Guwahati: In a region where inadequate sanitation continues to undermine girl child education, telecom infrastructure giant Indus Towers Limited has unveiled CSR initiative to combat systemic educational barriers in Assam. On June 25, the company inaugurated seven new sanitation units across government schools in six districts—Kamrup, Mankachar, Goalpara, Barpeta, Darrang, and Jorhat—under its flagship social impact program ‘Pragati’.
The facilities were inaugurated by Dr. Ranoj Pegu, Minister of Education, Assam, alongside Rajender Gurung, Circle CEO - NESA, Indus Towers, at Satgaon High School in Guwahati.
“Sanitation is not just about infrastructure, it's about dignity, safety, and continued access to education, especially for girls,” said Pegu while interacting with the media. “This intervention by Indus Towers is timely and necessary, and I hope to see its ripple effect across the state.”
Sanitation Drive Boosts Girls' Education
With growing telecom penetration in the Northeast, Indus Towers has already cemented its role as a critical infrastructure provider in the region. However, through Pragati, the company is stepping beyond its core mandate to strategically invest in education-linked infrastructure—an area where Assam and other northeastern states lag significantly.
“Through ‘Pragati’, we are not just bridging infrastructure gaps but creating environments where girls can learn without fear or discomfort,” said Rajender Gurung of Indus Towers. “Better hygiene equals better attendance, and ultimately, better educational outcomes.”
The CSR initiative is aimed specifically at mitigating female dropout rates linked to poor sanitation and lack of menstrual hygiene awareness—two issues that consistently show up in both education and health indicators across the region. According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), over one in three schools in Assam still lacks functional girls' toilets, a factor directly correlated with absenteeism and dropouts among adolescent girls.
“This is not just about toilets. It’s about breaking barriers to education,” said Gurung. “By providing safe and clean sanitation facilities, we are addressing long-standing inequities that go unnoticed in traditional infrastructure investments.”
A critical differentiator in Indus Towers’ model is its integrated approach—the project includes awareness campaigns and menstrual hygiene workshops aimed at destigmatizing periods, building knowledge, and empowering young girls with decision-making ability around their health.
Implemented in partnership with NEAID (Northeast Centre for Equity Action on Integrated Development), the initiative goes beyond the government’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, by bringing in localized behavioral change frameworks. NEAID’s role as a community-embedded nonprofit ensures that the physical infrastructure is supplemented with the socio-emotional tools necessary for its adoption.
This dual approach—hardware (sanitation units) + software (awareness)—marks a significant evolution in how large corporates are executing CSR with a measurable impact lens.
So far, the company has constructed 23 sanitation facilities in government schools across the eight northeastern states.
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