Seminar sponsored by Tata Power
Convergence seminar at Haldia: March 3, 2017
Tata Power Community Development Trust (TPCDT) is the social development wing of Tata Power which believes in integrating its business values and operations to meet the expectations of it’s stakeholders. Communities ranging from those villages around its plants to those employed by its contractors and suppliers, are the key stakeholders and Tata Power ensures that the benefit from the Company’s presence in the neighbourhood.
TPCDT has sanctioned an integrated project w.e.f. 1st April, 2015, in favour of Calcutta Society for Professional Action in Development (SPADE) in Sutahata Block in East Medinipur district in West Bengal. The major objectives were to mobilise the women members of the households into SHGs and SHG-based higher institutions and strengthen these CBOs, to increase household income of the SHG families through accessing the required financial and business development services. Besides, to empower the community institutionally, socially and economically to access the various entitlements and services by developing strong convergence with Govt. line Departments
Calcutta Society for Professional Action in Development, popularly known as SPADE, was established in Calcutta in 1994 as a Non Profit Society. It provides technical, professional and managerial support and services to different developmental stakeholders. During the last decade, SPADE has established itself as a major non-governmental organization playing an important role in the field of development. This was made possible by a team of volunteers and professionals who committed themselves to provide technical, professional, and managerial support services to the development sector.
From the year 2000 onwards, SPADE began to consolidate its focus on two major themes: Self Help Group Management and Disaster Management including Community Based Health Promotion wherein SPADE is now a prominent player in the state. Gradually SPADE proliferated its activities from Kolkata to five other districts and now has field offices at Nadia, Purulia and Murshidabad and Dakshin Dinajpur and Purba Medinipur.
The word convergence literally means the act of converging or especially moving toward union or uniformity. From the perspective of the Development Sector, convergence refers to collaboration among the different stakeholders so as to implement the policies and programs that have been designed for a particular project. Under the present context, the term stakeholders refer to Bank, Government Line Departments like Agriculture, Animal Resource Development, Horticulture Department, Panchayat and Rural Development Department, local Community Based Institutions like SHGs, Federations, etc., the Sponsoring Agency and the community at large. In fact, convergence is required so as to enable the target community to access the different Schemes and other entitlements that the Government is providing through the network of different Line Departments.
