KOCHI: Highlighting the power of community participation, Ernakulam Assistant Collector Parvathy Gopakumar on Thursday launched ExSeed Green, a World Environment Day initiative by The New Indian Express in collaboration with South Indian Bank (SIB), aimed at encouraging readers across Kerala to take up farming.
Speaking at the event, she said the initiative, though simple in its approach by distributing a packet of seeds with the newspaper, carries the potential for meaningful impact when embraced collectively.
“It is a good initiative that The New Indian Express and South Indian Bank are joining as part of a CSR activity. When an action is taken collectively, it can bring a change,” Parvathy said.
Sony A, Senior General Manager and Chief Information Officer of South Indian Bank, handed over the first seed packet to the assistant collector. He reiterated the bank’s commitment to sustainability, noting its long-standing emphasis on diversity and the relaunch of green deposits in line with its environmental goals.
Also present were Kiran Prakash, Resident Editor (Kerala), The New Indian Express; Vishnu Nair, General Manager (Kerala) and National Head (Special Projects), TNIE; Ramesh K P, Head of Marketing, South Indian Bank, along with other senior executives.
As part of the initiative, TNIE also distributed a sachet of vegetable seeds to the readers along with the newspaper across the state on Thursday.
The initiative was supported by the Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council Keralam (VFPCK) and the Department of Agriculture Development and Farmer Welfare of Kerala.