One of the World’s Largest Employers – Indian Railways – Joins Roster of Healthy Workplaces
- 79 Healthy Workplaces in India now
- Spans workforceof 2 million employees
- Addressing chronic disease among India’s workforce
November 9, 2016, NEW DELHI, India –Thirty-two companies from a variety of sectors across India are being named as 2016 Healthy Workplaces today, in the fourth year of a pioneering public health program underway by Arogya World. This brings the total number of Healthy Workplaces that the global health non-profit has recognized to date to 79, with a total workforce of approximately 2 million. Importantly, one of the world’s largest employers, Indian Railways, with an employee strength of 1.3 million, is one of this year’s Healthy Workplaces.
Arogya World commended this year’s Healthy Workplace winners for their commitment to employee health and wellness at an award ceremony in Delhi today at India International Centre. This award ceremony caps off a day-long Conference and educational event held in advance of World Diabetes Day. See agenda.
“This year’s Healthy Workplaces have brought us to an exciting inflection point in our journey to prevent chronic disease and create a Healthy India. Working with these pioneering companies, and our partners, we are on our way to building an ecosystem for Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) prevention in the workplace. No one entity can do it alone, but together, we can make a profound public health impact,” said Nalini Saligram, Ph.D., Founder and CEO, Arogya World.
At the awards ceremony, the keynote address was delivered by Dr Nikhil Tandon, Padma Shree Awardee, and Professor and Head, Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, All India Institute of Medical Sciences. Giving away the awards, he said, “Efforts like this that promote prevention in the workplace are smart solutions to the NCD crisis our country faces. This kind of multi-sector action with many companies and organizations collaborating to improve the health of employees and their communities is what is needed to make a real difference to the health of future generations in India.”
The 2016 Healthy Workplaces include the following companies:
- Hindustan Unilever Limited
- Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., Igatpuri
- Reliance Industries Limited
- Dow Chemical International Pvt. Ltd.
- Cigna TTK Health Insurance Ltd.
- Gujarat Cement Works – Unit of UltraTech Cement Ltd.
- Mahindra & Mahindra Limited, Farm Division, Nagpur
- MSD Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd.
- NES Ratnam College of Arts, Science & Commerce
- NTPC Limited
- KSRTC
- BMTC
- Britannia Industries Ltd.
- IOCL, Corporate Office
- Manipal Hospitals, Bangalore
- NTPC Ltd. – Power Management Institute
- Tata Power Solar
- Columbia Asia Hospital – Hebbal
- Fortis Hospital Limited, Bannerghatta Road
- TVS Motor Company
- Columbia Asia Hospital – Whitefield
- Indian Railways
- Manipal Northside Hospital
- Philips India Limited
- RTO Yeshwantapur, Bangalore
- Vijaya Bank
- Vikram Hospital, Bengaluru
- Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., Karnataka, M/s.
- Karnataka Power Corporation Limited
- Mahindra & Mahindra Limited – Group Corporate Office
- Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt. Ltd. and
- Meenakshi Energy Pvt. Ltd.
Employers from multiple industries representing government departments, manufacturing, energy, infrastructure development, public sector entities, hospitals, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, and more, all met key criteria to earn the designation of a Healthy Workplace at the Bronze, Silver or Gold level. They also completed a formal assessment and site visit as part of the selection process.
“What is noteworthy this year is the foray we have made into new sectors in our Healthy Workplaces, especially large government agencies and public sector organizations,” said DrGeetaBharadwaj, Head, Healthy Workplace initiative, Arogya World India Trust. “We thank the many like-minded partners who have joined hands with us to advance workplace health in India,” said UshaChander, senior consultant, Arogya World. Arogya World gratefully acknowledges the support from the Cigna Foundation for covering some of the Conference and Award event expenses.
In addition, the first Platinum Healthy Workplaces were recognized at today’s event by Arogya World for tracking health metrics in their workplace. Click here for that announcement.
A global health non-profit organization, Arogya World (www.arogyaworld.org) works hard to prevent NCDs – diseases like diabetes, heart disease, cancer and chronic lung diseases – through health education and lifestyle change. Arogya World targets workplaces for chronic disease prevention because work is where so many people spend a large part of their day. An estimated 20 percent of Indians have at least one chronic condition. 60 plus million Indians live with diabetes, and one million die from it each year. Indians develop type 2 diabetes 10 years earlier than most Westerners, making the public health burden in the country even more significant. It is expected that there will be 869 million working-age Indians by 2020, making workplaces an important platform for NCD prevention.
According to the World Health Organization, NCDs are largely preventable with lifestyle changes – 80% of heart disease, 80% of diabetes and 40% cancer can be prevented by avoiding tobacco, eating healthy foods, and increasing physical activity.
For information on how to apply to be a Healthy Workplace in India, contact Dr. GeetaBharadwaj,