Pearl Tiwari, Ambuja Cement Foundation

The Swachh Bharat campaign that swept across the country helped highlight the burning issue of sanitation as a root cause of many of the critical health issues that plague us.  Yet, whilst we have made rapid progress in building toilets and ensuring (almost) blanket coverage, sanitation woes continue to persist. Sadly, many toilets are...

When you start to think about sustainable development and things like food and water security, you come to realise that it is the humble farmer, who has the most valuable and important job of this country. Farmers are saddled with a difficult dual responsibility: to supply primary agricultural produce in large enough quantities, safely,...

India came under the International spotlight during the second wave of the pandemic, showcasing to the world the catastrophic impacts of its ill-preparedness. However much of this focus was on the crisis in urban India, where we will never forget the grim scenes of footage showing people scrambling for oxygen, fighting for hospital beds...

The number of child workers in India has dropped for the first time in 20 years (4.3 million as compared to 12.6 million child workers in 2001). However, UNICEF and several reputed NGOs dispute these figures, estimating that even now, there are about 28 to 60 million child workers. Notwithstanding the difficulty of establishing the...

Imagine the generic scenario of a farmer in a rustic corner of India. He lives on a small farm in a remote tribal village, has received minimal education, and has no capital except his land, no resources and security, whatsoever. He feels all alone. But so does his neighbour. And all the other million farmers...

Whilst India has experienced significant economic growth over the last 20 years, much of this wealth generation has been inequitable. On one hand, we have a 'Shining India' with 101 billionaires, and a rich and middle class of 160 million.  On the other, there is an India still struggling to earn a decent living, majority...

Skill development, the national agenda, has been quite well embraced by the corporate world. This is the right time to delve deeper into the sector and tap the unexplored

Through CSR, corporates are making their best efforts to reduce the rural-urban divide, especially in terms of access to information. Better infrastructure, access to digital technology and increasing confidence of people, indeed deserves an applause.

“When an old person dies, a whole library burns.” The age-old African proverb is apt to explain the significance of ancestral wisdom. Since time immemorial, we all have been hearing and have also witnessed how rural communities across geographies have built an invaluable pool of indigenous practices based on traditional knowledge and wisdom. Farmers predict rainfall...

The good news is - most companies are fulfilling their social responsibility. The question remains – is that really what communities need? According to research, people feel that corporate social responsibility is not effective and failing in some cases. For instance, only 13% people trust what they read in a corporate firm’s CSR or sustainability...

Budget 2017-18 promises 1.5 lakh gram panchayats with high-speed broadband service by the end of the year. This may invite a range of reactions. Someone might say “Really? This looks like an impossible task to achieve.” There might be yet another section saying “Rural poor need jobs, not technology”. While there could be varied opinions...