Tata Steel has been recognised as the best organisation contributing to sports through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at the FICCI India Sports Awards, 2020.
Tata Steel vice-president Chanakya Chaudhary received the award on behalf of the company at the India Sports Awards ceremony that took place on a virtual platform during ‘TURF’ 2020 -- 10th Global Sports Summit, on December 8.
Sports, which has been an integral part of the company’s philosophy, was traditionalised by its first chairman Sir Dorabji Tata, who financed India’s first Olympic team to Antwerp, Belgium in 1920.
Tata Steel in India promotes sporting activities through its encouragement to professional sportspersons, amateurs and its own employees.
“At Tata Steel, sports is a way of life. Tata Steel’s association with sports dates back nearly a century and is an integral part of its culture. The local community has always been at the core of the sports activities that Tata Steel supports,” Chaudhary said while receiving the award.
“While sports has served as a unique link between Tata Steel’s business and the community outreach, its role in the company’s culture and identity has grown stronger than ever. Through its sports academies and training centres, the company has helped shape some of India’s iconic sporting talents over the years,” the vice-president said.
“We are humbled with this recognition from India Sports Awards and it also re-affirms our commitment towards the development of sports and athletes,” he added.
Six years ago, Tata Steel started the Tata Steel Kolkata 25K, a 25-km run that has a social cause at its heart – supporting the Tata Medical Centre, a cancer hospital in Kolkata. Tata Steel has also organised running events annually in Jamshedpur and Noamundi (in Jharkhand) and Bhubaneswar and Angul (in Odisha). This year, in view of the pandemic, the company organised its first-ever virtual run.
In Jharkhand, it started various sporting academies including the Jamshedpur Athletic Club in 1927, Tata Youth Adventure Centre in 1984, Tata Football Academy in 1987, and Tata Archery Academy in 1996.
The company stepped up to the national level when it established the Tata Athletics Academy in 2004. In 2017, the company for the first time stepped into the commercial side of sports when it started Jamshedpur Football Club which competes in India Super League. In the same year, it also came up with the Naval Tata Hockey Academy.
Besides these academies. Tata Steel has also established training centres for 18 sports disciplines, including archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, cricket, chess, football, golf, handball, horse riding. Karate, kabaddi, roll ball, swimming, table tennis, tennis and volleyball.
So far, Tata Steel has in its one Padma Bhushan, 11 Padma Shrees, one Khel Ratna, one Dhyan Chand, six Dronacharyas and 42 Arjuna awardees.
