Inside Hyundai Motor India: Driving social change

Eight-year-old Selvam loved Mathematics. But sitting on the cold, hard floor to do his sums was uncomfortable. His knees hurt from the awkward positions he had to sit in while writing. Soon, there was no joy left in learning even his favourite subject. But this changed once he saw a new desk and bench for himself,” R Sethuraman, senior vice-president, finance & corporate affairs, Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) tells me.

I am at the village Irungattukottai, right next to the HMIL plant in Sriperumbudur near Chennai, which has been adopted by Hyundai Motor India Foundation (HMIF) as part of larger HMIF plan to adopt villages. “Today, the village is on a healthy, sustainable and productive way of life,” adds R Sethuraman, who is also the trustee of HMIF.

“How did you go about it?” I ask. “The HMIF team examined every aspect of life in the village and evaluated existing facilities. A ‘needs list’ was drawn up in consultation with the villagers. This formed the foundation of a master plan of village development. Budgets were allotted and work was taken up,” Sethuraman replies. “And what did the project include?” I ask. “It was about raising awareness on the link between health and hygiene. For instance, of the 435 homes in Irungattukottai, only 200 had toilets. So, we constructed 235

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