We strive to create an enabling world for underserved communities in India.
Mr Rajiv Mehta
Surat Diamond manufactures and exports diamond, pearl, silver and semiprecious jewellery. The company has a unique blend of traditional values and leading-edge innovation. Their product range and aesthetic designs have evolved over three generations of diamantaires. They have a formidable internet footprint, with customers buying and gifting jewellery around the world. Their quality and attention-todetail ensures a generation of committed customers.
They source precious metals and stones from around the world. The raw material undergoes stringent quality tests by experienced gemologists. Their designers create contemporary as well as traditional jewellery designs keeping in mind the aesthetic sense of different markets and cultures. The finished products are checked and rechecked to conform to their exacting specifications.
CSR Initiatives
Ratna Nidhi Charitable Trust is a non-profit organization that was set up by Mr Mahendra Mehta, founder of Surat Diamond, in 1967. They began as a family Trust, with a desire to feed street children in Mumbai. Over the years, the Trust has focused its efforts on developing programmes in the area of healthcare and education in India. The Trust is now being managed by Mr Rajiv Mehta, Managing Director, Surat Diamond.
Empowering youth: Ratna Nidhi strives to empower underserved children, youth and the disabled community through relevant support services like education, clothes, books, food and using innovative technology solutions in the area of disability.
Their current initiatives are targeted towards physically challenged and underserved children in society. Ratna Nidhi takes up disability projects for their help. Children of terror victims are provided scholarship and food in schools. The Trust also finances computer and garment projects. They have helped in providing vision to around 1 million people. Ranta Nidhi also runs medical centres for the underserved people of the society.
Helping the needy: Ratna Nidhi keeps donating eseentials to the needy students and people. They have distributed mobility equipment to disabled patients free of cost. The Trust has been donating garments since 1992 and serving meals to underprivileged children in Mumbai since 1998. They provide educational scholarships to over 390 children of victims of terror attacks. The Trust has donated books to 4,000 schools and colleges in India through the Mission Million Books Project and donated Essilor spectacles to children and adults from low income background. They are also working with global reputed institutions like World Bank, IIT Mumbai, Essilor (France), Google.org, ACC Trust, etc., as collaborative project partners for service projects in India.
Testimonials of Beneficiaries Abdul Khan
Abdul with his charm and sweet talks makes friends in no time. He loves to talk and one just cannot ignore this little kid. Born with deformity in both his legs, the future of this kid looked unsecured. The cause for Abdul’s deformity was his mother suffering from overdose of medication during her pregnancy. It bothered his parents that their active child might lose his confidence as he grows.
They kept making rounds to different hospitals and got several medical references. Every single visit to the doctors and hospital failed as in some cases they couldn’t afford the treatment and in others the treatment didn’t suit Abdul. Many places he was provided with wooden amputated leg, which was very heavy and uncomfortable.
Tired with the failures, Abdul’s parents were thinking of giving up and accept the dark shades in their son’s future. Almost then someone referred them to Ratna Nidhi Charitable Trust. Abdul visited Ratna Nidhi’s medical centre for treatment and went out standing on his new feet. He is now on his way to pursue his two big dreams, one to become a doctor and to meet his favourite Bollywood actor Salman Khan.
Shivkumar Vishvakarma
Three years back, Shivkumar was travelling to Mumbai from Vapi to meet his elder brother, when he lost his leg in train mishap. Shivkumar was working as an electrician after completing his BA. Post the accident, he was unable to continue working, and this led to financial stress at home. With the responsibility to look after his four-year old child, Shivkumar started searching for an alternative treatment for his leg. During that period, his elder brother got to know about Ratna Nidhi’s medical centre. Finally in 2014, Shivkumar made it to the centre and received the prostatic treatment. Post the treatment, he managed to get his job back at the same firm he was working before. Shivkumar now looks after his family and leads a normal life.
Alifya Mohid Khan
Alifya’s mother is a domestic help. She has a brother and two sisters. Her father is not at home much. When he is, the situation at home is tense as he tends to be angry a lot and the family suffers this unpleasantness, especially Alifya’s mother.
Alifya and her younger brother clearly suffer from malnutrition. Her collar and chest bones protrude from below her skin. The teachers say they were in much worse condition before they began eating a meal at school. Alifya says her sister does not like to study as she has difficulty understanding the lessons, and would rather play besides the railway track all day. Despite the tensions at home, Alifya dreams of becoming a doctor someday. She tries to eat as much dal and rice as she can at school for there is no telling when the next meal will come by. Alifya’s mother, like so many other parents, sends her children to the Adarsh Foundation Education Centre simply because it provides one meal a day, which might seem a small expense for so many but is not guaranteed for most members of this community.
Radhika
Radhika, 24, hails from a small town in Jamnagar. She works as a Programme Assistant at the Taluka office and her income supplements a major source of the family income.
Radhika’s happiness knew no bounds, when she could finally walk on both her feet for the first time at the Ratna Nidhi camp. Radhika was born without a left leg. Most doctors advised her that nothing much can be done in her case. She visited Ratna Nidhi’s screening camp at Jamnagar for crutches but their prosthetic engineers advised her to go for the Jaipur foot instead. A special Jaipur foot was customized as per her requirement to enable her to walk independently.
Beaming with joy, her excitement filled up the camp. Elated, she shared “I am so happy today. For the first time ever, I can walk on both my feet. Thank you Ratna Nidhi and Oswal for enabling me to walk on both my feet. Today is the best day of my life.”
Amazing Moments in CSR Initiative
Developing artificial leg: In collaboration with Google.org and IIT Bombay, the Trust has developed the Ratna Nidhi Leg, a wellfitting artificial leg through the use of 3D scanning and printing technologies. The Trust is working with Biomedical Engineering and Technology (incubation) Centre (BETiC) at IIT Bombay and Google.org to leverage portable 3D scanning coupled with low-cost 3D printing technologies, to fabricate plastic models of residual limbs to support the socket manufacturing process. The scanner will allow technicians deployed in the field to quickly and accurately measure residual limb dimensions.
In 2017, Ratna Nidhi won the Google Impact Challenge for Disability Award for a breakthrough innovative technology that will have a positive impact for people living with disabilities.
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
Today, Surat Diamond is featured across leading e-commerce and auction sites in the US, UK, Australia and India. Even the press has taken note of their innovation and enterprise. Surat Diamond was featured by Business Today, a leading Indian business publication and India Abroad, a New York-based publication for the Indian American community.
In India, they have been working with the top most brands like SBI cards, ICICI Bank, Kotak, HDFC, Standard Chartered, Axis Bank, etc.