Global cosmetics giant L'Oreal's Indian subsidiary on Thursday said that it was extending its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative of sponsoring women science students to the national capital region (NCR). “We are going to extend our program, which currently focuses on just young women's education in science in the state of Maharashtra, to the NCR region,” a senior L'Oreal executive told the sources from Paris. According to the official, the company gave scholarship worth Rs.2.5 lakh to five women students in Maharashtra. The number of scholarships will now be increased to 10, with the addition of five woman students from the NCR. “Around 30 girls from Maharashtra have benefited from this project which was started seven years ago,” the official said, adding that the total cost of the project would be around Rs.25 lakh per year. The company, one of the largest producers and sellers of cosmetics products in the country, also said it was happy that the winner of this year's company sponsored fellowship is an Indian woman. Jyoti Panda, 28, who just completed her Ph.D in biotechnology from the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in New Delhi, is one of the 15 recipients of the 'Unesco-L'oreal International Fellowship', which grants $40,000 to young women researchers. “She will be doing her research at School of Pharmacy, University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, in the US,” a company statement said.
