Gender-parity smelting line launched by Vedanta Aluminium in Odisha

With a women-managed smelting line, Vedanta Aluminium leads the way in gender inclusion, enhancing operational excellence and diversity at its Jharsuguda operations.

The largest manufacturer of aluminium in India, Vedanta Aluminium, announces a revolutionary move to promote workplace inclusion and gender parity: a complete smelting line at its Jharsuguda, Odisha, operations would be managed and maintained solely by female staff members. One of the biggest aluminium smelters in the world is located in Jharsuguda.

This innovative project supports Vedanta Aluminium’s larger goal of increasing women’s participation in the workforce and solidifies the company’s standing as a pioneer in diversity, equity, and inclusion in the manufacturing industry. In contrast to the metals, mining, and heavy engineering sectors, where gender diversity has historically been in the single digits worldwide, Vedanta boasts one of the greatest percentages of gender diversity in its workforce.

One of the smelter’s potlines, which is situated in a SEZ, is being converted into a women-managed business as part of this program. To generate aluminium metal through electrolytic reduction, a potline is an essential part of the smelting process. With over 100 duty jobs defined across different degrees, skills, and competencies, the project will be carried out in three phases. Internal job advertisements, diversity connect programs, and information dissemination campaigns have been used to recruit female personnel from the smelter and other business divisions. To guarantee a smooth transition, these staff members are receiving specialised on-the-job training with assistance from senior leadership and technical anchors.

Speaking about the initiative’s importance, Vedanta Aluminium’s Chief Operating Officer Sunil Gupta states, “We believe that diversity and inclusion are key drivers of innovation and operational excellence. By empowering women with greater opportunities in core manufacturing roles, we are not only breaking industry stereotypes but also creating an equitable, future-ready workplace. This initiative at one of the world’s largest smelters is testament to our commitment to fostering gender diversity across our business.”

Pankaj Sureka, Chief Human Resource Officer, Vedanta Aluminium, says, “At Vedanta Aluminium, we believe in the philosophy of ‘Shakti se Pragati’ or progress through empowerment. We are creating equal opportunities and accelerating actions that enable women to lead across all functions, from shop floors to leadership roles.”

By making all positions gender-neutral and allowing women to assume a variety of duties in smelting, mining, power generation, logistics, asset protection, and procurement, Vedanta Aluminium is dedicated to creating an inclusive workplace. By FY2030, the corporation wants to have 30 percent of its staff be female. Additionally, 50 percent of new hires at Vedanta Aluminium are women to guarantee gender-balanced recruiting. In keeping with this promise, the company has started several programs to increase the number of women working in the mining and metals sector. These include Project Panchhi, which is improving the lives of young girls from underprivileged communities by offering financial aid for higher education and job opportunities at Vedanta Aluminium, and Project Shree Shakti, which introduced night shifts for women in Odisha operations—a first in the state.

The largest producer of aluminium in India is Vedanta Aluminium, a division of Vedanta Limited, which produced 2.37 million metric tonnes of aluminium in FY2024, or more than half of the country’s total production. It is a pioneer in aluminium products with added value that are used in vital core sectors. Due to its innovative sustainable development strategies, Vedanta Aluminium is ranked second in the world rankings for the aluminium sector in the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment 2024. With its top-notch alumina refinery, power plants, and aluminium smelters in India, the company carries out its objective of promoting new uses for aluminium as the “Metal of the Future” for a more environmentally friendly future.

For more details, visit: http://www.vedantaaluminium.com

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