IndianOil’s Parivartan-Prison to Pride Initiative Trains Inmates to Win Intercontinental Chess Championship

PUNE: IndianOil’s Parivartan-Prison to Pride initiative has achieved a remarkable feat by training inmates from Yerawada Central Jail Pune and Children Correctional Home Bhopal to win the Intercontinental “Chess for Freedom” online chess championship for prisoners. The initiative, launched on August 15, 2021, as a part of India’s 75th Year of Independence celebrations, aims to rehabilitate prison inmates and juveniles through various sports coaching programs.

The teams from Yerawada Central Jail Pune and Children Correctional Home Bhopal have been coached under the Parivartan-Prison to Pride initiative, which covers 105 prison and juvenile homes, 29 state and UT, and over 5,000 inmates and juveniles in five phases. The initiative provides training in various sports, including chess, basketball, badminton, volleyball, and carrom, to inmates across prisons in India, promoting their physical and mental well-being.

The IndianOil coaches include former Women’s National Champion Manjusha Kanwar, Arjuna awardee Abhinn Shyam Gupta, former Doubles National Champion S Arun Vishnu, Chess Woman Grand Masters Soumya Swaminathan and Padmini Raut, Grand Masters Lalith Babu and Abhijit Kunte, Tennis ace Rushmi Chakravarthi, and renowned International Carrom players Yogesh Pardeshi, Mohd Gufran, and Kajal Kumari. Former first-class cricketer Mr. B G Joglekar has guided the inmates throughout the program.

The Intercontinental “Chess for Freedom” online chess championship for prisoners brought together 118 teams from 50 countries, representing all continents, offering inmates a unique opportunity to connect with peers across the globe. The Corporation, in association with the All India Chess Federation (AICF) and Prison Authorities, provided essential facilities for the tournament, including training, computers, and internet access to all participating Indian prisons.

Felicitating the team members from both locations, Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, Chairman, of IndianOil, said, “We are extremely proud of this ‘beyond business’ intervention, and successes like this give us confidence to further invest in such social stewardship initiatives that have the potential to truly make a difference at the grassroots. This remarkable achievement will further strengthen our resolve to uplift the lives of inmates and offer resilience, hope, and second chances.“

IndianOil has garnered recognition and accolades for this outstanding social work. It received the “Sports for Social Good” award from “The Hindu” and Sports Star for its remarkable contributions through the Parivartan-Prison to Pride Initiative. The World Chess Federation (FIDE) also invited the team to the first “Chess for Freedom” conference in Chicago in May 2023.

IndianOil is a diversified, integrated energy major with a net profit of Rs. [?]8,242 crores for fiscal 2022-23, touching the lives of over a billion Indians. With a 31,000-plus workforce, extensive refining, distribution & marketing infrastructure, and advanced R&D facilities, IndianOil has provided energy access to millions of people across the length and breadth of the country through its ever-expanding network of customer touchpoints, currently numbering over 60,000.