There has been a transformative shift in the global economy as a result of growing connectivity, adoption of digital technology as well as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. While the changes present immense opportunities for economic and social growth and development, this ‘new reality’ also presents daunting challenges for countries and economies, including a growing one, like India.
Governments, at all levels, are and will be critical players in leading this transformation and the new wave of sustainable prosperity through jobs, investment and new industries. In line with this, Government of India has launched national programmes and business reforms that present opportunities for firms like ours to participate in nation building across a broad spectrum of reforms.
The social sector has been a driving force in developing India’s economy with multiple organisations striving to empower local communities, thereby reducing the perils faced by the disadvantaged sections of the society pertaining to healthcare, livelihood, sanitation, education and other humanitarian causes.
KPMG in India collaborates with the government in nearly a third of its ministries, to support the various programmes across infrastructure, citizen services and more.
Our team works closely with thinktanks and the private sector to drive results, enable transformation and promote job creation. With a nationwide presence and global network, we deliver integrated services, focusing on responsiveness, flexibility and accountability to meet the needs of India's citizens.
The work we do for our clients should also benefit our people, communities and world. By leveraging our professional strengths, we will continue to inspire confidence and empower change, contributing to India’s growth journey.
Ushering in quality education for the youth of India
Skill development and vocational training in India are on a path of acceleration. Skills Strengthening for Industrial Value Enhancement (STRIVE) is a World Bank-assisted Government of India project with the objective of improving the relevance and efficiency of skills training provided through Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and apprenticeship by involving SMEs, business association and industry clusters.
KPMG in India was engaged in supporting the programme’s implementation, helping improve market relevance of skill development in long-term vocational education training.
An outcome-based Central Sector Scheme (CSS) with a budget outlay of INR2,200 crore (US$318 million), STRIVE covers the following four result areas:
- Improved performance of ITIs
- Increased capacity of state governments to support ITIs and apprenticeship training
- Improved teaching and learning
- Improved and broadened apprenticeship training.
Our teams supported delivery of on-ground results by:
- Implementing a grading framework across 13,500+ Information Technology Institutes (ITIs)
- Enhancing training outcomes for more than 2.5 lakh ITI trainees across 426 projects
We also developed a career progression policy that:
- Impacted over 70,000 trainers
- Supported the development and implementation of computer-based test for over 12 lakh trainees
- Institutionalised the concept of apprenticeship training via MSME industry clusters across India
The scheme helps empower change by supporting the country’s rise in the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ index and facilitating a steady supply of a globally competitive workforce to the industry.
Har ghar jal: Enhancing ease of living
With the goal of providing safe and adequate drinking water through individual tap connections to every household in rural areas by 2024, our Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi ji, launched Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in 2019. Its aim is to not only ensure ease of living, but also enhance the quality of life, especially for the female members of every household.
JJM is also playing a pivotal role in improving the health index, as evidenced by a research paper led by Nobel Laureate Michael Kremer, which found it to have the potential to prevent about 1,36,000 under-5 deaths per year.
A recent WHO report estimates that ensuring safely managed drinking water for all households could avert nearly 400,000 deaths caused by diarrheal diseases and prevent approximately 14 million Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) related to these diseases. This achievement would result in estimated cost savings of up to US$101 billion.
KPMG in India has been closely working with the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation, as the National Project Management Unit, assisting program implementation by supporting in multiple thematic areas viz. program management, financial monitoring, HRD & capacity building, data analysis, and in activities related to social media, and information, education & communication (IEC). At the time of writing this report, over 12.27 crore rural households had been provided with tap water connections.
One of the critical aspects of strong delivery and building trust is the innovative solutions we bring to our clients. One such idea was the formation of a ‘Rural WASH Partner Forum’ with the objective of bringing together multiple stakeholders, such as NGOs and state governments, on a single platform to foster and facilitate sharing of experiences, ideas and innovative solutions. The proposal was wellreceived and was implemented by the Ministry.
With sustainability and consumer-centricity at its core, the program is a crucial step towards achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 6, which aims to ensure access to water and sanitation for all. And we are honored to be part of this national seminal initiative.
Enhancing the quality of school education in Nagaland
Nagaland's education system faces myriad challenges, leading to declining student learning outcomes as reflected in the findings of the National Achievement Surveys (NAS).
To address this, the World Bank-funded Nagaland: Enhancing Classroom Teaching and Resources (NECTAR) project aims to improve learning outcomes in government schools and elevate teaching practices and quality of learning environments in select schools.
Aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the programme will benefit 2,000 schools, 20,000 teachers and 150,000 students from kindergarten to grade 12.
KPMG in India has helped develop the blueprint of an innovative model that reorients the education system’s focus from inputs towards learning outcomes. This includes a model for developing teachers as instructional leaders.
We have supported the Department of School Education (DSE) in developing the implementation roadmap through technical assistance in stakeholder management, monitoring framework of project objectives and results indicators, financial management, procurement management and concept notes.
The Performance Incentive Grants (PIG) has been acknowledged as a success, benefitting about 1,875 schools across the state, with each school undertaking needs-based planning and fulfilling specific needs in categories of school infrastructure development, classroom learning and development as well as community participation.
The NEP-The Lighthouse project is the firstever World Bank-financed education project in the north-east region of India to be directly implemented by a state government, i.e., Department of School Education (DSE), Government of Nagaland.
Impacting the entire learning arena, from the curriculum and schools to the teachers and students – NECTAR emphasises on reinforcing the relevance of ‘Communitisation’ of schools and strengthen the community’s role as guardians of public institutions.
Fuelling innovation
Technology continues to be in a state of perpetual evolution and has been the single largest catalyst in driving transformation. To help our clients navigate today’s competitive market, KPMG in India supports companies along their digital transformation journey, helping them create long-term shared value.
Accelerating digital transformation through KPMG Lighthouse
As new realities emerge every day in the world order, our clients contend with enablement needs that can help them grow, deal with complex services and products and traverse through unforeseen developments.
At KPMG Lighthouse, we combine data, analytics and artificial intelligence to enable new ways of working. Using the latest data-driven technologies and capabilities, along with KPMG’s deeprooted domain and sector expertise, we enable faster, smarter decisions and stronger performance.
Here are a few areas where we are combining business and technology perspectives in our solutions to meet mission-critical priorities:
- Supply chain resilience
- Procurement/Spend optimisation
- Downtime reduction and failure
Supplier risk sensing engine
This data science-based risk engine is devised to compute and optimize performance impact – Value at Risk – on products due to strategic, operational, and hyper-operational risks and events on networks.
Key building blocks include:
- Visibility into multiple tiers in the supplier network
- A network view of all constituent materials and associated supplier and manufacturing sites
- A view connecting real-time events at every location
- Connecting product information with risk
Spend analytics
The solution was designed to infuse multiple elements of technology for automated spend analysis and targeted insights across the procurement value chain. It collects and enriches data and enables organisations to achieve goals around savings, risk and efficiency.
Key building blocks include:
- Natural language processing
- Spend classification
- What-ifs
It helps organisations improve spend under management and buying behaviour, and in cost avoidance.
Our flagship KPMG Innovation Kaleidoscope centre, which was inaugurated in July 2022 in Mumbai, is a collaborative workspace aimed at providing immersive experiences, insights and solutions for our people and clients. The centre has grown from 40+ solutions to over 150+, experienced by 125+ clients, internal and global teams, has witnessed 60+ unique client visits and has over 50 new and existing assets displayed.
Open innovation platform
The open innovation platform supports the most promising early-stage start-ups from various corners of the country in a bid to nurture the most innovative solutions. We have a strong portfolio of over 70 start-ups and new-age companies.
The firm has also invested in the co-development of solutions with select start-ups and in building implementation capabilities for key solutions.
Hackathons
Our first Advisory hackathon was organized in 2022, inviting ideas from all service lines, representing major industry verticals. The submitted ideas were shortlisted by the ‘Advisory Innovation Council’ following a robust process of evaluation with criteria such as feasibility, desirability, novelty, differentiability and most importantly, scalability. Solutions derived from winning concepts are being readied for go-tomarket. The final solution will also be displayed at the KPMG Innovation Kaleidoscope centre.
In the future, the centre will showcase an array of immersive assets developed by teams from the Consumer Markets and Retail, Microsoft and Salesforce, KPMG Industrial AID and Generative AI use cases by Digital Solutions.
Uplifting our communities
At KPMG in India, we recognize our responsibility and are aware of our ability to make a positive impact on the communities that need it the most. We don’t take this responsibility lightly and ensure that we back our intent with action.
Committed to making a positive impact, we partner with organisations across the country to provide immediate and long-term support on a number of issues impacting the underserved groups of India’s population.
Focus on SDGs
To channelise our efforts, we have aligned our goals to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of quality education, thereby impacting other SDGs such as decent work and economic growth, no poverty, and zero hunger. We provide opportunities, skills, and training to support our beneficiaries through our 10by30 approach.
The vision
Economically empower 10 million disadvantaged young people across the world by 2030 through education, employment and entrepreneurship
The strategy
Support organisations to enable the following for the underserved students and youth:
- Skilling: Skills to succeed in the labour market
- Transition support: mentorships and opportunities to access work
- Transformation: Upskilled teachers and more effective educational institutions
The approach
Transform the education ecosystem, create meaningful employment and encourage entrepreneurship
- Education
- Employment
- Entrepreneurship
INR14.61 cr
(c.US$2 million) in cash, contributed towards communities
56,033
direct and indirect beneficiaries
73,694
volunteering hours
Our community investments take the form of sponsorships, contributions or donations.
We undertake multiple programmes for our direct beneficiaries, covering areas such as:
- IT support and digital Literacy
- Scholarship support
- Teachers’ salaries
- Education and training material
- Skills and livelihood program
- Entrepreneurship
- Job readiness and skill building
- Skill-based volunteering
Our financial contributions through the following programmes support indirect beneficiaries:
- Mentoring several Enactus college teams
- Nutrition support for students and their families
- Corpus donations to educational institutions
- Disaster relief: Rehabilitation support for rebuilding educational infrastructure
- Infrastructure support for educational institutions
Refurbishment of schools in Coorg affected by torrential rains in 2018
Restoration work in progress
Completion of the project after the Covid-19 pandemic
Our outreach through NGO partners and volunteering
KPMG in India works with a number of NGOs across the country to reach those in need.
We support charitable organisations and NGOs with a view to meeting societal needs. Leveraging our strong presence in education and learning helps us make a deep and positive impact on society. The aim is to provide people from underserved communities the tools and opportunities to help them succeed.
Our Presence:We work with multiple not-for-profit organization across the country
- eVidyaloka
- Janyaa Foundation
- Foundation For Excellence in India Trust (FFEIT)
- Sri Sri Rural Development Programme Trust
- Foundation For Excellence in India Trust (FFEIT)
- eVidyaloka
- Foundation For Excellence in India Trust (FFEIT)
- Foundation For Excellence in India Trust (FFEIT)
- Deepalaya
- Ritanjali
- Alohomora
- Saahas
- Manzil Mystics
- Saath Charitable Trust
- Foundation For Excellence in India Trust(FFEIT)
- Literacy India
- VIDYA School
- Deepalaya
- Lotus Petal Foundation
- eVidyaloka
- Foundation For Excellence in India Trust (FFEIT)
- The Nudge Foundation
- eVidyaloka
- Foundation For Excellence in India Trust (FFEIT)
- Shishu Mandir
- Samridhdhi Trust
- NavGurukul
- Sportz Village Foundation
- Surud Foundation
- The forward Foundation
- U&I
- Don Bosco India
- Plan India
- Turn Your Concern Into Action(TYCIA) Foundation
- EFEIT
- Avasara Leadership Institute
- Epiphany High School
- Gandhi Shikshan Bhavan
- eVidyaloka
- Foundation For Excellence in India Trust (FFEIT)
- Sujaya Foundation
- Taraben Master English School
- Mukul Madhav Foundation
- eVidyaloka
- Foundation For Excellence in India Trust (FFEIT)
- Olcott Memorial High School
- Trust Children-Gurukulam School
- Team Everest
- Janyaa Foundation
- Foundation For Excellence in India Trust (FFEIT)
- eVidyaloka
- Foundation For Excellence in India Trust (FFEIT)
- Om Foundation
- eVidyaloka
- Foundation For Excellence in India Trust (FFEIT)
- Sshrihti Trust
- eVidyaloka
- Foundation For Excellence in India Trust (FFEIT)
- Samaritan Mission School
Volunteering for meaningful change
Our volunteering initiatives give us the opportunity to interact with underserved communities and educate, mentor and empower them. We have a two-pronged approach to volunteering.
Deep, meaningful engagements
Everything we do should create exponential impact for our communities. We achieve this through deep, meaningful engagements with our volunteers and community partners.
Large-scale volunteering
Undertaking volunteering initiatives on a wide scale enables us to maximise impact with optimal investments.
Our people use their skills and strengths to mentor and coach students and create an industry-ready talent pool. These coaching/mentoring sessions cover:
- Effective communication, time management and stress management
- CV drafting, interview etiquette
- Accountancy, economics and business fundamentals
- Work ethics, leadership skills, personal grooming and hygiene
- Current affairs
Celebrating the spirit of social giving
Acknowledgement and appreciation adds fuel to our people’s drive to volunteer more. While volunteering for social impact is a fulfilling experience in itself, we have also instituted the Citizenship Awards within the firm to celebrate the spirit of social giving.
KPMG in India colleagues can utilise up to 12 working hours in a year towards citizenship activities.
To maximise our potential of making an impact, we have designed a hybrid volunteering calendar with a combination of in-person and virtual initiatives, as well as a corporate citizenship portal with information on our commitments and impact strategy pillars. Our people can view and register for volunteering activities on this portal. It also has information on the various NGOs and types of initiatives we support.
1. Support, in various forms, for education
We work with partner NGOs in delivering quality education by helping them improve their own skills, processes and infrastructure, with the ultimate objective of enabling children from underserved communities to lead a life of self-sufficiency and independence when they grow up. In this direction, our initiatives include the following:
IT support
- Maintenance of computer labs
- New desktops, refurbished laptops and software for computer labs
- Digital boards in classrooms
- Internet connectivity
- Data packs for students to pursue online learning
students benefitted from this support in FY22; the goal is to reach 3k in FY23.
Infrastructure support
- Libraries
- English language labs
- Audio/visual learning equipment
- Transport facilities
- Safety and security equipment
students benefited from this in FY22
Teachers’ salaries and training
- Skilling programmes for teachers
- Support with digital study material
- Training on cyber security and safety
- Support for the salaries of teachers and educators
Supported salaries and training for
teachers, indirectly impacting over 24.5k students.
2. Strengthening Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education
We work with several NGOs that encourage STEM education amongst students from underserved communities. Our initiatives include:
Sponsoring scholarships for meritorious girl students
currently pursuing their bachelor’s degree in engineering and technology from prestigious colleges and universities. Women leaders from KPMG in India serve as their mentors and role models. In FY22, senior leaders from the firm conducted virtual sessions on resume-building, interview-handling, future of work and personal branding for over 250 such students.
Scholarship for
20 girls
will be extended to 100 in FY23.
Digital skilling
To bridge the digital gap, we support basic computer literacy for students in schools and colleges. Our digital team conducted sessions on coding in Python for students from grades 8 to 12. We also conducted sessions on social media and digital marketing career opportunities for students from grades 10 to 12.
Over 2.5k
students covered in FY22; will support 3k students in FY23.
Cyber awareness
As part of the Global Cyber Awareness Month programme, cyber security professionals at the firm volunteer to conduct sessions on cyber security for students and teachers every year.
60
sessions conducted for 11.5k+ students in FY22.
The target is to reach 40k students in FY23.
3. Improving English language proficiency
We provide schools the support to help their students improve their proficiency in the English language. We have set up English language labs at our partner NGO schools to provide a tech-enabled learning experience and our volunteers conduct reading sessions, in addition to extending support for books, furniture, IT equipment, libraries and even teachers’ salaries.
Set up
30 libraries
in government schools in 7 states, impacting 1.8k+ students.
Plan to reach
2k students
in the coming year.
4. Improving education for students from underserved communities
We work with NGOs to enable students from underserved groups to have equal opportunities for pursuing quality education.
Turn Your Concern Into Action (TYCIA) Foundation
The NGO initiated 1000ANDYOU, a back-to-school education programme for girls from the Korku tribal community of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. 1000ANDYOU aims to build better school-readiness and resilience, and help girl students overcome academic loss caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. KPMG in India supported the programme by providing:
- Study material
- Salaries and training for teachers
- Mobile learning centre
- Library
We provided study material to
500 girls
in FY22 and plan to continue to support the salaries of TYCIA teachers as well as provide sports and music equipment.
eVidyaloka
The NGO is working towards modernising the educational landscape in remote parts of India by setting up virtual classrooms in government schools. Our support in this direction includes:
- Setting up remote teaching centres and providing ongoing support
- Preparing videos and digital content in regional languages
- Conducting remedial classes in English and Mathematics
5. Empowering the extended KPMG family
We believe that learning should be accessible to all. Therefore, we support our extended KPMG family, including our housekeeping and security staff, in getting their children through school and college by:
- Funding scholarships
- Sponsoring text books, uniforms and IT classes
- Providing tablets to ensure continuity of learning
scholarships awarded to the children of our support staff
6. Aspire’ for a better life
The Aspire programme provides equitable opportunities to girls from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds to pursue their education, select a profession of their choice and achieve financial independence. We extend our support through:
- School and college fees
- Training on life and soft skills
- Mentoring
- Counselling for students, parents and guardians
Our impact in FY22
500+
students benefited till date
80+
senior women leaders from KPMG serving as mentors
23
graduated till date
50k+
training hours
7. IT skilling for better employability
In today’s digital age, IT skills are not just handy but essential. We have a year-long residential programme designed to improve the employability of women from underserved communities, in the age group of 16–25 years, by equipping them with skills in software programming, mathematics and logical thinking.
The programme has benefited
over 160
students so far.
8. Youth mentoring
We have engaged volunteers to act as guides and mentors for underprivileged youth and help them embark on a fulfilling career. Their interactions cover aspects such as creative thinking, social media and financial literacy.
Over 1.5k
youth have benefited from this initiative. We aim to expand this to 2k students.
9. A second chance for at-risk youth
As part of our focus on supporting the youth of our country, we have partnered with Ritinjali’s Second Chance School – a residential and day school programme for disadvantaged boys between the age of 18 and 24 years. The transformational programme aims to reintegrate young adults into the social fabric and workforce, in a secure, loving and stimulating environment.
10. Livelihood and skilling for tribal women
We support the NGO Nudge in alleviating ultra-poverty in three districts of Jharkhand through a 36-month micro-entrepreneurship programme, working with women-led ultra-poor families and creating an identity for them by providing them with consumption and livelihood support. We also imparted livelihood and skill training to these women on agriculture and animal husbandry. Additionally, these individuals have been integrated with various government and welfare schemes and provided basic identity proofs such as ration and Aadhaar cards.
Over 1.4k
women in the age group of 18–30 years have been supported in Jharkhand. We plan to work with the state and central governments and extend our support to multiple states.
11. Kindling an entrepreneurial mindset for youth
To build entrepreneurial mindsets in students from a young age, KPMG in India supports the NGO Alohomora, which actively works with Delhi Government on the Entrepreneurial Mindset Curriculum (EMC), which provides students an opportunity to interact with real-life entrepreneurs, explore different career paths and apply their skills in real life
In addition to EMC, we support the Desh ke mentors (DKM) programme, which is the largest mentorship programme led by Delhi Government, aimed at ensuring that every student in grades 9 to 12 in Delhi Government schools gets the right mentorship and support to make important career and life decisions.
Over 1k
government schools part of the EMC programme
Over 10k
students impacted by NGO Alohomora through EMC and DKM programmes
Over 100
government teachers trained by NGO Alohomora to conduct the EMC programme
FY23 and beyond: Planned support and outreach
Education
- Sponsoring the education of meritorious girl students
- Organising cyber security and skilling sessions for students from underserved communities
- Supporting STEM experiential learning
- Sponsoring the salaries of teachers and education kits to promote education in tribal communities
- Organising sessions by volunteers on digital marketing and coding in Python
- Building capacity through infrastructure and IT support
- Supporting mid-day meals and supplementary nutrition for students
- Bridging the learning gap in remote and rural areas through the Teach Through Television (TTT) programme
- Helping with process improvements at NGOs
Employment
- Mentoring young adults for job readiness through UNESCO’s Global Skills Academy coalition in India (NSDCI)
- Providing career guidance and counselling for students and youth through workshops/ sessions conducted by industry experts and counsellors
- Facilitating skill-based volunteering and mentoring for large-scale student beneficiaries
- Engaging volunteers to become guides and mentors to underprivileged youths
Entrepreneurship
- Developing national and state-level poverty-linked livelihood programmes that support rural micro-entrepreneurs and reduce city migrations
- Supporting entrepreneurship programmes and providing grants to at-risk youth
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