Panasonic India inaugurates third edition of Ratti Chhatr scholarship programme
NEW DELHI: Panasonic India announced the third batch of its Ratti Chhatr Scholarship Program which provides financial aid to talented undergraduate students across different branches of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). Chief Guest Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, Government of India and Dr. Ashok Gupta, Deputy Director Operations, IIT Delhi; and Zairus Master, CEO, Shine.com felicitated the awardees at an event held last month at New Delhi.
Panasonic’s mission as socially responsible corporate aims at providing equal opportunity and access to students from humble background across the country. Since the programme’s launch in India, nine scholars have been selected and enrolled for the master’s programme in Japan. Started in 2015, Panasonic has offered scholarships to talented undergraduates across India. The Scholarship Programme identifies and recognises a group of talented young individuals with the potential to excel in their respective fields. Panasonic provides financial assistance and support to the youths from low-income families as they believe financial constraints should not be a bar for students from shining.
The welcome address by Manish Sharma, president and CEO, Panasonic India and South Asia, kick-started the event. He said, “In today’s knowledge-driven economy, we must invest in empowering our youth through quality education to realize their full potential. At Panasonic, we remain dedicated to the cause of education and Ratti Chhatr Scholarship Programme is a step in this direction to create a society with education as its foundation. Through this initiative, we strive to support the government’s vision of inclusive literacy and help some of the most promising undergraduates realise their aspirations.”
Chief Guest Amitabh Kant was invited to give a brief on how the programme is aimed at benefitting the youth of the country. Kant said, “It is wonderful to be back here and witness the continued admirable efforts Panasonic India is undertaking, in order to help bright young talents achieve their educational ambitions. There is a need to uplift the notion of innovation in India, we need to capture the creative elements of students and successfully implement them in the system. Ratti Chhatr Scholarship programme will serve as the perfect platform to help propel students to realize full potential and contribute to country’s development.”
After this IIT’s Dr. Ashok Gupta addressed the students. “The scholarship programme is very special to me because I have been part of the initiative since the scholarship has started. This programme has just not sustained but grown to a larger number, Panasonic has moved from giving scholarships to graduating students to IIT students entering IIT system which is very important”.
He added, “It’s important that you are getting a scholarship but what is more important that you are getting associated with a brand which is Panasonic, which has its own value and ethos.”
After this, all the dignitaries felicitated the selected 30 students for the scholarship.
Zairus Master, CEO, Shine.com congratulated the 2017 batch of the awardees and their families. He said, “Shine.com is proud to be associated with Panadigital sonic India and its endeavors to work for its inclusive growth towards society and contributing to sustainable development of community”. He added, “Panasonic is a trusted corporate partner and has time and again proven its commitment towards the development of the country. We commend the efforts of Ratti Chhatr initiative and strongly believe in its ability to transform lives by harnessing the potential of the youth. He also added, “Young people are the innovators, creators, builders, and leaders of the future but they can only transform the future if they have an opportunity to acquire the right skills, and are presented with real choices in life.” Radhika Kalia, Head, Corporate Affairs and CSR, Panasonic India said: Our collective mission as an organisation is to not only uplift the society but to make use of our resources to create a better world. We have decided to extend our Ratti Chhatr scholarship protheir gram till 2022. This will benefit 120 more undergraduates and bring total beneficiaries under this program to 240. Thus, Panasonic is committed to not only providing the best of services and products for consumers but by using their resources help in making a better world which will lead to a better life. The Ratti Chattr scholarship programme is thus indistinguishably enmeshed with the company’s core values to continuously contribute to the evolution of society and the happiness of its people.