By Sekhar Seshan. Consulting Editor, Business India

Taking care of society has been an important initiative of CRI, according to its vice-chairman G. Soundararajan. “Our team ensures they are in the frontline to serve the community when the demand arises,” he says. “Be it the pandemic Covid-19 or the floods or cyclones that affect the livelihoods of the public, the team takes its rapid action force in the recovery and rescue.”

The company’s CSR work includes a healthcare centre run by its CRI Trust, a ‘best farmer’ award, a government school improvement programme, adoption of a ward to implement solid waste management, construction of toilets under the Swachh Bharat mission, promotion of sports and rural development initiatives.

It incorporates social well-being initiatives with its business process to make an impact on the lives of the disadvantaged members of the community in agriculture, healthcare, education, environment sustainability, rural development and many more. It works with Coimbatore Corporation and NGOs like the Residents Awareness Association of Coimbatore (RAAC) to organise cleaning drives, awareness programmes and a city Marathon.

The CRI Charitable Trust's state-of-the-art medical centre at Saravanampatti in the city works with a stated mission of providing quality healthcare at a subsidised cost. This centre caters to a wide range of patients, with doctors in many specialities like cardiology, gynaecology, paediatrics, physiotherapy, dermatology, ophthalmology, ENT and dentistry working to attend to them. The diagnostics department is also equipped with state-of-the-art X-Ray, OPG, ECG, TMT, ultrasound, Doppler and ECHO and lab services. And all these services are available to the needy on a not-for-profit basis.

The attached 24/7 pharmacy offers medicines at discounted rates and an optical centre within the building that caters to all eye care requirements. The centre’s hi-tech and quality medical service at low prices has so far benefitted over 130,000 deserving and downtrodden people.