Kasmin Fernandes

Is basic education enough to build a bright future for children? This is a question corporate social responsibility has been addressing in the past few years as it moves beyond mere scholastic education to personality development. CSR programmes are increasingly making it their objective to prepare school kids from marginalised backgrounds for life in the...

The locust swarms currently plaguing our nation pose an unprecedented threat to food security and livelihoods. It’s the worst desert locust outbreak India has witnessed in 27 years, and could leave lakhs of Indians struggling to feed themselves in the coming months because of the double threat of coronavirus.  Locust swarms have already destroyed vegetation...

Periods take centre-stage, since it’s Menstrual Hygiene Day 2020 tomorrow. May 28 marks this annual day of awareness on MHM (Menstrual Hygiene Management), instituted in the year 2014 by German nonprofit WASH United. Let's talk #PeriodsInPandemics because #ItsTimeForAction! Menstrual Hygiene Day 2020 On Menstrual Hygiene Day last year, people around the world organised 726 on-the-ground events...

The lockdown led to earth-shattering changes in the way we lead our lives, in the cultural fabric and in the way we move from one place to another. In many parts of the western world, public transport gave way to "active mobility" -- walking and cycling -- which have more scope as means of...

India's poor ranking on the Gender Parity Index (GPI) goes to show just how much more CSR investment is needed to address gender parity in India. India slipped to the 112th rank in the annual Global Gender Gap Index 2020, announced the World Economic Forum in December 2019. Gender parity is a measure of...

Cyclone Amphan made landfall along the coasts of Odisha and West Bengal on May 20th and wreaked havoc. Among the 10 affected districts, Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur districts have been heavily affected due to the cyclone, where many trees and electric poles have been uprooted resulting in disruption of road communication, electricity and...

In 2000, the United Nations proclaimed 22nd May as the International Day for Biological Diversity to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues. As we observe this day in our homes in the midst of a pandemic, let’s find out what makes biodiversity important for every living being on this planet (including us humans). Theme...

Given the importance of water and sanitation to the economy and sustainable development, corporates have taken up projects in CSR for water security that make a larger impact on a region’s watershed and neighbouring communities. CSR for water security Between 2014 and 2018, Indian industry spent a total of INR 605.45 crores on providing safe drinking...

Talent diversity has major benefits for companies. Hiring employees from varied cultural backgrounds drives out-of-the-box thinking; since the teams are populated with people from diverse skills and (work as well as life) experiences, they bring a lot more to the table. TCS and HUL are two companies that have longrunning talent diversity programmes in...

The global telecom industry observes World Telecommunication Day 2020 today. The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on telecom and brought with it a host of opportunities as well, as this video depicts: https://youtu.be/j4_ZHvms4Us Theme for World Telecommunication Day 2020 This year's theme “Connect 2030: ICTs for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” highlights the ICT (Information and Communication...

Moving towards more environmentally friendly ― or green shipping ― is necessary. However, it is a formidable challenge, especially in our continent Asia, which accounts for the bulk of global shipping and port operations. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions ― and other negative externalities of the shipping activities....

Public sector companies are in a better position to make large-scale impact through CSR than private firms because of their sheer size. Reports by KPMG and CAG show that PSU firms spend the majority of their social funds on health and education. We surveyed the top PSUs investing in CSR for health this year. 1....