CSR: Mandatory PUC certificate for Vehicle Insurance

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February 4, 2019

India is facing a crisis in terms of air pollution. More than half of the top 20 most polluted cities in the world are in India. In order to control the situation, Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate was made mandatory by the government of India under the Central Motor Vehicle Rule 1989. However, the pollution has only grown even then.

The emissions from the vehicles emit smoke which has the potential to pollute the environment if left unchecked. PUC certificate is a norm to check the vehicle emission levels to determine how safe they are and whether they contribute to air pollution. A PUC certificate is only valid for six months after which it has to be renewed in order to update it depending on the health of the vehicle then.

A survey conducted by the TOI stated that the PUC certificates are not very accurate. According to the survey, the same vehicle test twice at two different PUC centres in 40 minutes’ timeframe were having different values. These values were not even close to each other. The difference was accounted to the inaccuracy of the process, devices of measurement and increased temperature of the machine. However, more than all of that, major dishonesty is observed in these centres.

Just a few words of kindness and request is enough to convince the person working at the PUC centres to generate a certificate without getting the vehicle checked. This is why vehicles releasing poisonous black fumes in the middle of a busy road is a common site in Indian cities.

Supreme court of India has made it mandatory to link the PUC certificate with the issue of annual insurance of the vehicle. The Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) said they will work with insurance bodies to ensure complete compliance of the mandate. The insurance companies have also said that they will also initiate a pilot project in Delhi region to identify the set of vehicles that do not come back for the registration of PUC. However, all the efforts would count for nothing if the procedure of measuring and issuing PUC certificate is not sophisticated.

Thank you for reading the column until the very end. We appreciate the time you have given us. In addition, your thoughts and inputs will genuinely make a difference to us. Please do drop in a line and help us do better.

Regards,
The CSR Journal Team

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GGWCup Mumbai brings the focus on the SDGs

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The CSR Journal

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February 4, 2019

Forca Goa at GGWCup — GGWCup winning team Forca Goa

The Global Goals World Cup (Mumbai) was conducted on Saturday, as part of a multi-nation effort to support the United Nations’ 17 global Sustainable Development Goals.

Focused on driving women to action, unified by sport, the GGWCup was organized by Dubai-Headquartered Sustainable Mindz & Denmark-based Eir Soccer, in partnership with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Danish Government, United Nations Advocacy Group, Project Everyone and SAP Next Gen.

The tournament was a one-day, spectator friendly, five-a-side football tournament for women & girls. The football matches are played by a different set of rules, awarding points for both scoring goals as well as working for the 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development.

The event was conducted at Fr. Agnel Multipurpose School & Junior College, Navi Mumbai, with the participation of 24 teams from across Mumbai, looking to create impact towards an SDG of their choice. Some of the goals being worked towards by the teams are Quality Education (SDG 4), Gender Equality (SDG 5), Good Health & Wellbeing (SDG 3), Clean Water & Sanitation (SDG 6), Decent Work & Economic Growth (SDG 8), and Responsible Consumption & Production (SDG 12).

The GGWCup was won by Forca Goa. The winning team, Forca Goa will get an opportunity to go to New York in September 2019 and compete for the Global Goals World Cup Activists Trophy. Best Action for the Global Goals was given to Sanscar and best style was given to Myna Bol.

“We truly believe in the famous words of Nelson Mandela: ‘Sport has the power to change the world.’ Sport has the power to energize and motivate the hearts and minds of billions. It breaks down barriers and allows people to meet at eye level on the field. When we play together, we create the human connections that inspire us to fight side by side for the world we want,” said Majken Gilmartin and Rikke Ronholt, founders of GGWCup.

“At Sustainable Mindz we believe that without women, we cannot achieve the SDGs. Our initiatives are about bringing all kinds of amazing men and women together to meet, play and take action to solve societal, environmental and economic problems. The Global Goals World Cup Mumbai is the beginning of a journey in India to empower young girls and women to take this development agenda into their own hands,” said Vineetha Mathew, Noora Mohammad and Dima Maaytah, Founders, Sustainable Mindz.

Early Childhood Education: A Head Start to Learning

By

Aayush Dutta

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February 4, 2019

While the schooling years sets the trajectory for learning and development, the years that precede the start of the primary schooling age are considered to lay down the early foundations for this learning and development. Year after year, the ASER report has chalked out the learning deficit posing serious questions on the efficacy of our schooling system. However, it is also important to analyse the contribution of inadequate early childhood education to this deficit and its cascading implication on life-long learning.

The importance of early childhood education (ECE) has received international consensus. It is part of the 17 sustainable development goals (Target 4.2) of the UN’s 2030 Agenda. Several research studies have emphasized upon the development of neural synapses between the ages of 2 to 6 years that form the basis of cognitive and socio-emotional functioning of the rest of a child’s life. It lays the foundation for numeracy, language and mental skills. This necessitates adequate stimulation during the early years of a child’s life when the large majority of physical brain development occurs. Early childhood education plays a key role in offering the kind of engaging and stimulating learning environment needed in the child’s early years. Further validating its economic context, Nobel Laureate professor James Heckman explained the compounding effect of early investments in a child’s life on its life-long returns (The Heckman Curve – the earlier the investment in human capital, greater the return).

Early childhood education in India

India follows a rights-based approach to education designating it as a legal entitlement. The RTE Act currently mandates education for children aged 6 to 14 years leaving early childhood education (3 to 6 years) outside its ambit. The provision of ECE is mainly catered by Aanganwadis and private preschools in India. The common perception is that private preschools offer better quality education and charge higher fees, favoured by families with a better economic background.

Anganwadis take centre stage in the provision of ECE in India due to its extensive reach and accessibility. In terms of scale, Aanganwadis have a network of almost 1.4 million centres throughout India. It falls under the budgetary provision of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme (launched in 1974) and is run by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

Anganwadis have been embroiled in their own set of challenges for years now. Under the ICDS scheme, the Aanganwadis are entrusted with a holistic set of responsibilities amongst which providing early childhood education is arguably the least effective. The other services range from providing nutrition, health and childcare, supporting pregnant and lactating mothers to maintaining a multitude of record registers. A typical Aanganwadi is operated by an Aanganwadi worker, an Aanganwadi helper and an ASHA or community health worker. They are generally underpaid and inadequately trained to provide preschool education. In a nutshell, we arrive at the same problem – accessibility without effectiveness. This is coupled with the lack of awareness of the importance of ECE among Indian parents, especially in rural areas.

The National Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Policy 2013 acknowledges the Government’s commitment towards providing quality ECE. Last year, it renewed this commitment by launching the ambitious Samagra Shiksha scheme which envisages the ‘school’ as a continuum rather than following a segmenting view as pre-school, primary, upper primary, secondary to senior secondary levels. However, the scheme is still to face the test of effectiveness.

ECE in India needs immediate attention and cannot be queued to the lethargy of policymaking. It is the age of our children and their learning abilities linked to it that we are racing against. Failing to cope up with this race can only widen inequalities over the long run.

Shunmuga Sundaram Yadav has previously worked for an Italian consulting firm promoting Italian businesses in developing countries and assisting them to participate in projects funded by Multilateral Development Banks. He has also worked on consulting projects for strategizing market entry of Italian brands in India. He has completed a course in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering and a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce. He is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Mumbai University.

Thank you for reading the column until the very end. We appreciate the time you have given us. In addition, your thoughts and inputs will genuinely make a difference to us. Please do drop in a line and help us do better.

Regards,
The CSR Journal Team

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Empowering women through digital finance

By

Kasmin Fernandes

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February 4, 2019

Did you know that poor women account for 1.1 billion of the world’s unbanked adults, or most of the financially excluded?

Financial inclusion needs to bridge gender gaps for it to become truly inclusive, and India has a long way to go in this respect.

In order for digital finance to reach rural women sustainably, there is a need to bring together stakeholders from policy, government, businesses, digital financial solution providers, community-based organisations, and funders, to discuss pathways to collaboration for sustained outcomes.

To achieve this, L&T Financial Services and Sattva have taken a bold first step in focusing their efforts on digital financial inclusion of women in rural India through the conception of ‘Finclusion: Empowering Women Through Digital Finance’ – a participatory dialogue on learnings, gaps and potential to harness digital financial inclusion for rural women in India.

The summit took place on 1st February, 2019 in New Delhi. The round table also included two panel discussions around “Partnerships for effective delivery of financial inclusion” and “Role of Women change agents in empowering communities through digital finance.”

A white paper titled “Finclusion – Empowering Women through Digital Financial Inclusion” was released at the summit in the presence of Prasanta Kumar Swain, Jt Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Gokul Patnaik (Retd IAS), Dr Leena Srivastava, Vice Chancellor, TERI School of Advanced Studies and Rathish Balakrishnan, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Sattva.

The white paper identifies the issues and barriers, especially for rural women, in adopting digital finance and offers tangible solutions to facilitate more women into the world of digital finance.

Manoj Shenoy, CE, Wealth Management & Group Head CSR – L&T Financial Services said, “Digital financial inclusion is a multi-step process with basic financial literacy being the first, leading to digital financial literacy and inclusion. We believe the learnings from the Digital Sakhi Programme that are documented through this white paper will provide all stakeholders a window to the advantages of onboarding rural women into the world of digital finance and the transformative effect it can have on the country.”

The Digital Sakhi programme was first launched in three districts of Maharashtra – Pune, Osmanabad and Solapur, in June 2017. The year-end assessment survey conducted in these areas, showed marked improvements as compared to the baseline study conducted prior to the launch of the programme. Some of the highlights:

a). 36% increase in use of digital modes of payments in the programme villages

b). 60% increase in volume of work of the women entrepreneurs

c) 8% increase in overall annual revenues of the women entrepreneurs

d) 100000+ community members sensitized on digital modes of payments

Awareness about digital modes of payments viz. prepaid cards, mobile wallets, United Payment Interface (UPI), Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), internet and mobile banking as well as Aadhar Enabled Payment Service (AEPS) has also increased.

The greatest achievement of the Digital Sakhi programme has been the inclusion of women in the household financial decision-making process. Prior to the programme, all major household financial decisions were taken mostly by the ‘Male head of the household’.

The recent survey found that more members of the household, especially the women, are actively participating in the financial decisions of the entire family.

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The Terror of Drugs on Indian Borders

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Dr. Anantpal Singh, healthcare expert

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February 2, 2019

India has taken massive strides towards progress in various fields. However, this progress has come at a price. A silent new war has taken birth in the Indian subcontinent – the war of drugs.

India shares a very long border with countries like Pakistan, China, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Since these adversaries cannot resort to direct conventional conflict, they have embarked on a clandestine opium war, whereby an unconventional and cascading hyper destruction has been unleashed on the border states such as Punjab and entire northeast by the ISI and other established international drug networks.

The positioning is such that a major portion of the young men and women, as well as school and college going children, have been drawn and trapped into this menace. The actual motive for this is to weaken our already porous borders and our future generations.

Historically the border states of the country have very bravely faced the constant onslaught and misdemeanours of these longstanding enemies. But this drug war has unleashed a new weapon of mass destruction which is practically invisible and is doing everlasting damage.

Discrete drug abuse is a global phenomenon, affecting almost every country. Problems of drug dependence produce dramatic costs to all societies in terms of lost productivity, transmission of infectious diseases, family and social disorder, crime, and excessive utilization of health care. With a turnover of around $500 billion, it is the third largest business in the world, next to petroleum and arms trade.

Indian youth has fallen victim to the vicious cycle of drug abuse. The number of drug addicts in the country is increasing day by day. The bane of drug abuse in Punjab has acquired the proportions of a pestilence that has shaken the entire society in the state. It is observed that in Punjab “drug abuse” is a raging epidemic.

The problem of drug abuse in the youth of Punjab is a matter of serious concern. Every third person is hooked to drugs other than alcohol and tobacco. The striking observations say that the prevalence of heroin and intravenous drug abuse is very high.

Drug addiction and its fallout have been plaguing Punjab for many years now. Tarn Taran district in the Majha region and Bathinda are among the worst affected in the state. Other than that, the districts of Amritsar, Moga, Tarn Taran, Nawanshahr, Muktsar, Mansa and Ludhiana are also highly affected. Punjab has become a major part of the so-called opium drug route that is now used for transporting opioids.

On an average, 35,000 new drug addicts have been approaching hospitals for treatment every month. In Punjab, there are approximately 90 private rehab centres, of which approximately 50 are run by the government. Additionally, a multitude of illegal pharmacies/chemist shops is selling harmful drugs without a prescription, which does not make things any better for the initiatives taken by the government of Punjab.

Currently the government has been running awareness campaigns in schools and colleges, but still, most families in rural areas do not know about rehab centres or how they can turn lives around. And the stigma associated with drugs often stops people from seeking help.

While organizations like the Red Cross and UNDP are doing their bit in collecting databases and holding de-addiction campaigns. It is important for the non-governmental sector of India to try to bring about a change at the grassroots level.

We at Spectrum Health Solutions Ltd. have planned our advanced technology based counselling & rehabilitation clinics at grass root levels in sensitive villages. We aim to make people aware of the dreadful effects of these drugs. It is very important for corporate India to galvanise and muster sufficient support for CSR initiatives at a rapid pace in spreading awareness about the drug menace.

India needs constantly heightened vigil and further fortification, effective fencing, improvised patrolling at borders and development of further counter-terrorism strategies to control the scourge of drugs on borders. If left unchecked it could one day decimate our shrinking borders, our faith in our democracy and the future of our generations to come.

Dr Anantpal Singh is a leading physician, entrepreneur and health researcher from Spectrum Health Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Dr Singh envisions a global community with healthcare solutions which are simple to use and deliver better results than conventional methods.

Views of the author are personal and do not necessarily represent the website’s views.

Thank you for reading the column until the very end. We appreciate the time you have given us. In addition, your thoughts and inputs will genuinely make a difference to us. Please do drop in a line and help us do better.

Regards,
The CSR Journal Team

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चुनावी साल, छप्पड़ फाड़

By

Rahuldeo Sharma

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February 2, 2019

एक कहावत है, गरीब की थाली में जब पुलाव आ जाये तो समझों कि देश में चुनाव आ गया है, वही कुछ हो भी रहा है, चुनावी साल है, हर एक राजनीतिक दल चुनावी चाल चल रही है, कोई पूछ रहा है हाऊ इज दी जोश तो कोई पूछ रहा है कि हाऊ इज दी जॉब, भारी संकट है, जनता की, पेशों पेश में है जनता कि किसकी सुने, क्या समझे, क्या करें, किसान खुश है, मिडल क्लास की बल्ले बल्ले है, ओबीसी खुश है, एससी एसटी खुश है और सवर्ण है कि भांगड़ा कर रहा है, हर किसी की झोली में कुछ ना कुछ जा रहा है, सरकार सबका साथ दे रही है, सबका विकास कर रही है, ऐसा नही है कि बीजेपी के इस राज में रामराज्य आ गया है, कतई नही, रामराज्य नही चुनाव आ गया है और जब चुनाव आता है तो सरकार खुश करती है जनता को, व्यापारी, हर क्लास को वही हो भी रहा है। 1 फरवरी को बजट पेश हुआ, उम्मीद लगाए गए थे कि चुनावी साल है, ऐसे में सरकार रिस्क नही लेगी, झोली भरेगी, पिटारा खुलेगा, लेकिन ये सिर्फ उम्मीदों का ही बजट नही रहा बल्कि सरकार ने दिया और ऐसा दिया कि छप्पड़ फाड़ दिया।

चुनावी साल में घोषणाओं की झड़ी लगाकर मोदी सरकार ने सर्दी में सावन का एहसास करा दिया, अभी दो दिन भी नहीं हुए थे इस ख़बर को पढ़ते हुए कि देश में 45 वर्ष में बीते वित्‍तवर्ष सबसे ज्‍यादा बेरोज़गारी दर्ज की गई है, वित्तमंत्री पीयूष गोयल ने तमाम आलोचनाओं को खारिज करते हुए अपने भाषण में सपनों का संसार गुलाबी कर दिया, उनकी प्रत्‍येक घोषणा के साथ ही पीएम नरेंद्र मोदी अपनी टेबल पर थाप दिए जा रहे थे, बजट सौगातों भरा रहा किसानों को, जिनके पास दो हेक्‍टेयर से कम ज़मीन है, उनके खाते में 6,000 रुपये प्रतिवर्ष सरकार जमा करा देगी। असंगठित क्षेत्र के मज़दूरों को प्रतिमाह 1,000 रुपये, 15,000 रुपये तक की सैलरी वाले को 3,000 रुपये प्रतिमाह पेंशन, EPFO में बीमा सीमा छह लाख रुपये, करमुक्त ग्रेच्‍युटी की सीमा 10 लाख से बढ़ाकर 20 लाख रुपये की घोषणा। यह सब कुछ दिया वित्तमंत्री ने अपने भाषण में, फायदों के लिए नई सरकार के बजट का इंतज़ार करना होगा। सवर्ण आरक्षण के बाद इनकम टैक्स में छूट मोदी सरकार का ये दूसरा मास्टर स्ट्रोक बताया जा रहा है। जिनकी आय पांच लाख तक उन्हें कोई भी इनकम टैक्स देने की जरूरत नही है। जाहिर है मोदी सरकार तो सत्ता में साल 2014 में आई लेकिन सरकार का इतना दरियादिली कभी नज़र नही आया।

मोदी सरकार के इस कार्यकाल का अंतिम बजट पेश करते हुए पीयूष गोयल ने एक बात कही कि हमारी दिशा सही और नीति स्‍पष्‍ट है, निष्‍ठा अटल है इसपर विपक्ष ने कहा कि बजट एक और ‘जुमला’ है। बहरहाल ये बजट पूर्ण बजट नही था बल्कि अंतरिम, नई सरकार आने के बाद फिर से बजट रखा जाएगा, ऐसे में सवाल कि मोदी सरकार अपनी घोषणाओं और उपलब्‍धियों को लेकर जनता के बीच किस तरीके से जाती है और जनता उनकी बातों पर कितना भरोसा करती है। कुछ भी हो सत्ता हासिल करने के लिए पक्ष विपक्ष लोकलुभावनें वादे कर वोट पाना चाहते है, काश ये नेता जनता का दिल जीतते, काश ये नेता लोग जनता का दुःख जीतते।

RB driving ‘Healthy, Clean and Hygienic Kumbh Experience’

By

The CSR Journal

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February 1, 2019

With an aim to bring about behaviour change towards ensuring cleanliness, Reckitt Benckiser has unveiled its awareness campaigns focusing on ‘Hand Hygiene’ and ‘Sanitation’ at the Kumbh Mela. With close to 12 crore people visiting the Kumbh this year, expected to be the world’s largest gathering of people and maintaining a clean and hygienic environment becomes even more important.

A report by the Harvard School of Public Health stated a 5% increase in Diarrhea-related diseases during the Kumbh Mela 2013.

The campaigns aim to ensure that cleanliness and hygiene are on the top of mind responsibility of each pilgrim visiting the mela. Haath Dhona Har Baar campaign by Dettol aims to highlight the occasion of handwashing, with catchy taglines like ‘Har Dharam Ka Bhojan Sanskar, Haath Dhona Har Baar’, ‘Bimariyon Se Bachne Ka Upchaar, Haath Dhona Har Baar’, ‘Shauch ka sahi vyahvaar, Haath Dhona Har Baar’. The campaign aims to educate people about the importance of hand washing to remain germ-free. To create awareness around toilet hygiene, Harpic launched ‘Hoga Toilet Vidhi Ka Gyaan, Toh Badhega Kumbh ka Maan’, campaign that calls visitors to throw water every time they use a toilet as a sign of respect to the next person using it.

With pilgrims coming to Kumbh from far and wide, Dettol and Harpic have come up with innovative ways to deliver their campaign messages by organizing Nukkad Nataks within the Kumbh premises as well as creating life-size wall paintings across 54 villages surrounding the Kumbh. Making perfect visual representation to showcase the importance of these campaigns, the impact will be significant. Dettol has deployed ‘Hand Mascots’ who will recite the story of the hands coming in contact with germs and educate people of hand wash need and practice. The mascot will share Dettol soaps to encourage personal hygiene.

The program aims to raise much-needed awareness among the attendees about proper hygienic practices and incentivize them to observe environmental and river-friendly practices.

CSR: Not So Smart Smartphones

By

Hency Thacker

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February 1, 2019

Smartphones have taken up our lives by a storm. Be it for business, relationships, transportation, or healthcare, we will face a handicap without these devices. India is one of the largest smartphone users in the world. With the rise of the digital revolution, AI, and an increasing number of apps, the demand for smartphones is rising at a very high speed.

Smartphones have certainly made lives easy for us, however, they have not been so easy to the environment. Gold, silver, cobalt, tin, tantalum, tungsten and copper are all essential components of mobile phones and other electrical devices we use daily. And, since mining is one of the most intensive users of heavy fuel oil, extraction contributes significantly to climate change.

The waste generated by the industry is altogether a different story. The electronics industry generates up to 41 million tonnes of e-waste each year globally. In the formal sector, only about 16% of this e-waste is recycled. Despite this, the majority of the carbon emissions happen during the manufacturing process, accounting to about 80%. About 16% emissions account for the consumer use and 3% for transportation.

The decline in the price of smartphones has reduced their lifespan. Today, increasingly sophisticated and well-maintained smartphones are discarded. The extreme competition is driving the companies to keep designing thinner and better smartphones. This, in turn, is only contributing towards rising carbon emissions.

In 2016, around 435,000 tonnes of mobile phones were discarded across the globe, with an estimated cost in raw materials of US$10.7 billion. If all phones had a longer life span and could enter a second-hand market, the value could be even higher.

The phones can’t be smart only by their smart features that make our lives easier. The phones can be smart when they are built more sustainably without damaging the environment.

Thank you for reading the story until the very end. We appreciate the time you have given us. In addition, your thoughts and inputs will genuinely make a difference to us. Please do drop in a line and help us do better.

Regards,
The CSR Journal Team

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MCGM partners with Animal Planet on 3D theatre, starting today

By

The CSR Journal

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February 1, 2019

leopard hills — Jawai: India's Leopard Hills

Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) has tied up with wildlife channel Animal Planet to sensitize citizens of Mumbai, especially children, about the importance of wildlife.

MCGM will launch its 3D Theater located inside V.J.B. Udyan & Zoo, powered with world class content from Animal Planet, starting February 1, 2019. The entry to the theatre will be free for students from MCGM schools; there will be a nominal fee of INR 50 for non-MCGM school students/ individuals.

The cinema with a seating capacity of more than 200 will showcase 4 shows a day. The first show will start at 11:00 hrs while the last show will be screened at 16:00 hrs every day.

Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar, said, “Following the success of MCGM’s initiative with respect to the Humboldt Penguin Gallery at the Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan & Zoo which has garnered wide ranging interest from the citizens of Mumbai, we are pleased to announce this initiative in which MCGM is tying up with Discovery Communications India to bring exciting documentaries from their wildlife channel Animal Planet which will be screened exclusively for the visitors of the zoo. Our aim, through this entertainment led initiative, is to make every Mumbaikar sensitive about the importance of wild life.”

Ajoy Mehta, Municipal Commissioner, MCGM, said, “We wanted to give a new-age dimension of learning led entertainment; with a larger cause of educating the young generation of India about the importance of wild life. In addition, we will also launch an aggressive school reach out campaign inviting students from MCGM schools to experience the world class theatre.”

Zulfia Waris, Vice President, Premium & Digital networks, Discovery Communications India said, “The initial line-up of documentaries offered to the V.J.B. Udyan & Zoo theatre are entertaining and at the same time thought provoking — emerging from the fascinating intersection of the animal, human and natural worlds. We are confident that this unique initiative will go a long way in engaging and awakening viewers to the need for animal welfare and conservation.”

Animal Planet’s marquee documentaries like ‘Jawai: India’s Leopard Hills’, ‘African Wild’, ‘Mysterious Wilds Of India’, ‘Extinct Or Alive’ and ‘Speed Of Life’ are being be showcased at Mumbai Zoo Theater.

Jawai: India’s Leopard Hills: The fascinating story of co-existence between wild predators and human from the rare footage from Jawai, a picturesque location in Rajasthan surrounded by hills. This show reveals leopard behavior like never before and challenges widely held opinion about the big cat.

Wild Africa: Witness an array of spectacular wild animal sightings as we take you on a game drive early each morning, and late each afternoon.

Mysterious Wilds Of India: Watch magical moments from Indian cameraman Sandesh Kadur’s lens. He’s on assignment for a feature that examines how wild species can survive in a country like India.

Extinct or Alive: Forrest Gallante, a wildlife biologist, is scouring the globe using cutting edge technology on his mission to find species that the world has stopped looking for.

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CSR: Chennai slum girl saved by soccer

By

Kasmin Fernandes

-

February 1, 2019

23-year-old Marthal is an accountant at a BPO in Chennai. While for many in her community of Vyasarpadi, the job of an accountant might be coveted, Marthal has bigger dreams.

The slums of Vyasarpadi in Chennai have been infamous for crime and its decrepit status. For the longest time, children were an extension of the working class and girls who hit adolescence were bound to get married in order to “protect” them. In a community that still struggles with these issues and is at the brink of change, Marthal was a ray of hope.

Having passed the UPSC prelims, she, and the rest of her community was sure that she was going to change the way people looked at the slum in Vyasarpadi. Marthal, who dropped out of school in the 8th grade was re-enrolled thanks to the interventions of Vyasarpadi Children’s Empowerment Project (VCEP); a grassroots NGO supported by CRY.

VCEP’s method of intervention involves ensuring children stay in school and away from child labour and child marriage through football. VCEP was able to see her potential and push her to appear for the civil service exam.

Unfortunately, while Marthal was preparing for the next round, her father who was the sole breadwinner of her family, fell ill, and Marthal had to press pause on her dreams to ensure that her family has a steady source of income.

While her work allows her to play only on weekends, Marthal ensures that she doesn’t miss out since football helps her feel rejuvenated.

Currently, her priority is her family and being there for them but she is sure that her dream of being a civil servant is only on hold for now. She’s going to make her dreams come true and change the image of Vyasarpadi as a slum.

Says Marthal, “While we have a notorious image across the city, we know that we care for the world. We can do well. Civil service is my tool to let the world know about this.”

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Did you know that poor women account for 1.1 billion of the world’s unbanked adults, or most of the financially excluded?

Financial inclusion needs to bridge gender gaps for it to become truly inclusive, and India has a long way to go in this respect.

In order for digital finance to reach rural women sustainably, there is a need to bring together stakeholders from policy, government, businesses, digital financial solution providers, community-based organisations, and funders, to discuss pathways to collaboration for sustained outcomes.

The summit took place on 1st February, 2019 in New Delhi. The round table also included two panel discussions around “Partnerships for effective delivery of financial inclusion” and “Role of Women change agents in empowering communities through digital finance.”

The white paper identifies the issues and barriers, especially for rural women, in adopting digital finance and offers tangible solutions to facilitate more women into the world of digital finance.

a). 36% increase in use of digital modes of payments in the programme villages

b). 60% increase in volume of work of the women entrepreneurs

c) 8% increase in overall annual revenues of the women entrepreneurs

d) 100000+ community members sensitized on digital modes of payments

Awareness about digital modes of payments viz. prepaid cards, mobile wallets, United Payment Interface (UPI), Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), internet and mobile banking as well as Aadhar Enabled Payment Service (AEPS) has also increased.

The greatest achievement of the Digital Sakhi programme has been the inclusion of women in the household financial decision-making process. Prior to the programme, all major household financial decisions were taken mostly by the ‘Male head of the household’.

The recent survey found that more members of the household, especially the women, are actively participating in the financial decisions of the entire family.

23-year-old Marthal is an accountant at a BPO in Chennai. While for many in her community of Vyasarpadi, the job of an accountant might be coveted, Marthal has bigger dreams.

VCEP’s method of intervention involves ensuring children stay in school and away from child labour and child marriage through football. VCEP was able to see her potential and push her to appear for the civil service exam.

Unfortunately, while Marthal was preparing for the next round, her father who was the sole breadwinner of her family, fell ill, and Marthal had to press pause on her dreams to ensure that her family has a steady source of income.

While her work allows her to play only on weekends, Marthal ensures that she doesn’t miss out since football helps her feel rejuvenated.

Currently, her priority is her family and being there for them but she is sure that her dream of being a civil servant is only on hold for now. She’s going to make her dreams come true and change the image of Vyasarpadi as a slum.

Says Marthal, “While we have a notorious image across the city, we know that we care for the world. We can do well. Civil service is my tool to let the world know about this.”

Hindi Manch

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