Samsung, India’s most trusted brand, has given scholarships to 544 meritorious students from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) schools who have qualified for the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and National Institute of Technology (NIT), as part of its Samsung Star Scholar program, fulfilling its vision of #PoweringDigitalIndia by empowering the next generation of Young India.

In its sixth year, Samsung Star Scholar program has so far benefitted 800 JNV students. Under this program, Samsung offers scholarships every year to meritorious JNV students pursuing full-term B. Tech/Dual Degree (B.Tech + M.Tech) course at any IIT or NIT.

The program offers a scholarship of up to 2 lakh for expenses related to tuition, examination, hostel and mess for one academic year and it can be renewed every year up to 5 years, seeking to financially support less privileged students from JNV schools who qualify to these prestigious engineering colleges.

“Samsung helps young people around the world gain access to better educational and learning opportunities as part of its citizenship vision of ‘Together for Tomorrow! Enabling People’. The Samsung Star Scholar program is an embodiment of our vision of #PoweringDigitalIndia that seeks to empower the next generation of young India. As we enter the sixth year of the Star Scholar program, we are excited to have supported these bright young talent who we wish to see as future leaders transforming the nation,” Partha Ghosh, Vice President & Head, Corporate Citizenship, Samsung India, said.

This year the program has granted 150 scholarships to new applicants from JNVs, of which 87 will begin their journey across different IITs and 63 at different NITs across India this year. In addition, scholarships have been renewed for the next year for 394 existing students. Recipients of renewed scholarships include 139 second year students, 171 third year students, 82 fourth year students and two fifth year students.

The selection of first-year applicants is based on their All India Rank (AIR) in JEE Main, however, to get a renewal of the scholarship for the 2nd – 4/5th year, students are required to maintain a Semester Grade Point Average (SGPA) or Cumulative Grade Point Average (CPGA) rating of 5 or above.

The Samsung India and Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti partnership for ‘Samsung Smart School’ program, which is aimed at providing digital education to less-privileged students from rural backgrounds, began in 2013.

Samsung is adding smart classes to 80 new JNV schools, taking the total number of JNV schools in which Samsung has set up smart classes to 625, impacting close to 500,000 students. So far, over 8,000 teachers have also been trained on how to use interactive technology to teach effectively, improving the quality of teaching and building capacity at JNV schools

Every Samsung Smart Class is equipped with an interactive Samsung Smartboards, Samsung tablets, a printer, Wi-Fi connectivity and power backup.

To learn more about the ‘Samsung Star Scholar’ program, please visit Samsung’s website https://www.samsung.com/in/microsite/sapne-hue-bade/star-scholar/

It was a different morning for the employees of Samsung R&D Institute–Bangalore (SRI-B), when instead of sitting at their workstations and working hard at developing meaningful innovations for consumers in India and the world, they got their hands dirty for a very noble cause – to help increase the green cover in the beloved city.

Around 100 volunteers from SRI-B came together for a tree plantation drive, and planted over 900 saplings in and around the city, in Doddaballapura and Tumkur.

SRI-B employees participate in the Tree Plantation Drive in Bengaluru

The plantation drive not only contributed to the well-being of the ecology in the city but also sensitized people about the importance of tree plantation and environmental conservation.

“At Samsung, we are committed towards contributing to the community and feel that each one of us has a role to play. Our engineers were happy and excited to contribute to such an important cause. This is a small step and we will continue our efforts to benefit this region. This is our way of giving back to society,” said Mr. Dipesh Shah, Managing Director, Samsung R&D Institute–Bangalore.

Samsung associated with Rajanet Yegneswaran Charitable Trust for this activity.

“Some experiences leave an everlasting impression and this was just one amongst those. It was a day of sweat and toil and I was happy that I could contribute my part towards nature and society. I will continue my efforts as am really encouraged by the opportunity that SRI-B has given to all of us,” said Sohan Lal Bothra, who is a Lead Engineer in the Software Engineering Team.

Volunteer Sukhmeet Singh from Network Team, was really ecstatic to be a part of the drive.

“When I was young, I used to see my mother planting saplings and nurture them each day. She would make me put manure. This drive brought back memories and brought with it a chance to lend a hand towards contributing to nature,” he said.

This is not the first time that employees at SRI-B have contributed to ecological conservation. In October 2017, about 100 volunteers had taken part in planting 2,000 saplings in areas around the campus.

The popular television and digital campaign showcasing Samsung India’s initiative of taking customer service to the doorsteps of consumers in the hinterlands of India using its Customer Service Vans won the Special International Advertisement Award—the IAA President Award—at the prestigious Korea Advertising Awards.

Samsung India’s flagship CSR program, Samsung Technical School, won an award from the Minister of Trade, industry & Energy in the Korea CSR Film Festival, which is hosted by Korea Social Responsibility Institute (KOSRI).

Both these campaigns have been much appreciated in India and across the world.

Samsung India’s service campaign ‘We’ll Take Care of You, Wherever You Are’ showcases the journey of a young Samsung engineer on his way to provide services in a remote village in India, highlighting Samsung’s vision of creating long-lasting relationships with its consumers through timely service.

In February this year, the Samsung Service campaign film became the fastest among advertising videos on YouTube in India to cross 100 million views. It was also the highest-viewed advertising video in the Consumer Electronics and Smartphones category worldwide and the highest-viewed advertising video on YouTube across all categories in India. This is a testimony of consumer love and trust in brand Samsung.

In October 2016, Samsung , India’s most trusted brand in the mobile and consumer durables categories, strengthened its commitment to provide quality customer service in both urban and rural India by augmenting its service network with 535 service vans.

With this, Samsung India’s service network has grown to over 3,000 from 2,000 service points earlier, extending its reach to customers in over 6,000 talukas across the country. Samsung now has the largest service network in the mobile and consumer durables categories in India. These vans have travelled over 1 million kilometres across the country so far and have helped in bringing down the overall time taken for attending customer complaints in rural areas significantly.

The Samsung Technical School campaign (#SapneHueBade), on the other hand, went on to be viewed by over 80 million, over 24 million of them women, the highest for any advertising video on YouTube in India.

The digital campaign film, aimed at highlighting women empowerment, is based on the real life of Seema Nagar, a young girl from a small village near Jaipur, who defied odds to become a Samsung technician. She has now become a household name. The film depicts her trials and tribulations before she entered Samsung Technical School. Following her training at Samsung Technical School, Jaipur, Ms. Nagar took up a job at Samsung Service Center in the same city.

She recently got a government job with the same institute she got her technical education from and is now busy teaching students, inspiring them to dream big.

Samsung Technical School initiative was started in 2013 in collaboration with the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and Departments of Technical Education in different states such as Rajasthan, Kerala, Bihar, Delhi and West Bengal. Today, 22 Samsung Technical School have so far trained over 2,000 youth and made them job-ready across different technical trades.  Through this initiative, Samsung aims to support the government’s vision to make India a global manufacturing hub by addressing the need for talented manpower with practical know-how and relevant industry experience.

In its recent campaigns, Samsung has been connecting with consumers through the warmth of the brand. It has launched several heart-warming campaigns such as the Samsung Smart Class campaign, the Samsung Technical School campaign, the Customer Service Vans campaign as well as the recent Samsung Safe India campaign that encourages people to use their mobile phones responsibly.

Samsung India has entered into a partnership with the Government of Karnataka to help the state efficiently manage its public healthcare facilities.

As part of the agreement, Samsung Research & Development Institute, Bangalore (SRI-B) handed over 1,000 Samsung Tab IRIS to the Department of Health, Government of Karnataka. Samsung Tab IRIS, the first commercial tablet to be approved by UIDAI for Aadhar and KYC verification, would enable Public Health Centers (PHC) in the state to build their database in a digital format.

This association is aimed towards providing advanced technological support in the management of medical subsidies and operations at PHCs in the state more efficiently.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Samsung R&D Institute, Bangalore and Health and Family Welfare Department, Government of Karnataka.

“Samsung is extremely proud to partner with the state government for this digital transformation in the public healthcare space and are confident that the advanced technology of Samsung Tab IRIS will give a digital boost to the whole healthcare system. This will enable Public Health Centers to maintain and share medical databases on a real time basis. Samsung has been in India for 21 years and has always contributed towards making lives of its customers easy with the help of its innovative, meaningful technologies,” said Dr. Aloknath De, Chief Technology Officer, Samsung R&D Institute, Bangalore.

Samsung Tab IRIS is SIM enabled and has the capability to scan the Iris of an individual, which can then be linked to Aadhar. This would help PHCs to generate various value added reports to facilitate decision making by the Health Department. This integration of technology with the help of Samsung Tab IRIS, aims to centrally consolidate information related to PHC administration such as patient treatment, diagnosis, deliveries and drug availability from various locations along with GPS information.

“We are confident that Samsung’s world class technology will help us manage our public healthcare facilities more efficiently. Digitizing the database is very important for our public health centers as it will lead to better planning and decision making at a state as well as central level,” said Shri. Ramesh Kumar, Hon’ble Minister, Health and Family Welfare Department, Government of Karnataka.

“We aim to connect with each and every resident of Karnataka at their door steps by upgrading the skills of our field staff and equip them with high tech Tabs. We are grateful to Samsung for associating their program with Karnataka. In the days to come we will have Virtual Clinics with specialists on board connected to patients through these Tabs. The surveillance data and health records of patients would be analyzed online to take effective steps towards prevention of diseases. Audio visual awareness will also be enhanced through the use of these Tabs,” said Dr. Shalini Rajneesh, Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, Government of Karnataka.

The digital database of these Public Health Centers would have the capability to provide information regarding implementation of various welfare schemes such as post-natal care kit for BPL/SC/ST women, Janani Suraksha Yojana, and others at the PHC level. This would provide information support to the Government to proactively intervene for improved health of citizens and target its welfare schemes more efficiently.

Celebrating International Women’s Day, Samsung will reach out to girl students in government schools of Noida and Gurugram in Delhi-NCR and Sriperumbudur near Chennai. Each girl will be given a solar LED lantern that will enable them to spend more time on their studies, even during power outages.

The lanterns, approved by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India, are equipped with a solar panel and will come with a three-year product warranty.

“At Samsung, our aim is to harness the Company’s legacy of innovation to positively transform communities and create a better life for people through different initiatives. Education of the girl child is a key priority and through this initiative we want to reach out and light up the education of 10,000 girl students. This initiative is a small step towards helping these young girls grow up to become individual role-models,” said Mr. Deepak Bhardwaj, Vice President, Samsung India.

Samsung began its journey in India in 1995, and in over two decades, it has grown into one of the country’s biggest consumer product companies, with 2 factories, 3 R&D centres, 1 design centre, 1.5 lakh retail outlets and over 45,000 employees. Samsung is also India’s Most Trusted Brand and is pioneering local manufacturing through its ‘Make for India’ initiative.

Samsung India Citizenship Initiatives

Samsung Smart Class, the Company’s flagship citizen program in India, promotes digital education among underprivileged students, especially in rural India. This initiative aims to bridge the digital gap between rural and urban India and provide equal opportunities for quality education to children from all backgrounds. Since 2013, over 400 Samsung Smart Class have been set up at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya schools across the length and breadth of India benefitting over 2 lakh students. In addition, over 7,400 teachers have been trained on how to use interactive technology to teach.

The Company has also established Samsung Technical Schools in partnership with the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME), Government of India and ITIs in the states of Bihar, West Bengal, Kerala, Rajasthan and Delhi, to address the need for talented manpower with practical know-how and relevant industry experience. Students also benefit from exposure to Samsung manufacturing facilities and authorized service centers. Till date, Samsung Technical Schools have provided technical training for job opportunities to over 1,700 youth.

One of the Company’s key citizenship initiatives is the Samsung Smart Healthcare program that has been designed to support the Government’s efforts to provide the best of healthcare to millions of citizens especially from the economically weaker sections. Through this program, Samsung provides government hospitals its innovative healthcare equipment such as ultrasound, digital radiology and accessories, with the aim to make affordable healthcare accessible to the large number of patients at select Government hospitals in Chennai, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Gurugram and Delhi.

Thirty students of JNV Chandigarh were recently shown Samsung India’s campaign film on Samsung Smart Class. The four-minute film depicts the real life story of young Sadanand Ugale, who secured a study trip to Australia from JNV in Aurangabad, Maharashtra.

Students of JNV Chandigarh became emotional, while watching the film and some had tears in their eyes by the time the film ended. Students said Sadanand Ugale is an inspiration for them.

Applications for JNV entrance test have risen since the film on Samsung Smart Class was released in October 2016, teachers said.

Titled ‘Dreams Become Bigger when People and Technology Come Together’, the film has been viewed over 35 million times on social networking site YouTube so far.

Sadanand Ugale is one of the over 2 lakh school students to have benefitted from Samsung Smart Class, the company’s flagship citizenship program that currently covers 400 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya schools in India.

The measures are aimed at strengthening the review and approval process for donations and payments to CSR projects. The company will also enhance the review of how these projects are being executed.

Board approval for donations over 1 billion won

All financial donations and CSR funding amounting to more than 1 billion won will require the approval from the company’s Board of Directors.

This is to enhance the transparency of the management of such donations and funds and to strengthen the compliance by requiring the approval of the Board, which is comprised of a majority of outside directors.

To date, the company only required board approval for endowments that were more than 0.5% of the company’s shareholder equity. Currently, 0.5% of the shareholder equity is approximately 680 billion won.

Public disclosure of the resolution

Samsung Electronics will disclose details of the financial donations and CSR funding agreed at the Board of Directors through the DART – the electronic disclosure system operated by the Financial Supervisory Service.

Related details will also be made available in quarterly business reports, as well as the annual sustainability report.

Establishment of the Review Council for preliminary review

In order to strengthen the preliminary review process, Samsung Electronics will establish a Review Council comprised of the head executives of legal, financial, human resources and communication departments. The council will meet once a week to review the proposed projects.

Any financial donation or CSR funding amounting to more than 10 million won will be subject to review, and will be transferred to the next process only after approval from the Review Council.

Quarterly review of project execution

The operation of approved financial donations and CSR funding will be reviewed every quarter not only by the Review Council and the management, but also the audit committee of the Board of Directors.

The review by the Board’s audit committee, comprised solely of outside directors, will help toward improving transparency related to the execution of financial donations and CSR funding.

Akshay, a student of JNV Chandigarh, wants to become an engineer

Nineteen-year-old Akshay became a hero among his classmates at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV), Chandigarh, when he topped the Xth board examination in 2015. He hopes to repeat his performance in the upcoming XIIth standard board examination next year.

Akshay attributes his transition from a “backbencher” to an outperformer to the introduction of digital education in his school three years ago.

“I used to be a mediocre student, but I felt attracted towards studies when Samsung Smart Class was introduced in our school. The class is beautiful and well-maintained, there’s a big LED screen and I had a laptop. I loved it. I think, it is one of the big factors behind me getting a perfect 10 CGPA in my Xth board examination.”

Samsung launched its Smart Class programme in collaboration with Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya schools in 2013. Every Samsung Smart Class is equipped with an interactive Samsung Smartboard, Samsung laptops/tablets, Wi-Fi connectivity and power backup.

Samsung Start Class in JNV Chandigarh

The digital environment in Samsung’s Smart Class not only helps students learn complicated concepts easily, but also encourages them to participate in classroom discussions.

“Students are always curious and interested to come to Samsung Smart Class. It makes teaching easier and there is a great deal of interest to learn new things,” says Anup Kumar, who teaches Mathematics at JNV, Chandigarh.

Mrs. Santosh Sharma, the Principal of the school, says the concentration level of students has gone up, their concepts have become clear and they are overall more confident.

“My students are showing more interest in academics and asking more questions in the class,” she added.

JNV Chandigarh Principal Mrs. Santosh Sharma says the number of toppers is on the rise

In 2015, JNV, Chandigarh notched up its best performance in Xth class board examination, with as many as five students getting a perfect 10 score. The number of students in the top A1 and A2 categories has also gone up since the introduction of digital education, according to Mrs. Sharma.

JNV Chandigarh is home to over 500 students from across the country

“We want our classes to be interesting, where we can watch, listen and understand different concepts. Samsung Smart Class proved to be of great help. It made studies easier helped us understand concepts and get answers through video conferencing too,” says Simran, who is one of the five JNV students who got a perfect 10 CGPA in Xth standard.

Simran used a laptop for the first time, when Samsung Smart Class was introduced in JNV in 2013

Samsung Smart Class supplements regular lessons in mathematics, science and social science to explain concepts in an engaging and interactive manner. Now, many teachers have started preparing their own digital course material, so that students get a better grasp of all subjects.

“I have been using Samsung Smart Class to take the students through epics such as Ramayana and Mahabharata. Samsung Smart Class has caught the imagination of children. Students are attentive even in the absence of teachers in the class,” said Rajesh Kumar, who teaches Hindi at the school.

It’s not only academics, where Samsung’s flagship citizen programme is making a difference. The digital environment at JNVs has helped students develop keen interest in extra-curricular activities, such as quizzing and Olympiads, teachers say.

The smart class also doubles up as a computer lab because of good internet connectivity and state-of-the-art equipment, teachers say.

“Samsung Smart Class helps me think beyond the box and expand my thinking,” said Utkarsh, who wants to become an astrophysicist.

Utkarsh attributes his keen interest in Physics and Astronomy to innovative courseware in Samsung Smart Class

Samsung Smart Class runs in over 373 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya schools and has benefitted over 2 lakh students. Over 7,400 teachers have been trained on how to use interactive technology to teach.

“We are elated with the phenomenal success of our flagship citizen program in India. This initiative is closely tied with India’s development agenda, and implemented in close partnership with government departments to ensure wider reach and impact among the less-privileged children,” said Mr. Deepak Bhardwaj, Head of CSR at Samsung India.

Smart Class, Uttar Pradesh

Samsung India Electronics today inaugurated a Samsung Smart Class at the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Mr. Girish Chandra, Deputy Commissioner, Navodaya Samiti inaugurated digitally interactive Smart Class along with Mr. Rajiv Mishra, Vice President, Samsung India Electronics. There are a total of 41 Samsung Smart Classes across the state of Uttar Pradesh now.

Samsung Smart Class, the company’s flagship CSR initiative in India, aims to bridge the digital gap between rural and urban India and provide equal opportunities for quality education to children from all backgrounds. Every Smart Class is equipped with Samsung products such as Samsung interactive whiteboard, laptops, a printer and a Wi-Fi connection to enable students to access digital content and be part of an interactive learning environment. Students are taught Mathematics, Science, English and Social Science in an engaging and visually appealing manner, helping them learn better and retain more information. The Samsung Smart Class are set up at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) schools, a system of alternate schools under the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India targeting talented children in rural India.

Mr. Rajiv Mishra, Vice President, Samsung India Electronics, said, “Digital India envisions a future where everything from scholarship applications to hospital appointments and governance discussions will be online. Over the last two years, the Samsung Smart Class initiative has helped over one lakh children across India to become digitally literate, enabling them to be contributors to the future of Digital India. I am delighted to welcome JNV Lucknow into the Samsung Smart Class family and look forward to strengthening Samsung’s work in bridging the digital divide.”

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. S.K. Mund, Assistant Commissioner – Administration, Navodaya Samiti, said, “The world is going digital and we need to start early to equip our children with skills to tap into the opportunities that the digital future will offer. We at the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya envisage a world where talented children – irrespective of socio-economic background – get equal avenues of quality education. We are elated that our association with Samsung has been successfully aiding us in this mission. The feedback from principals, teachers and students for the Samsung smart class is extremely encouraging and we are actively expanding our reach across the country.”

The inauguration of the Smart Class at Lucknow also marked the beginning of a two-day training session. These sessions aim to aid teachers to teach effectively in an interactive manner using the content and tools provided for the Smart Classes.

Since its inauguration in 2013, Smart Classes have been set up in over 260 schools across the length and breadth of India, benefitting over 1.5 lakh students. By end 2015, Samsung aims to enable students in 373 JNV schools to experience digitally interactive “smart” learning. Teachers with Samsung Smart Class in their school have reported better attention levels, higher enthusiasm and interest in participating in classroom discussions, as lessons can be taught in a personalised and digitally interactive learning environment.

Samsung CSR initiatives seek to leverage the company’s expertise in developing technological solutions that shape the future. In addition to the Samsung Smart Class initiative, the company has also established Samsung Technical Schools to address the need for talented manpower with practical know-how and relevant industry experience. Samsung Technical Schools are set up in collabouration with the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and Departments of Technical Education in states such as Bihar, Delhi, Kerala, Rajasthan and West Bengal.