scientific farming practices in 14 villages of Hapjan and Guijan Development blocks in Tinsukia district, fostering economic resilience and environmental harmony in the four targeted clusters i.e. tea cluster, citrus cluster (Orange and Assam Lemon), spice cluster (Ginger, Turmeric, Black Pepper and Ghost Chilli) and bamboo cluster. A total of 861 households were supported and 217.56 hectares of cultivable land were covered under the various clusters.

Bhupen Gogoi has been growing Kaji Nemu (Assam lemon) for years, but harvests were often disappointing. Thanks to OIL’s intervention, he and his neighbours learned systematic planting and scientific methods. His saplings provided under OIL Jeevika are just taking root, but Gogoi is hopeful for a thriving harvest ahead.

In the neighbouring village, Hiramoni Moran Doya lost her husband during the Covid pandemic. Left with eight bighas of orange cultivation and no direction, she struggled to move forward. With support from OIL’s project, Hiramoni revived the orchard, secured market linkages, and now earns a steady profit.

Her neighbours, introduced to ginger, turmeric and ghost chilli (bhoot jolokia) farming through OIL Jeevika, have also seen remarkable success. Despite climate change impacting traditional methods of cultivation, these new farmers, aided by favorable weather and scientific methods, have achieved a robust harvest and anticipate significant profits in their first year.

On the other hand, farmers of Lengrai and Tengakhat under OIL’s Agriculture Development Project, have received support for Sali (Paddy) and Rabi (Winter vegetables) cultivation. The initiative includes interactive sessions with agricultural experts, covering topics such as commercialization, advanced technologies, and government schemes. HYV seeds (indigenous varieties) and organic manure distribution has further boosted production, while being environmentally conscious. Dalim Gogoi, a beneficiary, notes that since receiving the seeds, manure and guidance from OIL, rice cultivation in his village has significantly increased. Started in the year 1991, Agriculture Development Project has adopted 215 villages under various farmers’ collectives, covering around 33,337 farm families.

Oil India’s CSR Project OIL Vasundhara strives to align with India’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and National Determined Contributions (NDCs). The project focuses on afforestation an d conservation in Assam’s Upper Dihing Reserved Forest. Spanning 100 hectares of degraded forest land, the initiative has introduced 2,50,000 meticulously selected indigenous saplings, including the revered Hollong (State tree of Assam), alongside fruit-bearing, fodder, and medicinal species to create a thriving ecological balance.

The project also fosters alternative livelihoods for forest-dependent communities and raises awareness on biodiversity conservation. A Bambusetum was established to conserve bamboo species, further enriching the area’s flora. OIL Vasundhara exemplifies a harmonious blend of ecological restoration and community engagement, nurturing both nature and livelihoods.

“OIL India, in collaboration with the Government of Assam and the Forest Department, had successfully implemented a scalable and a replicable model”, said T.C. Ranjith Ram, DFO, Digboi Forest Division.

A proud farmer displays his ginger yield—one of the successful spice cluster crops under the Jeevika initiative