Canon India takes a new leap in its journey of social development; adopts Village Parivali near Mumbai

The organization begins this new journey as its existing village Karanjoti reaches a self-sustainable model

NEW DELHI, Jan. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Marking a new milestone in its CSR endeavor 'Canon India Involve', Canon India has announced the adoption of a new village-Parivali near Mumbai as part of the flagship CSR initiative - 'Adopt a Village'. Resolving their commitment towards community development, the new village adoption is the next strategic chapter, as Canon successfully completes its association with Karanjoti Village in Mumbai, building a progressive and sustainable environment for the community members.

Building its CSR endeavors on the corporate philosophy of 'Kyosei', Canon envisions the achievement of a sustainable society and strengthening the social fabric of the country, under its 4Es including Education, Eye Care, Environment and Empowerment. The flagship 'Adopt a Village' initiative was launched in 2012, through which Canon India undertakes the task of overall development of the villages across North, East, West and South India for a certain period of time for the holistic development of the society. At present, Canon India has three more adopted villages presently under 'Adopt a Village', which includes Maheshwari in Haryana, Maharaja Katte Village in Bangalore and Sol Gohalia in Kolkata.

Adopted in 2015, Karanjoti became the 3^rd village that was adopted by Canon India and since then, the organization has focused on the development of the village community consisting of 2160 beneficiaries, with a special focus on the holistic development of children in the village school.

Sharing his thoughts on the 'Adopt a Village' project, Mr. Kazutada Kobayashi, President and CEO, Canon India stated, " At Canon, we strongly believe in bringing positive impact on society along with carrying our business operations in the country. It is a matter of pride to see our flagship 'Adopt a Village' project come a long way in its journey of bringing smiles in underprivileged communities. As these villages became second family to us at Canon, community development became core to each and every initiative that we undertook aided by active employee engagement. With our adopted village Karanjoti in Mumbai reaching a self-sustainable model, it gives me immense satisfaction to see significant improvements made in our core focus areas of Education, Environment, Eye Care and Empowerment."

Elaborating on the adoption of new village, he further added, "Today, we are extremely delighted to begin a new chapter in our CSR endeavor with the adoption of Parivali Village. We are positive that we will be able to bring about even greater change in the community, empowering the villagers to grow in a better and sustainable environment. With the constant participation of employees and stakeholders, we will strive towards building a fruitful association with our new family in Parivali."

Adopt a Village's new journey with Parivali Village

As part of the immediate steps of improvement at the village school, Canon India seeks to implement a wide range of activities at the school and the village, under its four core focus areas, including Education, Eye Care, Environment and Empowerment.

• Education would start with improving the infrastructure of the school building and renovating toilets ensuring basic health and hygiene. Further, a 'Resource Center' will be established with access to computer classes and e-learning for children
• Eye Care would lead to the establishment of a 'Vision Center'. With more than 1000 people above 60 years of age in the village, there is no eye care clinic in the village as of now. With Canon's Vision center, the initiative will enable free of cost eye checkups for the villagers and children, under the supervision of an eye care specialist. The activities under the domain would also include health camps and health related awareness sessions
• Environment activities would involve regular tree plantation drives, quarterly mass scale village cleanliness drives accompanied with environmental awareness which would be conducted with the involvement of Canon employees. Establishment of kitchen gardens, formation of common garbage pits and installation of solar panels would also be initiated.
• Under Empowerment, digital education will be ensured for youth through a vocational computer center. To support self-sustainable living, skill development courses will also be introduced for identifies community members.

About Canon's corporate philosophy 'Kyosei'

Canon India's CSR endeavors are driven by their corporate philosophy of 'Kyosei', which mean the 'spirit of living and working together for the common good', which is considered foremost in the organization's way of working and day-to-day operations. However, their definition of the word is much broader and encompasses "all people-regardless of their race, religion or culture, harmoniously living and working together for the common good." Moving forward with this philosophy, they believe in standing in unison when it comes to their commitment to the community and strive to make a positive impact in the society and the environment. The organization is involved in various community welfare programs aligned with their 4Es CSR policy implying Education, Eye Care, Environment and Empowerment, in an effort to build progressive self-reliant communities. Along with 'Adopt a Village' project, the organization is also associated with SOS Children's Village across the country to encourage and support the overall development of children in these villages.

About Canon Group

Ever since its foundation in 1937, Canon is guided by the "Kyosei" philosophy of living and working together for the common good. Canon strives to create and deliver world-class products, becoming a top global corporation by diversifying into new business fields throughout the world. Focusing on optical technologies, Canon produces office equipment, consumer and professional imaging devices, network cameras, healthcare and industrial equipment. Through the close connection between its global head office in Tokyo and regional headquarters in America, Europe, Asia, Oceania and regional headquarters in Japan, Canon combines its global and local operations organically. In 1996, Canon launched its Excellent Global Corporation Plan with the goal of serving the society with advanced technologies and becoming a trustworthy and responsible corporate citizen. The year 2016 was the first year of Phase 5 of the Plan. Currently, Canon boasts a strong global presence of 376 subsidiaries all over the world, supported by 197,776 employees. (Data as of December 31, 2017)

About Canon India

Canon India Pvt. Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of Canon Singapore Pvt. Ltd., is a world leader in imaging technologies. Set up in 1997, Canon markets over 200 comprehensive range of sophisticated contemporary digital imaging products and solutions in India. The company today has offices and warehouses in 14 cities across India and employs over 1000 people and over 850 channel partners. Canon India till date has opened over 250 retailer stores accredited as "Image Square" across 100+ cities in the country. Canon India's service reach extends to over 597 towns covering 18,978 PIN codes across India - which comprises of 200+ Camera collection points, 16 Camera repair centers, 276 Printer repair centers, 191 Copier, Scanner and Large Format Printer Sales & Service dealers. (Data as of January 13, 2021).

In sync with its corporate tagline- 'Delighting You Always', reinforced by World class technology, Canon offers an extended product portfolio, including copier MFDs, Managed Document Services, Printers, Document and Cheque Scanners, Digital Cameras, DSLRs, Cinematic Imaging Products catering to the multiple market segments of consumer, SME, B2B, Commercial, Government & PSUs.