The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has released a number of case studies on the role of the IT sector in spreading awareness about HIV/AIDS called Inclusive Response to HIV and AIDS challenge - experience from the Indian IT sector.
On the occasion of the release, Djordjija Petkoski, lead specialist of World Bank Institute, said that it was time that Indian IT sector shared its experience with other developing countries, especially in HIV/AIDS, as part of increasing capacity development. He also urged the Indian industry to conduct more workplace intervention programmes to tackle social and health issues like HIV/AIDS.
Tarun Das, chief mentor of CII, said India was the first country where business houses had joined hands to set up Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) centres in the country. In this context, he pointed to the setting up of the IBT in the year 2000, with Ratan Tata as the head, to bring focus on HIV/ AIDS work, to engage business leadership and to provide a forum for convergence of industry's response.
The case studies were released in a function held in Delhi today. They outlined the initiatives and experiences of eight leading IT companies in addressing the issues of HIV/AIDS. These companies have used their IT expertise in areas like e-learning, mobile gaming, and call centre technology to raise awareness, educate and provide information services to contribute to HIV prevention and care efforts. It highlights how the inclusion of HIV/AIDS challenges in their CSR agenda had helped these companies tackle this issue, both in the workplace in particular and in the community in general.
The companies comprise App Labs, Intel Technologies, MphasiS, Paharpur Business Centre and Software Technology Incubator Park, Satyam Computer Services, Scope International, Tata Consultancy Services, and ZMQ Software Systems.
Das also disclosed how CII was today no longer an industry lobbying organization but an institution with a social agenda that was seeking to ensure that the fruits of development reached everyone.
