Led by HDFC Bank’s fraud awareness ‘Vigil Aunty’ contingent, nearly 1500 Bank employees participated at this year’s Tata Mumbai Marathon. Wearing t-shirts emblazoned with the slogan “Get Set Educate,” employees showcased the Bank’s commitment towards helping improve access to educational resources.
A costumed contingent of 15 Vigil Aunty influencers also joined the HDFC Bank employees at the marathon, to raise awareness on prevention of frauds and cybercrime, and enhance visibility for the cause of safe banking. This is the largest contingent fielded by a corporate at the Tata Mumbai Marathon till date.
The employees ran in support of the NGO, Light of Life Trust, an organisation dedicated to providing educational opportunities to students at risk of dropping out from rural schools in Maharashtra. The initiative will benefit nearly 9250 students across 37 government recognised and aided rural secondary schools from eight districts in Maharashtra. The commitment from the Bank includes a budget of INR 2.78 crore to help enhance educational infrastructure by establishing Science & Math Laboratories, setting up Smart Digital Classrooms, providing Book Libraries, refurbishing Classrooms, and ensuring access to clean drinking water and functional toilets.
“We are delighted to have 1,500 colleagues volunteer to run for a cause at the Tata Mumbai Marathon. This is the largest employee contingent we have fielded for the marathon till date,” said Kaizad M. Bharucha, Deputy Managing Director, HDFC Bank. “Promotion of Education is one of the five pillars of our CSR programme, Parivartan, and through the NGO Light of Life Trust, we aim to do our part to improve access to education and help ensure that all students have the resources they need to succeed,” he added.
The award-winning Vigil Aunty initiative, launched in 2022, introduced an influencer who urged people nationwide to adopt safe banking habits. The campaign has been instrumental in promoting secure banking awareness and educating the public on various digital fraud techniques employed by fraudsters. Since its launch, the initiative has garnered a substantial fan base of over two million across social media platforms, covering over 60 modus operandi to educate customers on preventive measures against various types of fraud.
