MITTI Café has opened a new outlet at Sky City Mall in Borivali East, Mumbai, bringing its inclusive employment model to the city's western suburbs. The café is operated by persons with physical, intellectual and psychiatric disabilities, creating an opportunity for visitors to support an initiative that places inclusion at the centre of its operations.

Located on the lower ground level of Sky City Mall, the café offers shoppers and moviegoers a place to pause for food and beverages. Its team manages food preparation and service, bringing its skills and hospitality to everyday dining.

MITTI Café's journey began with a small table and an umbrella in Hubballi. Since then, the social enterprise has expanded into a café network that, according to the organisation, is the world's largest chain run by persons with disabilities.

Its outlets include locations at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Supreme Court of India and major airports, extending its presence across institutional, public and travel settings.

The organisation has served more than 22 million meals and beverages, reflecting the scale of its operations and the reach of its inclusive employment model.

The new Sky City Mall outlet brings the café's approach to a major retail destination in Mumbai, where food and beverage spaces are an integral part of the shopping and entertainment experience.

By integrating an inclusive workplace into a mainstream mall environment, MITTI Café offers visitors an opportunity to experience its service while highlighting the role that businesses and public-facing spaces can play in expanding employment opportunities for persons with disabilities.

Café Details

• Name: MITTI Café

• Location: Lower Ground Level, Sky City Mall, Borivali East, Mumbai

Sterling Holiday Resorts Limited (SHRL) has strengthened its community healthcare initiatives by committing ₹2.25 crore towards dialysis infrastructure across underserved regions of India. The investment has supported 38 dialysis machines across 19 hospitals and healthcare institutions, creating the capacity to deliver approximately 34,200 dialysis treatments annually.

The initiative, undertaken under Sterling's philosophy of 'Doing Good by Doing Well', reflects the company's approach to corporate social responsibility, focusing on healthcare infrastructure that can continue serving communities beyond the initial investment.

The CSR commitment spans FY2024-25 and FY2025-26, with the programme aimed at improving access to essential renal care in regions where specialised medical facilities may be difficult to reach.

Extending Healthcare Beyond Major Cities

A key focus of Sterling's dialysis initiative is to bring critical healthcare infrastructure closer to communities outside India's major metropolitan centres.

Patients requiring regular dialysis often face the additional burden of travelling long distances for treatment, alongside lost working hours and recurring expenses for themselves and their families. By supporting dialysis infrastructure closer to where patients live, Sterling aims to ease these challenges while strengthening local healthcare capacity.

The programme has reached Tier II and Tier III cities, district headquarters and underserved communities across Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

The supported machines have been deployed across government hospitals, medical colleges, district hospitals and community healthcare institutions, extending access to treatment for patients across these regions.

From CSR Investment to Long-Term Healthcare Capacity

Sterling's initiative measures its impact not only through the financial commitment or number of machines installed, but also through the treatment capacity and wider community benefits generated.

According to the company, the programme has resulted in reported patient savings of approximately ₹2.05 crore and created 260 local employment opportunities across the healthcare ecosystems supported by the initiative.

Dialysis machines can remain in service for years, enabling repeated treatments and providing ongoing value to healthcare institutions and the communities they serve. This gives the investment the potential to deliver sustained social benefits through improved access to treatment, reduced patient expenses and stronger local healthcare infrastructure.

Vikram Lalvani, Managing Director and CEO, Sterling Holiday Resorts Limited, said:

*"Doing Good by Doing Well' reflects a simple belief at Sterling—that as our business grows, the positive impact we create around us should grow with it.

Through our CSR initiatives, we have already supported 38 dialysis machines across 19 healthcare institutions, creating capacity for approximately 34,200 treatments every year, particularly in communities where access to specialised healthcare can be challenging. What makes this meaningful is its ability to endure. Each machine becomes a community healthcare asset that can serve patients year after year—reducing travel, easing the financial burden on families and strengthening healthcare capacity where it is needed most.

For us, that is the real measure of meaningful CSR: not simply what we spend, but the capacity we create and the impact that continues long after the investment is made."*

Focus on Measurable and Sustained Impact

Sterling said it intends to continue directing its CSR investments towards initiatives capable of creating measurable, scalable and lasting social impact as the company expands its hospitality presence across India.

The dialysis project reflects the company's stated objective of ensuring that its growth creates value not only for guests, partners and shareholders, but also for the communities it serves.

Impact at a Glance

• ₹2.25 crore: CSR commitment across FY2024-25 and FY2025-26

• 38: Dialysis machines supported

• 19: Hospitals and healthcare institutions supported

• 34,200: Annual dialysis treatment capacity created

• ₹2.05 crore: Reported patient savings

• 260: Local employment opportunities generated

• 7 states: Geographic reach of the initiative

About Sterling Holiday Resorts Limited

Sterling Holiday Resorts Limited is an independently managed hospitality company and a subsidiary of Thomas Cook (India) Limited, part of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited. The company operates across more than 70 destinations in India, with over 4,000 keys. Its portfolio includes resorts in leisure, heritage, wildlife, hill station and other holiday destinations across the country.

Noida International Airport and Bird Academy, in collaboration with Brisk Olive Trust and Roseate Hotels & Resorts, have completed a hospitality skill development programme for local youth in Jewar, creating pathways to employment across the region's growing aviation, hospitality and services ecosystem.

Conducted at ITI College, Jewar, the programme trained 33 students from different backgrounds who had completed schooling up to Class 12. The initiative focused on employment-oriented skills across key areas of hospitality operations, including Front Office and Food & Beverage, alongside soft skills, industry interactions and visits to hospitality facilities.

The training was designed to provide participants with practical workplace capabilities while building their confidence and readiness for employment. Following completion of the programme, candidates have moved into employment opportunities across the region, including at Noida International Airport, Roseate Hotels & Resorts and outlets along the Yamuna Expressway.

The programme builds on an earlier collaboration between Bird Academy and Brisk Olive Trust, the CSR partner for Noida International Airport. In 2025, the partners conducted an aviation skill development programme at ITI College, Jewar, for 28 students from underprivileged backgrounds.

The earlier programme focused on aviation ground operations, including ramp operations and passenger handling, along with soft skills, airport exposure visits and interactions with industry professionals. Candidates who completed the programme have since secured employment opportunities at Noida International Airport.

The Aviation Skill Development Centre at ITI College, Jewar, was inaugurated last year by Shri Dhirendra Singh, Member of Legislative Assembly of Jewar, with support from Noida International Airport. The centre is intended to equip local communities with skills aligned with employment opportunities emerging from the region's aviation and logistics ecosystem.

Commenting on the initiative, Christoph Schnellmann, Vice Chairman, Noida International Airport, said: “Noida International Airport’s development is closely linked with the communities around it. Supporting local youth with relevant skills and access to employment opportunities is an important part of our commitment to the region. We are encouraged to see participants from these programmes move into employment, and we will continue to work with partners on initiatives that strengthen employability and support inclusive regional growth.”

Mrs. Radha Bhatia, Chairperson, Bird Group & Bird Education Society for Travel & Tourism (BESTT), said the initiative reflects Bird Academy's longstanding focus on connecting skills with employment opportunities.

“The belief that skill is the most powerful enabler of opportunity has driven everything Bird Academy has stood for since 1998. In a world where graduation and post-graduation alone no longer guarantee a rewarding career, focused skilling is what bridges education and employment.”

She also highlighted the Academy's focus on women's empowerment and gender parity, adding that the programmes demonstrate what can be achieved when institutions, industry and communities work together.

Bhatia further said that aviation and hospitality are among the growing sectors of India's economy and require a skilled workforce capable of delivering professional services. She expressed support for sustained public-private partnerships focused on youth, communities and employment.

Together, the two programmes have reached 61 young people, with participants moving towards employment opportunities in aviation and hospitality. The initiative forms part of Noida International Airport's broader CSR focus on education, vocational training and employability.

As the airport and surrounding commercial ecosystem develop, the programmes aim to help communities in Jewar build skills that are relevant to emerging employment opportunities in aviation, hospitality, logistics and related services.

About Noida International Airport

Noida International Airport (IATA code: DXN) is being developed to connect the greater Delhi region and Western Uttar Pradesh with cities across India and international destinations.

Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Zurich Airport International AG, is responsible for the development, construction and operation of the greenfield airport under a public-private partnership with the Government of Uttar Pradesh and the Government of India.

The concession period commenced on October 1, 2021, and runs for 40 years. The airport's masterplan provides for further development over the concession period, with the capacity to serve more than 70 million passengers annually.

About Bird Academy

Bird Academy, the educational arm of Bird Group, operates under the aegis of Bird Education Society for Travel & Tourism (BESTT). Established in 1998, the Academy provides skill development and vocational training across aviation, travel, tourism and hospitality.

Bird Academy is an IATA Regional Training Partner and an IATA Authorised Training Centre, offering industry-aligned programmes and certifications designed to support aviation safety, operational effectiveness and professional capability development.