The Anand Paul Education Support Programme was launched in February 2010, to invest in the community in and around Park Street, Kolkata, the place from where the Apeejay Surrendra Group established its office and business presence. The objective of the programme was to identify children from the poorest areas around Park Street, who had either dropped out of school or were not enrolled in school, and help them return to school. These were children who could easily fall through the cracks of the system, lose the advantages of an education and thus lose the ability to change the quality of their lives.

There are an estimated over 300 million Indians who have fallen through the cracks and remain unlettered and consequently, less productive and less conscious persons, which in turn affects their capacity to earn livelihoods, access their entitlements, raise demands, make decisions and participate responsibly while making choices.

The Anand Paul Education Support Programme is a new approach – it reaches into the slums and literally delivers support at the doorstep, thereby making it easier for aspirants to adopt it.

Under this programme, we opened 10 education centers in local club–rooms and community halls in association with Cini Asha and Focus, NGOs who have done great work in this area.