The second edition of the prestigious Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon which concluded earlier today witnessed the participation of 35,000+ runners in support of the cause of Run For Zero Hunger.
The record participation, 50% higher than last year, extended across five events including the flagship Half Marathon, Open 10K Run, Great Delhi Run, Senior Citizens’ Run, and Champions with Disability Run. Vedanta’s commitment of providing 1 meal to children for every 1 km run added up to 5 million meals in total.
These meals will be served across Vedanta’s network of nearly 6,000 Nand Ghars, which are modernized, state-of-the-art Anganwadis, in the coming weeks, according to the organizers. Nand Ghar is the flagship social impact programme of Vedanta’s Anil Agarwal Foundation and operates in 14 states across India.
The races were flagged off by Ms. Priya Agarwal Hebbar, Non-Executive Director, Vedanta and Chairperson, Hindustan Zinc Ltd. in the presence of Mr. Anurag Singh Thakur, Honourable Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports and I&B, GoI, Mr. Vinai Kumar Saxena, Honourable Lieutenant Governor of NCT of Delhi and Ms. Atishi, Minister of Education, Govt of NCT of Delhi along with other dignitaries.
Speaking on the occasion Hebbar said, “What we witnessed today was the immense power of participative sport to mobilise people from all walks of life and come together for fun, fitness and, most importantly, a cause. It is the dream of our Chairman, Shri Anil Agarwal, that every child in India sleeps with a stomach full of nutritious food. We want to make #RunForZeroHunger a mass movement involving every Indian, just like we want every Anganwadi in this country to become a modern Nand Ghar.”
Recently, Vedanta through Anil Agarwal Foundation launched a millet-based nutri-bar that provides supplementary nutrition to children at Anganwadis including Nand Ghars. Early results from the network of Nand Ghars are promising and indicate an improvement in nutritional outcomes. To share this experience with the runners, every participant at the VDHM 2023 was given these multi-millet bars.
Many celebrities and influencers including Actors Bhumi Pednekar, Ashish Vidyarthi, Fitness Coach Yasmin Karachiwala, Wrestlers Sangram Singh & Sakshi Malik, Actors Payal Rohatgi, Sara Khan, Kangan Nangia, Pankhuri Awasthy, Fashion Designer Nikhil Mehra, RJ Vidit, Masterchef Finalist Gurkirat Singh lent their support to the cause of #RunForZeroHunger in the run-up to the event. Ashton Eaton, two-time Olympic medalist and World Champion athlete, the brand Ambassador for VDHM 2023 and Indian women’s national cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur & Actor and Sports Enthusiast Gul Panag, motivated the runners at the marathon.
The Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon also saw active participation from nearly 30,000 employees of the title sponsor. While some ran in Delhi, others participated via mini-marathons in their business locations and through the StepSetGo app, leading to the race day.
A Finisher’s medal was awarded to the runners. The medal is made from purest and highestrade zinc from world’s largest & oldest mines in Rajasthan, produced by Hindustan Zinc Limited, a vertical of Vedanta Group.
Vedanta Limited (“Vedanta”), a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Limited, is one of the world’s leading natural resources companies spanning across India, South Africa, Namibia, Liberia, UAE, Korea, Taiwan and Japan with significant operations in Oil & Gas, Zinc, Lead, Silver, Copper, Iron Ore, Steel, Nickel, Aluminium, Power & Glass Substrate and foraying into semiconductors and display glass. 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 the environment.