ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India), a joint venture between ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel, has reinforced its commitment to accelerate gender equality in education by renewing its collaboration with Protean eGov Technologies, a leader and pioneer in India’s Digital Public Infrastructure. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on Thursday (March 7) at Protean's headquarters in Mumbai to advance the 'Beti Padhao' (educate daughters) scholarship initiative across India.

The 'Beti Padhao' scholarship initiative, initially launched in March 2022 by AM/NS India, has so far positively impacted nearly 650 underprivileged young women from the states of Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha.

The MoU signing ceremony was attended by AM/NS India leadership, including Mr. Keiji Kubota, Deputy Director of HR & Admin and Dr. Vikas Yadvendu, Head of CSR, along with Protean’s leadership Mr. Jayesh Sule, WTD & COO.

AM/NS India endeavours to provide financial assistance to underprivileged women through this initiative which is aligned with the year’s International Women's Day theme ‘Inspire Inclusion’. Students nationwide are encouraged to apply for scholarships to pursue diverse educational goals, including courses in technical, medical, and professional programs, undergraduate education, as well as national and state sports, subject to eligibility criteria.

KEIJI KUBOTA, DEPUTY DIRECTOR – HR & ADMINISTRATION, ARCELORMITTAL NIPPON STEEL INDIA (AM/NS INDIA), said: "Our 'Beti Padhao' scholarship makes a meaningful difference by assisting students from disadvantaged backgrounds in achieving their personal and professional aspirations, thereby fostering inclusive growth. Increasing access to quality education for high-achieving young women will greatly contribute to our nation's objective of eliminating gender bias in education. This initiative reinforces our commitment to creating ‘Smarter Steels, Brighter Futures.’”

Entrusted with overseeing the scholarship process, Protean Vidyasaarathi will manage application validation, scholarship awards, and fund disbursement.

GOPA KUMAR, CHIEF BUSINESS OFFICER, PROTEAN EGOV TECHNOLOGIES LTD., said: "We are deeply honoured to strengthen our commitment with AM/NS India in this impactful initiative dedicated to advancing education for underprivileged girls. Protean Vidyasaarathi platform enables large corporates to channelise their CSR spending to make a true societal impact. This aligns seamlessly with Protean’s mission of social and financial inclusion as we persist on the path of Building for Billions.”

ABOUT ARCELORMITTAL NIPPON STEEL INDIA (AM/NS India):

ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India) is a joint venture between ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel, two of the world’s leading steel manufacturing organisations. A leading integrated flat carbon steel producer in India, the company has a crude steel capacity of 9 million tonnes per annum with state-of-the-art downstream facilities. It produces a fully diversified range of flat steel products, including value-added steel, and has a pellet capacity of 20 million tonnes.

About Protean:

Protean eGov Technologies has been a pioneer and market leader in universal, citizen-centric, and population-scale e-governance solutions since its inception 28 years ago. Protean Vidyasaarathi is a technology-enabled initiative by Protean which enables underprivileged students to procure financial assistance via corporate-funded scholarships. It aims to bridge the gap in education finance in the country through an online platform. Students can search and apply to various education finance schemes provided on merit by fund providers, industries, and corporates. For further details on the scholarship schemes listed on the Protean Vidyasaarathi web portal, students can refer to https://www.vidyasaarathi.co.in