THEBUSINESSBYTES
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DELHI, OCTOBER 18, 2026
More than 40,000
runners took to the streets of the national capital for the Vedanta Delhi Half
Marathon (VDHM) 2026 on Sunday, contributing to a campaign that has generated
over 2.7 crore meals for children and animals in need over the past five years.
The latest edition of
the marathon added 50 lakh meals to the cumulative tally under the
#RunForZeroHunger initiative, which links every kilometre covered by
participants to a meal through the Anil Agarwal Foundation’s (AAF) Nand Ghar
and The Animal Care Organisation (TACO) initiatives. The milestone marks five
years of Vedanta’s association with the marathon.
Sporting icons,
including boxer Mary Kom, para-badminton player Pramod Bhagat and tennis player
Mahesh Bhupathi, joined the event, highlighting the role of sport in promoting
fitness, inclusion and collective action.
The Anil Agarwal
Foundation’s Nand Ghar initiative operates more than 16,000 modernised
anganwadis across 18 States. Its programmes focus on nutrition, healthcare,
early childhood education and women’s empowerment, with the aim of improving
the well-being of children and women and strengthening communities.
The Foundation’s
animal welfare initiative, TACO, extends the hunger-relief campaign to animals
in need. The approach reflects the organisation’s emphasis on the
interconnected well-being of humans and animals under its One Health framework.
The races were
flagged off by Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Jammu and Kashmir Chief
Minister Omar Abdullah, along with senior Vedanta executives, including Arun
Misra, Chief Executive Officer of Vedanta Group; Rahul Sharma, President,
Strategy, Vedanta Group; Rajinder Ahuja, CEO of Vedanta Power Ltd.; and Jim
Johnny Gast, Interim CEO of Vedanta Oil & Gas Ltd. Vice-Admiral Atul Anand
was also present.
The event featured
several categories, including the elite half marathon, the Police Cup, the
Champions with Disability and Senior Citizens Run, the Open 10K and the Great
Delhi Run.
Priya Agarwal Hebbar,
Non-Executive Director of Vedanta and Chairperson of Hindustan Zinc Ltd., said
the event demonstrated how sport could combine individual achievement with a
wider social purpose.
“With 40,000 runners taking to the streets,
this year’s Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon celebrated sporting excellence,
personal determination and the extraordinary power of collective action,” she
said. She added that participants had helped the Foundation achieve its target
of five million meals for the year.
Participation in the
campaign extended beyond the capital, with more than 22,000 Vedanta employees,
senior executives and business partners joining activities organised across
India. These included walkathons and mini-marathons, while employees of the
Group’s businesses also logged kilometres through the Step Set Go app to
contribute to the initiative.
The campaign forms
part of Vedanta’s broader efforts to promote grassroots sport and wider
participation through Vedanta Sports. Its programmes include residential
football academies in Rajasthan and Goa, archery initiatives in Jharkhand and
Odisha, support for the Kalinga Lancers hockey team, and the promotion of
emerging disciplines such as padel.
The Group also
supports running events, including the Vedanta Pink City Half Marathon in
Jaipur and the Vedanta Zinc City Half Marathon in Udaipur, as well as marathons
in Bengaluru and Mumbai. Through these platforms, the company seeks to link
sporting participation with social initiatives.
The finisher’s medal
awarded to runners this year was made from high-grade zinc sourced from
Hindustan Zinc’s Zawar Mines in Udaipur, Rajasthan. The mining region is among
the world’s oldest operating zinc-producing areas. Hindustan Zinc is a
subsidiary of Vedanta Ltd. and describes itself as the world’s largest
integrated zinc producer.
With the latest
edition adding to the campaign’s cumulative total, #RunForZeroHunger continues
to connect mass participation in sport with efforts to address hunger and
support community and animal welfare initiatives.
