India Leading Conglomerate - Mahindra Group - Founded in October 2, 1945, Now Turns 75

* Marks this Significant Milestone with Pledge to contribute 750,000 hours towards Global Celebration of ‘Spirit of Service’

* Launches #RiseUpChallenge to celebrate the Challenger Spirit

The Mahindra Group commemorates its 75th anniversary since its inception in 1945. To celebrate this significant milestone, its employees pledge to contribute 750,000 hours volunteering to increase the well-being of the communities in India and around the world, as part of Mahindra’s global celebration of the ‘Spirit of Service’.

This campaign, ‘My Seva’ aims to enthuse employees to celebrate and devote their valuable time in small or big acts of kindness throughout the year. It will provide employees with a platform to share their personal stories of volunteering and will be run along with the company’s Employee Social Options (ESOPs) volunteering program.

Additionally, the Mahindra Group is launching the #RiseUpChallenge. Taking inspiration from the insight that music has been a sanctuary for many people during the ongoing pandemic and forced lockdown, the group is launching a new video film. Focussing on the Group’s corporate purpose ‘Rise’, the video celebrates the hope and optimism of individuals to win and overcome seemingly unsurmountable challenges. This social media-first campaign will challenge people to watch the video, make their own video, upload it or share it on their social handles with the hashtag #RiseUpChallenge.

Commenting on this significant milestone, Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group said, "The Mahindra Group has remained resilient and thrived over the past 75 years by staying true to its core values and high standards of corporate governance every single day. These values seek to drive positive change in the lives of our stakeholders and the communities we serve around the world, while ensuring we remain agile and future ready. I am filled with enthusiasm and gratitude as we make this commitment toward giving back to the community, in a particularly tough year for humanity.”

Over the past seven decades, the Mahindra Group has played a leading role in transforming business and society driven by the core idea that people will succeed if given the right opportunity. Throughout its history, Mahindra has taken a thoughtful, holistic approach to corporate social responsibility that aligns with its core values. The Group has worked to serve the needs of India and other global markets over time and is deeply proud of this fact.

Some key milestones:

- On November 8, 1945, an advertisement appeared in the Times of India – the very first by M&M after its launch as a business firm in October 2, 1945 and it focussed only on the new company’s purpose & principles as opposed to promoting any products or services.  The principles that were listed in the advertisement still hold true for the company. Among them were: The encouragement of private enterprise and the initiative of the individual; Belief in the ability of corporate institutions to oppose anti-social trends, such as monopolies and cartels; Respect for the dignity of the individual; Ability must be the sole test of merit and advancement.

- Post its independence, India was still a primarily rural economy with poor road and in 1947 Mahindra brought in the iconic Willys Jeep for a newly independent India to traverse the rugged terrain. Today, Mahindra is the third largest automobile company in India.

- The company began manufacturing tractors in 1961 to support the green revolution in agriculture and make India food secure.

- Mahindra’s first outreach internationally started in 1969, exporting Utility vehicles to the Yugoslavian market.

- In the 1980s when the country needed to grow the export of services, Mahindra entered the IT space in 1986 through a joint venture—Mahindra British Telecom, taking a lead in the telecom software business, and it went on to become a major force in IT renaming the company ‘Tech Mahindra.’

- As India opened its markets through liberalisation, Mahindra started a Non-banking rural financing company to bridge the gap between Rural and Urban India in 1991.

- It entered the Real Estate development business in 1994 with Mahindra Lifespaces, as India’s first listed real estate company. This was at a time when housing needed to be made affordable for the masses. Mahindra World Cities created infrastructure for sustainable urbanisation.

- Mahindra entered the Hospitality industry in 1996 with Mahindra Holidays, driven by the aspirations of then burgeoning middle class segment in India; and offering aspiring middle-class Indian families’ fun-filled and affordable vacations, in some of the most exotic locations in the country.

- Mahindra USA, a wholly owned subsidiary was established in 1994 to represent the tractor business.

- In 2010, when the country needed to step up its domestic defence equipment production, Mahindra Defence was formed to rise to the occasion.

- The Group Pioneered an Electric three-wheeler named ‘Bijlee’ in 2002 and electric vehicles in 2010, Mahindra was ahead of its time and ready to support India’s National Electric Mobility ambition announced in 2018. 

- Mahindra Susten, a clean energy business pioneered the spread of solar energy in India in 2010. It is one of the largest players in the growing alternate energy sector in India.

* Mahindra Group has a growing global footprint with business presence in 100+ countries creating thousands of jobs through direct and indirect employment, invests millions in facilities and R&D, and gives back millions through engagement with communities. 32 of the 72 Mahindra’s manufacturing facilities are outside India while 8 of its R&D facilities are in India and 20 development Centres located across 10 countries.

75 years of building enduring businesses and believing in ‘doing good, while doing business’:

- Committed to rejuvenating the the environment: Climate change is not about Sustainability or Profit but Sustainability with Profit. The Mahindra Group has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2040 a decade ahead of the Paris Agreement’s target by optimizing energy efficiency, focusing on the use of renewable energy and creating carbon sinks. Project Hariyali commits to planting more than a million trees annually, having planted over 17 million trees till date

* Most of the M&M plants are certified Zero Waste to Landfill.

* It is a water positive Group.

* Mahindra has a $600 million green product portfolio that consists of low carbon, climate friendly product lines and corporate practices, including: EVs, green housing, solar business, micro irrigation.

- Committed to enabling communities to Rise: Its comprehensive, well-planned and long-term social interventions address constituencies of girls, youth and farmers, by supporting them in education, health & environment. CSR flagship programs are:

* Project Nanhi Kali has supported the education of over 450,000 underprivileged girls till-date.

* 9 Mahindra Pride Schools have trained 39,280 youth from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds. 100% of the students have been placed.

* 6,519 Mahindra Pride Classrooms have trained till date 2,87,417 youths, thereby drastically improving their chances of being gainfully employed.

* Mahindra marked its 60th anniversary by redefining corporate social responsibility at the Mahindra Group, and pledged 1% PAT towards CSR initiatives which included providing cochlear implants to 60 hearing-impaired underprivileged children across the country. Symbolically, the then President of India handed over the cochlear implants to two children on October 2, 2005.

* ‘Employee Social Options’ (ESOPs) encourages employees to volunteer for various CSR projects. Year on year, Mahindra Group employees have contributed more than 3.3 million person-hours cumulatively for initiatives to benefit disadvantaged communities.

* Community Outreach & Disaster Relief - Mahindra steps in with donations, equipment and support to help impacted communities in serves.

- Community Engagement in the USA

* Mahindra Urban Agricultural Grant Program by Mahindra Automotive North America [MANA] has donated over $625,000 in cash and farm equipment to support 20 unique community-based organizations in Southeast Michigan committed to sustainable farming.

* Military Veterans Program by MANA helps the veterans deal with their physical and emotional challenges to rediscover joy through off-road recreation.

* The Women in Ag scholarship program by Mahindra Agri North America [MAgNA] awards scholarships to young women and urban-area high school students.

* University Collaborations - Key partnerships with 12 US universities such as Virginia Tech, Michigan State, University of Texas at Dallas, Hayward State University at CA, University of Washington, University of Nebraska & many more.

- COVID-19 Pandemic solutions - Mahindra Group leveraged every possible of its resource to uniquely support the fight against the Coronavirus pandemic.

* Quickly converted its existing production facilities to produce aerosol box, face shields, face masks, hand sanitizers for hospitals, the police, Municipal Corporations and community members.

* Club Mahindra made available their resorts across India as Temporary Care Facilities

* Tech Mahindra leveraged technology to connect citizens and the government, from developing and deploying a block chain based ePass solution for State Governments, to developing an integrated Digital Health Platform and coordinating Dial 100 emergency services and citizen services.

* Over and above the grants made to the PM CARES Fund, Mahindra employees contributed over Rs. 7 crores to support their stakeholders who were impacted because of the lock down.

About Mahindra

The Mahindra Group is a USD 19.4 billion federation of companies that enables people to rise through innovative mobility solutions, driving rural prosperity, enhancing urban living, nurturing new businesses and fostering communities. It enjoys a leadership position in utility vehicles, information technology, financial services and vacation ownership in India and is the world’s largest tractor company by volume.  It also enjoys a strong presence in renewable energy, agribusiness, logistics and real estate development.  Headquartered in India, Mahindra employs over 2,56,000 people across 100 countries.