Press Releases

BALCO commemorates National Road Safety Month to boost community awareness on safety

Balconagar, February 4, 2023: Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO), India’s iconic aluminium producer, marked the 34th National Road Safety Month by organizing a series of safety-focused programs to raise awareness among its employees and community members throughout last month. Highlighting this year’s theme of ‘Sadak Suraksha Jeevan Raksha’, BALCO also organized a road safety rally attended by nearly 800 employees. Skits were also presented as an engaging way of communicating the theme. Together, these initiatives highlighted the importance of safe driving practices and provided a platform to learn more about road safety measures.

In addition to the safety rally, eye check-up camps were conducted for drivers, surprise vehicle inspections were conducted across the plant premises and possible blind spots were identified and addressed. Further, a road safety quiz was held for employees and the community, and safety talks were held within schools in the neighboring locations with enthusiastic participation from the BALCO community and employees.

Speaking on the importance of road safety, Mr. Abhijit Pati, CEO and Director, BALCO, said, “BALCO strives to ensure a safe working environment in line with its philosophy of ensuring a culture of care, by empowering each employee to stop any unsafe activity observed. Our goal is to create a safe and secure environment for all employees, business partners and visitors, and this extends to all areas of our facility. Each member of the BALCO family is committed to contribute towards enhancing safety at the workplace by adhering to the essential rules and practices of Industrial Heath, Safety and Environment. I am certain that our continued efforts towards promoting road safety will result in a safer and healthier workplace for all.”

To ensure best-in-class safety standards, BALCO has also partnered with DuPont Sustainability Solutions to implement their industry-leading safety management solutions at its plant. The company has institutionalized several best practices to bolster safety performance, such as ‘Suraksha Sankalp’, a safety meet held on the first day of every month to sensitize the workforce on various aspects of safety; and ‘Suraksha Samvaad’, a weeklong program where more than 7000 employees and business partners are encouraged to exercise their “Right to refuse to unsafe work” by BALCO senior management.

Testimony to BALCO’s safety-first approach, the company has won National Safety Awards (Mines) for the years 2017, 2018 and 2019 and has also been declared as Platinum Award winner at the 5^th CII National Safety Practices Competition for its Suraksha Sankalp Kutumbh project on safety digitization, which aims at skill development, auto detection of unsafe acts and conditions, driving digital safety culture & safety interactions, work force safety, productivity improvement and tracking of red zones.

Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO) is India’s iconic aluminium producer. It is owned 49% by the Government of India and 51% by Vedanta Limited. BALCO is part of Vedanta’s Aluminium Business, a division of Vedanta Limited, which is India’s largest manufacturer of aluminium. BALCO operates a 0.57 million tonne per annum aluminium smelter in Korba, Chhattisgarh. It is also a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. With its world-class smelter and power plants, the company fulfills its mission of spurring emerging applications of aluminium as the ‘Metal of the Future’ for a greener tomorrow.