Aircel Musters Mass Support for Tiger Conservation from School Students Across India on World Tiger Day

Strengthening its commitment to the cause of tiger conservation, Aircel, celebrated World Tiger Day with thousands of school students through a host of activities across the country. As part of the celebration, Aircel organised rallies with students in various cities as well as fests in schools across India, inspiring them by the cause while engaging with them in fun-filled, yet meaningful ways. Aircel’s partner Sanctuary Asia and celebrated Bollywood actress Dia Mirza joined the celebration in Delhi to gather support for the cause.

Speaking on the occasion, Anupam Vasudev, Chief Marketing Officer of Aircel said, “Aircel has been passionately working towards the cause of tiger conservation for several years with noted conservationists and expert organizations, canvassing support from people all over the country. Our initiative, ‘Save Our Tigers’ travels to the remotest parts of the country with various focused programs and has touched millions of Indians through its journey so far. Tigers are irreplaceable and are extremely important to secure the environment for our future generations, and our celebration of World Tiger Day is a testament to our commitment to the cause, through which we wish to reach out to more people than ever.”

As part of its ‘Kids For Tigers’ program that’s run in association with Sanctuary Asia, this World Tiger Day, Aircel will reach out to thousands of school kids across the country in major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai, Guwahati and Goa. While rallies will involve students from more than 20 schools in each city, the ‘Kids For Tigers’ fests will engage students in multiple cities through various competitions such as face-painting, fancy dress, extempore, street plays, poster-making  – all resonating with the theme of ‘Save Our Tigers’. These fun-filled activities play a significant role in educating the children about the importance of the cause and its role in maintaining the ecological balance of our planet.

Speaking about Aircel’s ‘Kids For Tigers’ initiative, Brinda Malhotra, Head - Corporate Social Responsibility, Aircel, said, “Tiger Conservation is at the core of Aircel’s Corporate Social Responsibility program and we have been relentlessly working for the cause with multiple on-ground initiatives to ensure the safety of tigers. Undoubtedly, awareness about the cause is as important as the ground work, and it brings us great pride that ‘Save Our Tigers’ has left a lasting impression on many Indians, while ‘Kids For Tigers’ inspires tomorrow’s generation to care for their environment. In order to spread the footprints of our message, we have also created young tiger ambassadors across the country that feel passionately for the cause and join us in celebrating World Tiger Day with great enthusiasm. Indeed, this makes us hopeful of a better future of our environment.”

According to renowned Bollywood actor Dia Mirza, “Global Tiger Day is a not just a day to mark in our calendars but a resolution to make a commitment to ourselves as individuals to remember that the Tiger is the metaphor for life and that in protecting the Tiger and its habitat we are in fact protecting our own future. What better than to have Kids become Tiger champions and make this resolve? I am happy to come back home and to The Hyderabad Public School that remains iconic for its heritage to convey this important message.”

Bittu Sahgal, Founder Editor, Sanctuary Asia said, “Tiger sits at the pinnacle of the ecological pyramid and saving them is equivalent to saving nature. We want to inspire as many children as possible to take action to prevent the loss of this beautiful animal. These children hold the future of this planet in their hands and will make the right choices if they know what is at stake.”

Held annually on July 29, World Tiger Day promotes the protection and the expansion of wild tiger habitats and gathers people’s support for the cause. Aircel has a deep-rooted commitment to the cause of tiger conservation and many of its successful initiatives have contributed to the increased tiger population in India today.

About Aircel’s ‘Save Our Tigers’ initiative:

The Tiger is our national animal and one that has been a part of our folklore and history for millennia. Yet this magnificent animal is on the brink of extinction. The Tiger can easily be called as the metaphor for nature, as it is a top predator and its existence ensures a healthy and a sustainable ecological balance. The year 2008 revealed the shocking number that there were just ‘1411’ tigers left in India. ‘Save Our Tigers’ is a cause related campaign started by Aircel during the latter part of 2008 with an aim to create mass awareness on the plight of this magnificent beast and rally efforts to save it.

The tag line, ‘Just 1411 left, Save Our Tigers’, struck a chord in the hearts and minds of millions of Indians. People began to rally for the cause and began to lend their voices towards the cause.

Our seriousness towards doing our bit to Save Our Tigers has led us to partner with several well-known organizations like World Wildlife Fund-India, Wildlife Conservation Trust, Wildlife Trust of India, Sanctuary Asia and NDTV as well as several noted conservationists to create an impact on ground where it really matters. We work on several projects that encompass capacity building, conflict mitigation and awareness creation. This helps us address issues in 360 degrees and reach out to create maximum impact.

About Aircel Limited

Aircel is one of India’s leading innovative mobile service providers. The company is a pan-India 2G operator with 3G spectrum in 13 circles, BWA spectrum in 8 circles and is credited with the fastest 3G roll out ever in the Indian telecom space. As a young data led telecom player, Aircel has constantly been at the helm of introducing innovative and value for money products and services for its customers, which are industry firsts, be it the Aircel Pocket Internet, taking the first step in making 3G affordable for the masses, being the first telecom player to introduce Facebook Voice Updates on Aircel, and many more. The Smart Pocket Internet data plans by Aircel truly changed the way mobile internet was perceived and consumed. The company has been the proud recipient of coveted awards such as Voice&Data Special Leadership Recognition in ‘Customer Service’ category, ET Telecom Award 2014 for its innovative customer care research model, Aegis Graham Bell Award 2014 for ‘Innovation in Marketing Campaign’, Data Quest Award 2014 for ‘Excellence in Implementation and Use of Technology for Business Benefits’ and the Brandon Hall award in the ‘Best Leadership Development Program’ category.  

For more information, please log onto our website www.aircel.com

About Sanctuary Asia

Sanctuary Asia is a virtual junction for wildlife conservation news and campaigns across India. The magazine was launched in 1981 and has been edited since by Bittu Sahgal, who is one of the strongest voices for biodiversity protection and climate change action in India. Sanctuary is currently working on conflict resolution between wildlife and social rights groups to the advantage of tigers and the communities that live next to them.

For more information please visit: www.sanctuaryasia.com