July 2025 | 977 words | 3-minute read
Where Workers Come First
The Chakan MIDC area in Maharashtra, a hub for major auto manufacturers, employs numerous workers, many of whom are migrants working informally. These workers lack proper documentation, making them ineligible for social security and public services, leading to exploitation and discrimination. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted their vulnerabilities, prompting Tata AutoComp, in collaboration with Forbes Marshall and Aajeevika Bureau, to establish the Worker Facilitation Centre (WFC) in 2021. The WFC aims to integrate these workers into the formal economy, ensuring their rights and welfare. It provides resources, legal aid, training, and helps in obtaining essential documents and accessing government schemes. The center also focuses on improving women's participation and financial independence, moving towards long-term empowerment and systemic change.
Where Workers Come First
The Chakan MIDC area in Maharashtra, bustling with major auto manufacturers, employs numerous migrant workers who remain largely unrecognized in the formal economy. These workers face exploitation, discrimination, and lack access to social security and public services due to inadequate documentation. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated their vulnerabilities, highlighting the urgent need for systemic change.
In response, Tata AutoComp, in collaboration with Forbes Marshall and Aajeevika Bureau, established a Worker Facilitation Centre (WFC) in 2021. This center, located in the industrial hub, functions beyond traditional corporate social responsibility, aiming to address the deep-seated issues affecting worker welfare and productivity. It serves as a resource and advocacy hub, assisting workers in obtaining necessary documentation, accessing healthcare, and linking to government welfare schemes.
The WFC operates six days a week, with a dedicated team that also provides mobile van services to reach remote workers. It has significantly impacted the community, aiding over 11,300 workers, including facilitating substantial financial settlements for unpaid wages and compensation. Additionally, the center conducts health camps and offers on-the-job training programs to enhance workers' skills and employability.
Special efforts are made to empower women workers by increasing their financial independence and awareness of their rights. The WFC also engages in research and policy advocacy, leveraging its partnerships to influence systemic changes that benefit the worker community.
Looking ahead, the WFC plans to expand its services to foster long-term growth and stability for workers, emphasizing digital access to resources and scaling up skill development initiatives. This model of support is gaining traction, with other regions adopting similar approaches, aiming to create a sustainable and replicable framework that integrates worker welfare into the broader industrial and social ecosystem.
Where Workers Come First
The Chakan MIDC area in Maharashtra, a hub for major auto manufacturers, employs a significant number of migrant workers who are crucial to India's automotive sector, the fourth largest in the world. Many of these workers, however, operate within an informal economy, lacking proper documentation and access to social security, making them susceptible to exploitation and discrimination. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated their vulnerabilities, revealing their lack of access to essential services and support systems.
To combat these issues, Tata AutoComp, in collaboration with Forbes Marshall and Aajeevika Bureau, established the Worker Facilitation Centre (WFC) in Chakan in 2021. The WFC marks a departure from traditional corporate social responsibility, aiming to address systemic issues affecting worker welfare and to integrate this informal workforce into the formal economy while respecting their dignity and rights.
The WFC functions as a resource and advocacy center within the industrial belt, assisting migrant workers across various sectors. It operates six days a week, with a dedicated team that also works additional Sundays each month. On average, the center assists over 150 workers monthly, having helped 11,300 workers to date, including through health and vaccination camps which also serve educational purposes.
To extend its reach, the WFC has initiated mobile van services that cover a 50 km radius daily, aiding new migrant workers. Furthermore, the development of Shramik Sarthis—workers who have benefited from the WFC and now act as ambassadors—has expanded the center's influence, helping to create networks for support and referrals.
Key services provided by the WFC include assistance in obtaining essential identity documents such as Aadhar, PAN, and ration cards. This enables workers to access bank accounts, public services, and social welfare programs, significantly impacting their financial, health, and safety conditions. The center also conducts awareness campaigns and builds financial inclusion by linking workers to government-backed schemes like health, social security, pension, and life insurance, as well as educational opportunities for workers and their families.
Addressing the vulnerability of migrant workers to issues such as wage theft and workplace accidents, the WFC offers free legal aid through India Labourline and its network of paralegals and lawyers. In FY25, the center mediated disputes securing substantial financial settlements for workers, including a notable case involving unpaid Provident Fund dues.
The WFC also focuses on empowering workers through on-the-job training (OJT) programs in various trades, improving their employability and potential earnings. For example, a masonry training program significantly boosted the income and confidence of a participant named Sona, enhancing her family's quality of life.
Efforts are particularly directed towards increasing female participation, with about 25% of the center's beneficiaries being women. The WFC runs targeted programs on safety, workplace rights, and financial literacy, ensuring women control their economic resources and access financial services independently.
Trust-building is central to the WFC's success, with Tata AutoComp employees volunteering in various capacities to support the initiative. The partnership with Aajeevika Bureau lends credibility and neutrality, enhancing the center's role beyond mere support to include research and policy advocacy. This has influenced local and district administration policies, reflecting the qualitative impact and systemic change driven by the WFC.
Looking ahead, the WFC aims to foster long-term growth and mobility for workers, focusing on digital enablement, skill development, and formal employment linkages. The vision is to establish the WFC as a self-sustaining model that can be replicated across other regions, demonstrating a shared corporate responsibility towards migrant workers.
Saraipani. A tiny, remote village tucked away deep in the recesses of Jharkhand. Here, a familiar sight unfolds each day with the setting of the sun, plunging the village into an endless labyrinth of darkness.
In the absence of electricity, men hastily retreat to their homes even as the women folk tend to household chores in the kitchen while the children can neither study at home nor step outside to play. Forced to rely on kerosene as the sole source of illumination — which often gave rise to respiratory problems and irritation to the eyes — villagers often spend more than ₹150 per month, which puts an enormous strain on their resources.
Small hamlets in extremely remote locations such as Saraipani are still disconnected due to terrain obstacles, unreliable electricity and/or challenges of servicing a small and remote cluster. These clusters usually are settlements belonging to tribal families and/or displaced families living in remote hilly regions. Providing access to essential services to these locations is key for the equitable growth of all communities.
When all hope appears to be lost, a beacon of light pierces through this shroud of darkness. Enter Tata Capital’s Green Switch project — a flagship CSR initiative which provides affordable and clean 24x7 electricity to unelectrified households and in some of India’s most underserved regions and communities through renewable energy by adopting a decentralised community owned solar micro off-grid model. “Our objective was rooted in a simple yet powerful belief; that we could contribute meaningfully to India’s larger journey of reducing its dependence on fossil fuels. At the same time, we were deeply committed to reaching the unreached, ensuring that even the most remote communities, who have long lived without access to electricity, are not left behind in the nation’s progress. It was about enabling a cleaner future, while bringing light, quite literally, to those who needed it most.
Clean tech finance has been a strategic part of our core business portfolio, giving us deep insights into financing sustainable energy solutions. Building on that foundation, we saw a meaningful opportunity to apply this expertise in our community development efforts as well. The aim was to translate our business learnings into broader social impact, enabling access to clean, affordable energy for underserved communities and supporting India's larger sustainability goals in a more inclusive way,” says Sridhar Sarathy, Chief Ethics Officer & Head – Sustainability & CSR, Tata Capital.
“In keeping with our philosophy of inclusivity and commitment towards Affirmative Action, we focused our efforts on reaching socially and economically disadvantaged families living in small, often overlooked hamlets to help transform their lives by bringing the dignity, opportunity, and hope that come with access to affordable and reliable electricity. We adopted a principle of simplicity, synergy, scalability and sustainability,” adds Mr Sarathy.
From vision to reality
This unique model of community contribution and ownership — inspired by Sustainable Development Goal 7 and the Power for All Scheme — began with a pilot project that was undertaken in the Palghar district of Maharashtra in 2016. The Green Switch project was later expanded to the state of Jharkhand in 2019-2020, followed by Uttar Pradesh in 2024.
At the heart of the success of the Green Switch project — which is for the community, by the community and monitored by the community — lies a meticulously crafted implementation model, which commences with the identification of a completely unelectrified community/hamlet with a minimum of 35 homes in an aspirational district — which is willing to pay and own the model. The project has been implemented in collaboration with an NGO that is responsible for formalising it through signed MOUs with relevant stakeholders, securing clearances from local authorities, and facilitating land allotment in coordination with the community..
After a baseline study to assess socio-economic and health conditions, energy source and usage, a 5-7 member Village Energy Committee (VEC) — comprising 50% women — is formed which receives training on system, billing and reporting. The technical partner is responsible for implementing the project, which includes procuring the solar equipment and overseeing its installation. Awareness and education is of paramount importance as village operators are trained on crucial aspects pertaining to the maintenance of solar installations under the guidance of the VEC, which proceeds to collect tariffs from each household. The VEC is gradually empowered to take ownership of the project, which is formally handed over to them after a year of structured support and capacity building.
Metrics that matter
- 3 States
- 7 Blocks
- 5 Districts
- 99 Hamlets electrified
- 4,800 Homes illuminated for the first time
- 20,000+ Lives impacted
- 1.19 MWp Solar capacity installed
- 50+ Individuals became entrepreneurs
- 155+ Local grid operators trained
- INR 40,000 Average increase in annual income for entrepreneurs
- 290+ Solar pumps bought by farmers
The ripple effect
The streets of Saraipani no longer bear a deserted look when night falls thanks to the evolving effort with transformative potential undertaken by the Green Switch project in illuminating the area. “24/7 electricity has transformed our lives, making cooking easier and safer, allowing children to study longer without eye strain, and improving health by eliminating kerosene-related eye and breathing issues,” reveals Taramani, Treasurer of the VEC. “Villagers no longer have to worry about accidentally coming in the migration path of elephants or dying due to snake or scorpion bites. There has been a noticeable increase in their income, not only through sustainable farming practices, but also through emerging entrepreneurial efforts beyond agriculture, such as small businesses and local services, reflecting a growing sense of self- reliance and initiative,” adds Mr Sarathy, before concluding, “What gives us great contentment is the smile on the faces of the beneficiaries. That is our biggest achievement by far.”
- Sharmistha Choudhury
