Empowering women, catalysing rural economies: UltraTech’s efforts to build resilient local communities

This International Day of Rural Women, UltraTech celebrates women who are strengthening communities, supporting food security, and building resilient futures. The United Nations theme for 2026, The Rise of Rural Women: Building Resilient Futures, recognises the vital role rural women play in agriculture, food security, natural resource management, and community development.

UltraTech’s community programmes are shaped through local consultations and rural appraisals. This ensures that initiatives address community priorities and deliver meaningful, long-term impact. Through focused interventions in livelihoods, agriculture, health, and entrepreneurship, the Company is creating opportunities that strengthen individual households as well as entire communities.

Women as Drivers of Rural Livelihoods and Enterprise

UltraTech supports rural women through specialised skill development centres, Self-Help Groups (SHGs), and skill development initiatives that create pathways to employment and self-reliance. Through these, women from underserved communities receive training in digital literacy, beauty and wellness, tailoring, agriculture and traditional crafts, enhancing local livelihood opportunities.

Maihar Cement Works, an integrated cement manufacturing unit of UltraTech located in Madhya Pradesh, trained almost 120 women in tailoring and beauty parlour services in 2025. Reddipalayam Cement Works, an integrated cement manufacturing unit of UltraTech located in Tamil Nadu, has helped impart training in tailoring to over 700 women since 2008, with over 450 starting their own businesses and 40 securing employment in local textile companies.

Women are also emerging as entrepreneurs through innovative livelihood initiatives. At Andhra Pradesh Cement Works, an integrated cement manufacturing unit of UltraTech located in Tadipatri, Andhra Pradesh, Project Uday has transformed banana pseudo stem waste into a source of income for farmers and women entrepreneurs. The initiative has diverted over 800 metric tonnes of agricultural residue from landfill, while supporting more than 100 women entrepreneurs trained in fibre extraction, weaving, and handicraft production. Similarly, Project Saksham, a CSR initiative of Baikunth Cement Works, an integrated cement manufacturing unit of UltraTech located in Chhattisgarh, has provided industrial tailoring training, certification, and job placement support to over 350 women as of FY26, with 105 women having secured industrial employment.

Finally, through the Kaushali Initiative of Vikram Cement Works, an integrated cement manufacturing unit of UltraTech located in Madhya Pradesh, rural women are encouraged to pursue technical education through the unit’s industrial training institute. The programme provides career counselling and awareness sessions, partial financial support towards ITI fees, apprenticeship opportunities as well as coaching and guidance for Government and PSU competitive examinations. In FY26, 25 girls were provided training support through the institute, while 22 girls have enrolled in FY27 so far.

Women and Sustainable Agriculture

Recognising the central role women play in boosting household nutrition and food security, UltraTech promotes numerous sustainable agriculture initiatives across its operating communities.

At Manikgarh Cement Works, an integrated cement manufacturing unit of UltraTech located in Chandrapur, Maharashtra, the ParashBag Organic Kitchen Garden Initiative has helped over 270 households across six villages establish home-based vegetable gardens. This helped improve access to nutritious food while promoting sustainable cultivation practices, benefiting more than 1,100 people while bringing 14 acres under cultivation.

Since 2023, Baga Cement Works, an integrated cement manufacturing unit of UltraTech located in Solan, Himachal Pradesh, has supported women farmers through training in turmeric and mushroom cultivation, processing and value addition. More than 1,500 women have adopted these cultivation practices, and are earning over Rs 450 per kg of turmeric powder and over Rs 350 per cultivation bag of Mushroom, through sales in the unit township and local markets.

Health and Well-being

In FY26, UltraTech reached over 9,100 women through programmes on antenatal and postnatal care, nutrition, mass immunisation, and institutional deliveries, helping improve maternal and child health across its local communities.

Manikgarh Cement Works, under its Project Sanjivani, conducted haemoglobin screening camps and nutrition awareness programmes across seven villages. Over 270 women and adolescent girls were screened for anaemia, with those suffering from moderate to severe anaemia being provided medicines and iron supplements under medical supervision. Project Sanjivani significantly improved the haemoglobin levels of 85 women and girls, promoting better health and helping mitigate risks associated with anaemia.

Through focused interventions in livelihoods, skills development, agriculture, and healthcare, UltraTech continues to support rural women as leaders, entrepreneurs, farmers and changemakers. By strengthening their ability to create positive change within their households and communities, these initiatives are helping build more resilient communities for future generations.