© Oil India Limited, 2011

Neither this book nor any part may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or by any information
storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from
OIL.

Researched & Published by

Nanda Talukdar Foundation
72, 6th Bye Lane(W), Pub Sarania
Guwahati 781003 INDIA
Ph.: 91-361-2454835
www.nandatalukdarfoundation.org

Photographs
Anupam Nath
OIL Archives

Design & Layout

Sudeepta Barua

NTF acknowledges
Public Relations & Corporate Communication Department,
Oil India Limited, Duliajan

State Institute of Rural Development, Assam

Printed at Bhabani Printers, Guwahati, Assam, INDIA

This is a coporate giveaway, not for sale

Rupantar
Foreword

T he genesis of the Indian oil

industry can be traced back to
the historic year 1889, when
commercial hydrocarbon was first discovered by pioneering explorers in
Digboi, in India’s north eastern State of Assam. In fact, it was the first
time that crude oil was discovered outside United States of America.
History records another significant event in the year 1953 when
Independent India’s first oil field was discovered in Naharkatiya, in
Assam, around 30 odd kilometers south west of Digboi. This discovery
and a subsequent discovery in Moran in 1956 in Assam led to the birth
of Oil India Limited (OIL) and a vibrant oil township in Duliajan.
In the last over five decades of OIL’s presence in Assam, the
Company has been identified as a people’s company; not merely
because it is one of the biggest corporate entity operating in the
eastern corner of India, but in many ways, OIL has been able to
touch the lives of the stakeholders, especially the people of the
operational areas. From education to health, f rom creating social
assets to rural development, f rom sports to socio-cultural events,
OIL’s comprehensive CSR Policy and initiatives have impacted the
lives of the beneficiaries in myriad ways
It was the foresightedness and philanthropic outlook of the
pioneering fathers, that in OIL, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
was always a part of the corporate DNA much before CSR became a
popular jargon. However, with the passage of time and the changing
socio-economic status and aspirations of the people, OIL had to undertake
different CSR strategies to respond to the needs of the people. In recent
years, growing unemployment has become an area of concern for the
people in OIL’s operational areas in Assam. More and more young people
began looking towards OIL for employment.
The problem was severe. After a lot of brain storming, it was decided
that focus of CSR has to be made on creating avenues for sustainable self
employment and livelihood options. Project Rupantar was one such
strategic initiative to promote entrepreneurship, self employment,
sustainable livelihood and economic empowerment of women, through
Self Help Groups with focus on the agro based sector.
In the last eight years since Project Rupantar was launched, there has
been a visible transformation and people, especially the youth and women
in particular have found a definite way to overcome their economic
challenges and engage themselves in gainful self employment activities.
I am sure that this Coffee Table book on Project Rupantar, which is an
independent review of the project by the Nanda Talukdar Foundation,
would eloquently reflect the impact of this flagship CSR project of OIL.
As an Oilindian, I do feel happy that in our humble way, OIL could
respond to the clarion call made by Dr. Manmohan Singh, Hon’ble Prime
Minister of India for achieving inclusive growth, where the benefits of a
resurgent Indian economy trickles down to the poorest of the poor in the
nook and corner of the country.

N M Borah
Chairman and Managing Director LIVELIHOOD IN MOTION - Duck rearing under Project Rupantar has opened up a potent source for income
Oil India Limited genration to women SHGs.
OIL’s CSR – a perspective

T he core philosophy on corporate

social responsibility in Oil India
Limited (OIL) is the firm conviction of
Oilindians that islands of prosperity
cannot survive in a sea of poverty. This is
a typical scenario in the oil & gas E&P
industry in developing countries, where
companies operate in populated remote
rural locations.
In its journey traversing five decades, OIL as a
responsible corporate citizen has always responded to
the developmental needs of the people in and around
its operational areas in the state of Assam in India’s
north east.
Since its inception, OIL has always given top
priority towards all-round development of the people
residing in and around the Company’s areas of
operation. Over time, we have realised that there is a
need to strike a balance between the overall objectives
of achieving corporate excellence vis-à-vis corporate
responsibility towards the community.
These objectives of business and social commitment
have prompted OIL to embark upon massive
programmes of educational, health and infrastructural
development endeavors; an attempt to invest technology
with a human face.
In Oil India, the idea of a collective initiative for rural
development work was first mooted in 1962 to promote
good practices in corporate citizenship and sustainable
development. OIL recognized that companies such as
itself have a crucial role to play in rural development and
took up this challenge four decades ago. It has today an
established rural development network in its operational
areas whose main objective is promoting sustainability
and empowerment.
Today, in the states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh
alone the company caters to the developmental needs of
more than 1400 villages, connecting them to the
mainland and providing realistic opportunities to strive
for a fulfilling future.
Project Rupantar was OIL’s response to the
challenges of growing unemployment, especially in the
rural and semi urban areas in and around the operational
areas in Assam. There was a perceptible frustration and
disillusionment amongst the youth who were not being
able to find avenues for sustainable self employment.
Project Rupantar succeeded in creating avenues of self
employment and in the last eight years, the Self Help
Group movement has become a new socio-economic
revolution impacting a large group of people; helping
them to “grow along with the growth of OIL” - a vision
to which OIL is deeply committed. WEAVING OPPORTUNITIES - SHG members undergoing all-expenses-paid residential training in
production of diversif ied handloom items using world famous Muga & Eri silk of Assam at the growth centre
in Duliajan for women empowerment. Post training, these SHG members set-up their own commercial units
N K Bharali through bank loans and other assisatnce under Project Rupantar.

Director (HR & BD)

Oil India Limited
Father of the Nation

M ahatma Gandhi, the father of our nation,

would have been more than happy walking
down the Ushapur village in the heart of Oil India
Limited’s (OIL) operational area, near the Company’s
Field Head Quarters in Duliajan. The great man used
to say - India lives in villages and a happy village will
make India happy and strong.
Located in the eastern most corner of India’s
Northeastern state of Assam, Ushapur is just proving
that. It is emerging not only as model sustainable
village from the productivity angle but it should make
most of Indian villages jealous from the perspective of
social harmony.
It has already become the point of comparison for
the neighbouring villages as Project Rupantar of the
Oil India Limited (OIL) has transformed it and
dozens of other villages likewise within its operational
area in the last 8 years of the Project’s existence.
Project Rupantar (transformation) in the
technical jargon of corporate communication can be
called Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) but for
those working in the field for this project, every
success story gives equal satisfaction like striking oil
in a new well.
In one sentence, for the Oil India Limited (OIL),
it is no longer just simple CSR, but a way of life as all
the stakeholders, villagers or the Oilmen in general,
believe in creating wealth and goodwill.

1

The story of OIL
N estled in the North Eastern corner of India,
the story of Oil India Limited (OIL) traces
and symbolises the development and growth of the
Indian petroleum industry. With a legacy that goes
back to the discovery of crude oil in the far east of
India at Digboi, Assam in 1889, to its present status as
a fully integrated upstream petroleum company, OIL
has come far, crossing many milestones.
On February 18, 1959, Oil India Private Limited
was incorporated to expand and develop the newly
discovered oil fields of Naharkatiya and Moran in the
North Eastern India. In 1961, it became a joint
venture company between the Indian Government
and Burmah Oil Company Limited, UK.
2 3
In 1981, OIL became a wholly-owned
Government of India enterprise (check) or fully-
owned governmental enterprise. Today, OIL is a
premier Indian National Oil Company engaged in the
business of exploration, development and production
of crude oil and natural gas, transportation of crude
oil and production of LPG. OIL also provides various
E&P related services and holds 26% equity in
Numaligarh Refinery Limited and 10% equity stake
in BCPL and a 23% equity stake in DNP Limited.
The Authorized share capital of the Company is
`500 crores. The Issued, Subscribed and Paid share
capital of the company is `240.45 crores. At present,
The Government of India, the Promoter of the
Company is holding 78.43% of the total Issued &
Paid-up Capital of the Company. The balance 21.57%
of the Equity capital is held by others.
OIL has over 1.65 lakh sq km of PEL/ML areas
for its exploration and production activities, most of
it in the Indian North East, which accounts for its
entire crude oil production and majority of gas
production. Rajasthan is the other producing area of
OIL, contributing 10 per cent of its total gas
production. The Company holds acreages both
indigenously and overseas covering seventy six blocks
out of which in India, 11 NELP blocks as Operator, 1
NELP block as Joint Operator, 18 NELP blocks as
Non-Operator, 3 as JV, 9 Nominated PELs and 21
PMLs; in overseas, 3 as Operator, 8 as Non-Operator
and 2 as JV.
 Additionally, OIL’s exploration activities are
spread over onshore areas of Ganga Valley and
Mahanadi. OIL also has participating interest in
NELP exploration blocks in Mahanadi Offshore,
Mumbai Deepwater, Krishna Godavari Deepwater,
etc. OIL has also spread its wings overseas and is
present in Iran, Libya, Gabon, Nigeria, Sudan, Yemen,
Egypt and Timor Leste. Recently OIL along with its
consortium partners have acquired stake in two blocks
(under one project) in Orinoco Heavy Oil Belt,
Carabobo and Venezuela.
In a recent CRISIL-India Today survey, OIL was
adjudged as one of the five best major PSUs and one
of three best energy sector PSUs in the country.
In September 2011, OIL was declared as the
Company of the Year amongst the Navratna
catergory PSUs by the Indian Chamber of
Commerce and Department of Public Enterprise,
Government of India.

OIL CMD, N. M. Borah receiving ‘Company of the Year’ (2010-11) award from Mr. Bhaskar Chatterjee,
Secretary, Department of Public Enterprises, Government of India.

6 7
 The drilling floor in the early 1900s in Assam, India.

8
 Project Rupantar – The Genesis

B y the beginning of the new millennium, there

was a strong feeling within OIL that their
spectacular business growth have led to a peculiar
situation as the Company was slowly drifting away
from the surrounding populace where their oil fields
are located. That has led to the rise of negative forces
and company operations have been disturbed to a
great extent. There were isolated interventions but
Company had come to the terms that there had to be
a holistic approach to the whole issue in totality.
The OIL, arguably the most loved company of
Assam, has always believed in participatory
development and whenever it has been felt that
growth of the Company is not being adequately
reflected in the surrounding society, OIL has
intervened and Project Rupantar thus came into being.

10 11
 The Rupantar response

A s the gulf between the OIL and the surrounding

rural masses were widening, it was apparent that
the very huge number of unemployed youths in Tinsukia
and Dibrugarh districts of Assam where OIL has very
substantial operation became a major reason for the growing
rift between the OIL and the local populace. Naturally the
pressure on the OIL from unemployed youths for direct as
well as indirect employment became a major concern and
challenge for the Company. But the general lack of requisite
skill for getting employment in the technical sector make
them useful mainly for the Agro-Based industries.
Again, it was observed that the new generation both in
semi-urban and rural areas were disillusioned with the
primary sector and were gradually convinced that the agro-
based sector could never provide potent avenues for
sustainable self employment.
Moreover, the Media penetration also could not quite
impregnate the minds of the rural populace with ideas for
channelizing their potential effectively. Media succeeded in
creating perceived poverty rather than inspiring the
readership with success stories for emulation.
Oil India Limited being the biggest corporate
entity with a dominant presence in upper Assam
districts of Dibrugarh and Tinsukia also finds itself
sandwiched between social responsibility as well as
corporate limitations.
Keeping all these factors into account, the OIL looked THE WHEELS OF CHANGE - A benif iciary visits his farm land in a pick-up van provided under Project
Rupantar.
for an answer and thus came Project Rupantar.

12 13
 P r o j e c t R u p a n t a r – transforming lives

A nil Dutta and his SHG members from Jaloni,

FISHING FORTUNES - Fish production has been a focus area under Project Rupantar.
a nearby village of Duliajan is now almost
competing with technicians of the OIL in regards to
their monthly income. Through Project Rupantar,
Anil’s SHG bought a small commercial vehicle and
today not only are they earning enough but they are
the master of their own destiny. The SHG is mostly
engaged in agro product carrying business and has
already repaid the bank loan completely.
In fact, the twin problems of growing
unemployment and poverty have posed a serious threat
to OIL’s long term business goals. This is because OIL
is the only industry in this part of the country, which is
catering to the socio-economic needs of the residents of
its operational areas. More and more unemployed
youths look up to the OIL as the only possible source of
direct recruitment. With over 1400 villages under its
extended operational areas, it is becoming increasingly
difficult for OIL to cope up with the expectations of the
people, which in turn have led to creation of successive
generations of disgruntled and frustrated youth.
In order to address this problem, the Company
undertook the long-term Project Rupantar for investing
in projects for helping the unemployed youths to find
alternate source of employment. The project was
designed to create self employment avenues and
promote entrepreneurship in the region and generate
sustainable sources of livelihood.

14 15
 Project Rupantar fundamentals income and employment opportunities thus by creating
a viable alternative livelihood option for the people.

I t is a simple micro credit effort where OIL

provides capital investment while roping in the
State Institute for Rural Development (SIRD) for the
Project Rupantar is based on the ‘end-to- end
approach’ taking into account the entire gamut of
agricultural development, with backward and forward
on field expertise of self help group formation. The linkages, in a holistic manner. The objective of the
OIL’s reputation in itself acts as a guarantor to the scheme has been to improve the production and
bank providing the micro credit for small and medium productivity of agricultural crops by harnessing the
sector entrepreneurship primarily in the agro based potential of the region. Through this scheme, an
sector as well as other small business ventures. OIL agriculture based farming system is being developed,
continues to play a role of a catalyst as it also lends thereby providing viable and ample opportunities for
support to SIRD, Assam in its efforts to implement self-employment, besides improving productivity of
various Government of Assam and Government of the land.
India rural development schemes.
Take the case of Mrs. Karuna Hazarika, who
The basic idea is to create employment breeds goats. For this housewife, extra income from
opportunities and uplift the economic condition of the
society and thereby create an environment of mutual
respect and trust, which would also eventually help
OIL to carry out the field operations without any
interruption due to public grievance.
Assam offers immense scope for development in
the agro-based sector comprising of fruits, vegetables,
spices, plantation crops, floriculture, etc. However,
despite the favourable natural condition, the
agricultural practices in this region are largely limited to
mono crop, and are characterized by lack of technical
know-how, low level of productivity, improper post
harvest management and poor marketing.
There is, therefore, a need to exploit the
agricultural development potential in a scientific and
systematic manner to generate sustainable levels of

16

PATTERNS & COLOURS - Creating newer
possibilities for self reliance.
selling goats is always welcome for the family which
not only gives an additional respectability to the
women of the family but a sense of importance has
given both social status and leadership.
The scheme strives to address the issues related
to demonstration of new technology, organic farming,
18
efficient water management, etc. and most importantly
creating social leadership.
That is what is being done by Rudreswar
Bezbarua. He is an OIL employee, but today he has
become the leader of the social mobilization, egging
on his fellow villagers to take on agro based industries
and earn an honourable living. Such is the success of
his villagers that banks are now facing problems, as
most of them are returning their loans faster than the
stipulated time depriving the banks of the extra
interest they would have got.
In order to help large number of unemployed
youths and strengthen the rural economy, the focus is
on development of agro-based industries like fishery,
sericulture, organic farming etc. To implement that
idea and carry forward Project Rupantar, the State
Institute for Rural Development, Assam (apex centre
for research and training in rural development) was
roped in as an able partner in this noble mission since
they successfully implemented similar projects in
various areas of Assam.
The agro-based industries are not only helping
in ensuring economic independence to the SHGs but
at the same time resulting in wealth creation and
self-employment.
19
OIL - a People’s Company
 The Journey thus far

F or the record, around 4400 SHGs, each

having different group size from three to ten
members per group, have been formed and over 2400
have been provided with credit linkages with focus on
15 economic activities namely Farm Mechanization;
Diary Farming; Pig Breeding; Duck Rearing; Goat
Rearing; Mushroom Cultivation; Diversification of
Handloom Products; Integrated Farming; Food
Processing; Computer Training Centres; Farmer’s
Service Centres; Agro Processing and Marketing;
Broom Making; Agro Product Carrier and Rural
Passenger Vehicle.
But more than the statistics, it is the sense of
ownership, sense of participation and sense of pride that
has swept through the veins of each of the stake holders
which has made this project so successful. Once again,
it can be said that it is no longer CSR for OIL, but a
way of life.
A GREEN KINDERGARTEN - A tea nursery under Project Rupantar
Meet Padma Rajkonwar, a school teacher who
returns back straight to his group farm at Padumoni
village from the school to take care of the fishery and
piggery. So successful they have been that they are now
ploughing back the profit to develop village assets.

22 23
LIME LIGHT - A Project Rupantar lemon orchard
 Rupantar Reser voir

P roject Rupantar delivers because it has been

strategically designed keeping in perspective
the geo-climatic profile of Assam and the area specific
needs of the different villages. Experts from diverse
fields have mapped the local resources, extensively
studied the marketing linkages, traditional skill and
various other nuances of the agro-based sector to
eventually identify a gamut of economic activities like
Farm Mechanization; area based Horticulture,
Floriculture and Composite Farming; Mushroom
Cultivation; Animal Husbandry – Micro Enterprise
Development of Poultry, Piggery and Milch cattle;
Fish Farming; Cottage Industries – Honey
Production, Cane/Bamboo Handicrafts; Training,
Technology & Marketing Development;
Diversification of Handloom Products for Economic
Empowerment of Women. It is a multi pronged
approach that has created newer possibilities for
sustainable income generation.
If you meet Bikram Bailung, just off the Duliajan
railway station, you will come to believe what
entrepreneurship means, as this man with two others
have transformed a small area into a hub of multiple
activities starting from fishery, rice mill to even
duckery, goatery and chicken farm to emerge as a real
role model for others. In fact, they have further
diversified into newer areas of enterprise. WHITE REVOLUTION: THE RUPANTAR WAY - A hatchery unit

26
BOVINE BRIGADE - Dairy farms under the PIGGY BANK - Pork being a local delicacy, pig
Project have increased indegenous milk production. rearing is a popular Project Rupantar activity.
 MAN AND THE MACHINE - Power tillers provided under farm machanization initiative under Project
Rupantar have not only helped in increasing output but also become a very attractive SHG activity option.

30
 OIL and SIRD join hands for Project Rupantar

A defining partnership

T he Project Rupantar is also the story of

exemplary synergy created by a potent
partnership between a corporate entity like Oil India
Limited (OIL) and a reputed government agency like
State Institute for Rural Development (SIRD) which
has made significant contribution in the success of the
‘Self Help Group’ movement in the state of Assam.
Today, stakeholders of Project Rupantar fondly
recollect the historic 8th day in the month of
DIGITAL EMPOWERMENT - A Computer Training Centre under Project Rupantar at Duliajan.
September, 2003, when OIL and SIRD joined hands
Established in 2004, the Centre has provided subsidised training to over 50,000 benef iciaries on various
centemporary softwares with focus on enhancing employability opportunities. with a long term vision to generate sustainable self
employment avenues for the educated unemployed
youths in and around the Company’s operational areas
in upper Assam.
32 33
 The OIL-SIRD synerg y

T he State Institute for Rural Development

(SIRD), Assam has a brilliant track record in
the SHG promotion, in extensive networking both
within the states as well as with other states of India.
They have the experience and resource personnel to
provide hands-on training to the youths and they do
the primary selection and provide the credit linkage
with the banks. The OIL has provided them with the
infrastructure and financial support; and SIRD in
turn, enters the villages, identifies the right people,
helps in forming the SHGs, gives them necessary
training, helps in economic activity identification as
per the SHG’s potential and arranges credit support
from the banks as soft loan, provides access to various
Government schemes, monitors the performance of
the SHGs and extends hand holding support till the
market linkage. SIRD with OIL’s support has also
provided special training including exposure visit to
different parts of India to young volunteers with
leadership abilities from among the SHGs to act as an
interface between OIL, SIRD and the SHGs. This
special group of mostly young men and women from
various villages are referred to as ‘facilitators’ and they
have played a key role in the success of Project
Rupantar.

34
 Focus on Women

T his is a special focus area of Project

Rupantar. The OIL has forged an
empowering partnership with rural women. OIL’s
intervention leverages micro-credit and skill training
to generate alternate employment opportunities.
Increased income in the hands of rural women results
in better nutrition, health care and education for
their children. Working with SIRD, OIL has
organized village women into Self-Help Groups who
in turn run small agro based activities and make
some profit. Group members make monthly
contributions from their earnings to create a saving
Corpus. The Corpus is used to extend soft loans to
group members. The system of mandatory
contribution further strengthens the habit of saving,
which leads to capital augmentation.
So when you walk into any of the villages where
Project Rupantar is effective or operative or
functioning, the best of the smiles will invariably come
from the womenfolk as they are being engaged in
small work and along with the money, they are earning
A MASS MOVEMENT - A Project Rupanatar training programme and disbursement function at Duliajan both self respect and self esteem.

36 37

PEANUT POWER - Women SHGs have also taken up such activities, mostly on food processing besides
the other common activities under the Project.
The R u p a n t a r affect
T here has been visible decline in demands for direct employment from unemployed
youths in and around OIL’s operational areas. OIL’s “Public Goodwill Reservoir”
has been replenished by the sizeable number of people who have benefited from the SHG
movement. Expectations of the Community for similar (employment generating schemes)
interventions form OIL have risen manifold.
Besides, the stakeholders have appreciated OIL’s strategic CSR initiative for
employment generation, which have in its own way enhanced OIL’s brand image. Media
have also acknowledged the project and have lauded the efforts of OIL.
A pat on the back from prestigious organizations - like TERI, who have presented
OIL with the coveted TERI CSR award - have inspired OIL, especially the people within
the Company who are entrusted with the responsibility of conceiving and implementing
innovative CSR projects.
However, the Rupkar Bota, a special award presented to OIL by the people from the
Company’s operational area under Tinghkhong revenue circle in the Upper Assam District
of Dibrugarh in appreciation of Project Rupantar brings in a sense of great joy and
satisfaction and inspires OIL to touch the lives of the people of the operational areas in
myriad ways.
Most significantly, the core CSR philosophy of OIL lays emphasis entirely on how
OIL can help the community in its own humble way. OIL in essence, expects only one
thing in return – the all-round development of the communities. OIL always wants to
play the role of a catalyst in the development process and yes, a sense of legitimate pride
prevail in having being able to make some difference in the lives of the people in and
around its operational areas.
As we criss cross the OIL’s working area in search of transformation, we f ind that the
cascading positive effects have started bearing fruits, pushing the Project Rupantar to newer
horizon with the expectation of more support from OIL in the coming days.
39