BALCO Champions Farmer Empowerment and Agri-Innovation Through Kisan Mela 2025
29th December 2025
Balconagar, 29th December 2025: Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO), India’s iconic aluminium producer and a unit of Vedanta Aluminium, organized a Mega Kisan Mela commemorating Kisan Diwas (23rd December) in Bela and Songudha villages of Korba district. The event brought together over 750 farmers from 40 villages, alongside technical experts, government officials, financial institutions, and agri-entrepreneurs, creating a vibrant platform for knowledge exchange on modern farming practices and sustainable livelihoods.
Hosted in collaboration with BAIF Institute for Sustainable Livelihoods and Development, the Mela featured demonstrations and discussions on advanced techniques in agriculture, horticulture, fisheries, livestock management, and crop insurance. Exhibitions showcased farm machinery distributed under BALCO’s Mor Jal Mor Maati (MJMM) project, along with displays from the Hi-Tech Nursery at Naktikhar, emphasizing the importance of quality planting material. The Farmer Producer Organization (FPO) stall highlighted farmer collectivization and market linkages, while stalls by Marut Drone, Crompton Motor, Birla Pipe, and those from the Agriculture and Horticulture Departments, disseminated information on modern technologies, irrigation solutions, government schemes, and emerging opportunities in agri-entrepreneurship.
Commenting on the initiative, Rajesh Kumar, CEO & Director, BALCO, said, “Farmers play a critical role in ensuring food security for millions. At BALCO, our efforts go beyond providing technology or training. We aim to create opportunities that help farmers diversify income and build resilience. Through initiatives like ‘Mor Jal Mor Maati’, we are supporting farmers in adopting agriculture, horticulture, and animal husbandry as viable and profitable livelihood options, while contributing meaningfully to the country’s growth.”
Sharing his experience, Arjun Kanwar, a farmer from Rogbehri, said, “Over the years, my farm has transformed with BALCO’s support. The training and guidance helped me improve my farming practices, increase yields, and manage costs better. This year, I was also recognised for adopting improved farming methods, that further encouraged me to continue learning and motivate other farmers in my village to follow the same.”
The Mor Jal Mor Maati project focuses on water management, multi-cropping, and introducing horticulture and animal husbandry as supplementary income sources. Covering over 3,200 acres and reaching more than 8,000 farmers, the project has enabled over 6,000 farmers to adopt modern agricultural practices, leading to improved productivity and higher incomes. Nearly 25% of beneficiaries are young farmers, signalling a positive shift toward agriculture as a primary livelihood. By facilitating access to government schemes and institutional support, BALCO continues to strengthen rural livelihoods and promote sustainable agricultural development, demonstrating how knowledge, innovation, and collaboration can positively transform farming communities in Chhattisgarh.
About BALCO:
Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO) is a subsidiary of Vedanta Limited, operating a 0.57 million tonne per annum aluminium smelter in Korba, Chhattisgarh. It is part of Vedanta’s Aluminium Business, a division of Vedanta Limited, which is India’s largest producer of aluminium, manufacturing more than half of India’s aluminium, i.e., 2.42 million tonnes in FY25. It is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. Vedanta Aluminium ranks 2nd in the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment 2024 world rankings for the aluminium industry, a reflection of its leading sustainable development practices. With its world-class aluminium smelters, alumina refinery and power plants in India, the company fulfils its mission of spurring emerging applications of aluminium as the ‘Metal of the Future’ for a greener tomorrow. For more information, please log on to
www.balcoindia.com
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Disclaimer:
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” – that is, statements related to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “should” or “will.” Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. For us, uncertainties arise from the behaviour of financial and metals markets including the London Metal Exchange, fluctuations in interest and or exchange rates and metal prices; from future integration of acquired businesses; and from numerous other matters of national, regional, and global scale, including those of a political, economic, business, competitive or regulatory nature. These uncertainties may cause our actual future results to be materially different than those expressed in our forward-looking statements. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements.
About Vedanta Limited:
Vedanta Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Limited, is one of the world’s leading Oil
& Gas and Metals company with significant operations in Oil & Gas, Zinc, Lead, Silver,
Copper, Iron Ore, Steel, and Aluminium & Power across India, South Africa, Namibia, and
Australia. For two decades, Vedanta has been contributing significantly to nation building.
Governance and sustainable development are at the core of Vedanta's strategy, with a strong
focus on health, safety, and environment. Giving back is in the DNA of Vedanta, which is
focused on enhancing the lives of local communities. Under the aegis of Vedanta Cares, the
flagship social impact program, Nand Ghars have been set up as model anganwadis focused on
eradicating child malnutrition, providing education, healthcare, and empowering women with
skill development. Vedanta and its group companies have been featured in Dow Jones
Sustainability Index 2020, and were conferred Frost & Sullivan Sustainability Awards 2020,
CII Environmental Best Practices Award 2020, CSR Health Impact Award 2020, CII National
Award 2020 for Excellence in Water Management, CII Digital Transformation Award 2020, ICSI
National Award 2020 for excellence in Corporate Governance, People First HR Excellence Award
2020, ‘Company with Great Managers 2020’ by People Business and certified as a Great Place
to Work 2021. Vedanta’s flagship Nand Ghar Project was identified as best CSR project by the
Government of Rajasthan. Vedanta Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the
National Stock Exchange in India and has ADRs listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
For more information, please visit
www.vedantalimited.com
