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May 4, 2025
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First edition of The Penguin Classics Festival

By
The CSR Journal
-

Penguin Random House India will celebrate the love for Classics with a month-long festival. The first edition of THE PENGUIN CLASSICS FESTIVAL begins November 1, 2018 and is spread across five cities- Delhi, Mumbai Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata.

A sensory delight for book lovers and reading enthusiasts, old and young, the festival will offer a range of extraordinary classics by Penguin under one roof. Popular and prominent bookstores across the five cities are coming on board to host the festival.

In Delhi, popular bookstore Full Circle will host The Penguin Classics Festival at their outlets in Khan Market, GK 2 and Nizamuddin. In Mumbai and Bengaluru, independent bookstore Kitab Khana and Blossoms Bookstores (MG Road), respectively, will run the festival. In Kolkata and Chennai, book lovers can be part of the festival at the Starmark Bookstores.

Reiterating the festival tag line ‘there is one for everyone’, The Penguin Classics Festival will showcase a range of books from Penguin Classics, Penguin Modern Classics, Vintage Classics, Everyman Library, Bantam Classics, along with books by Murty Classical Library of India (MCLI). It will also feature Puffin Classics and Vintage Children Classics. Each of the stores will display an impressive and rare selection of classics books, which have never been previously available to the readers, and run special sales promotion offers on the classics selection for the consumers.

Joining us at the festival is Henry Eliot, Creative Editor at Penguin Classics. He is an authority in classic literature who has led many novel initiatives to engage audiences with the genre. Henry will be present in India for a fortnight; during his tour he will be visiting all the cities, stores and promote the love for Classics with workshops and school sessions for readers across different age groups.

CSR: Nation’s Report-Card On Teenage Girls

By
Kasmin Fernandes
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India is home to the largest and youngest workforce in the world today. Having reached this pivotal demographic point in our economic and political history, and in light of our long engagement with girls, investment in our girls is a national priority that can no longer be sidelined. Investment in their health and wellbeing, their education and skilling, their productivity, economic potential and leadership.
This resonates with findings of UN agencies and other leading development organizations that show the many ways in which investment in health, education and livelihood for girls and women create powerful ripple effects benefitting entire society. Studies have estimated that ensuring 10% increase in girls going to school can increase the national income (GDP) by three percentage points. Every extra year a girl spends in school increases her income by no less than 10 to 20%; the return on secondary education is even higher and goes up 15 to 25%.
Since women reinvest 90% of their income in their families as opposed to men who plough back less than half this amount, increase in incomes of women has proven intergenerational benefits that lift entire families and communities out of poverty. The Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign of the Government of India is further recognition of the importance of investing in girls. As recently as January 2018, the Mann ki Baat radio programme of India’s Prime Minister was about the need for empowered and self reliant women in the country.
However, ground realities remain miles away from optimal realization of potential of girls and women.
Government of India’s Economic Survey 2018, for the first time, contains a separate chapter on Gender Equality. The title of the chapter itself questions whether development is an ‘antidote’. The basis of this question is the fact that some women-related indicators do not seem to be responding positively to economic growth.
Indicators such as female labour force participation, use of reversible contraception and preference for sons. It highlights the shocking statistics of 21 million “unwanted” girls and 63 million “missing” girls.
In a country of 80 million 13-19 year old girls, the absence of a reliable, representative body of evidence on teenage girls and their lives seemed to be a critical data gap. In its absence, we saw the way our policies and programmes had largely assumed that an adolescent girl is either a helpless victim who needs to be protected from violence; or is a prospective mother who needs to be nourished well and vaccinated on time so that she can give birth to healthy babies.
Our policies and programmes had not taken into consideration the various activities and experiences that make the life of a teenage girl, her aspirations and her challenges and the numerous ways in which she negotiates agency in a world that is dominated by men. This realization became the impetus for starting a direct conversation with girls across the country’s length and breadth through a large scale survey.
The survey findings have been used to prepare a TAG Index which compares the performance of each state on status of their teenage girls. It can be considered as a roadmap for policy makers, researchers, activists and the ordinary citizen of India. It is brought to you by Project Nanhi Kali, and compiled by Naandi Foundation, with grant support from Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.
Sheetal Mehta, Senior Vice President - CSR and Executive Director, K.C. Mahindra Education Trust; Manoj Kumar, CEO, Naandi Foundation; Women Sports icons - Heena Sidhu, Ace shooter; Poorna Malvath, Mountaineer; Geeta Phogat, Freestyle wrestler; and Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group at the launch of The Teenage Girls (TAG) Report 2018
Sheetal Mehta, Senior Vice President – CSR and Executive Director, K.C. Mahindra Education Trust; Manoj Kumar, CEO, Naandi Foundation; Women Sports icons – Heena Sidhu, Ace shooter; Poorna Malvath, Mountaineer; Geeta Phogat, Freestyle wrestler; and Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group at the launch of The Teenage Girls (TAG) Report 2018
Said Anand Mahindra, Chairman of the Mahindra Group, at the report’s launch, “The extensive network of Project Nanhi Kali and the Naandi Foundation enabled the collection of critical and meaningful insights. I am confident that the TAG Report will serve as an important reference document for those in both the public and private sectors that are working towards the upliftment of girls and women across the country.”
The Teenage Girls (TAG) Report 2018 is the nation’s report-card that reveals what it really means to be a teenage girl in India. The TAG Report will hopefully propel a change in status of girls and position them as a hitherto untapped potential.

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CSR: Sexism in Artificial Intelligence

By
Hency Thacker
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Sexism has been a huge hurdle holding us back from progress, equality, unity and peace. It is hampering the world to reach its ideal potential. And hence, it is necessary to fight it, with more development and progress.

However, what can be done if the said progress is perpetuating same values that we are trying to fight? Artificial intelligence and virtual assistants have become extremely popular in our everyday lives. Alexa, Siri, Okay Google and Cortana have all taken over the world with their witty answers and helpful suggestions. However, most of these assistants have feminine names and a female voice.

According to a 2016 report by the world economic forum, only 19% workers in the mobile industry are women. Only 20% engineers at Google, Facebook and Microsoft are women. The men who dominate the industry, write algorithms fitting their understanding and personality. This is why, when they think of a submissive docile assistant that everyone would need, they assume a woman in that role.

Some of the world’s largest brands are moving to brand-to-customer messaging capabilities, which would require them to move to AI and chatbots to deliver conversational commerce at scale. This would expand the number of virtual assistant bots. With virtual assistants taking over the customer service industry, its sexism could be perpetuated to the next generations, which would make it harder to fight.

It is of utmost importance to ensure that the bias and stereotype is removed from the industry. And this would require more women in tech firms. Bridging the gap in the participation of women in the tech industry will certainly take some time. However, their presence at leadership levels, when the algorithm is being written, can make a difference.

Customer service reps tend to be more diverse than the programmers. These executives are well versed with conversing with the customers. Their experiences can be used to design AI-powered conversations which might also help in reducing gender bias from technology.

In order to ensure that sexism is removed from places of work, there is a need to develop a set of best practices in bot building that would champion diversity across the industry.

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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Menopause Is No Dirty Word, Says New Generation Of Menos

By
Kasmin Fernandes
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Women have long suffered in silence through menopause. But a new generation is encouraging a more open conversation, to share learnings and to put an end to unnecessary stigma.
A survey by the British Menopause Society (BMS) showed that more than half of women say that the menopause had a negative impact on their lives. For some, menopause can cause anxiety, depression and leave women feeling isolated. In fact, over a quarter of women (26%) said that they felt less outgoing in social situations and 23% felt more isolated.
Wellbeing coach Jane Dowling set up her website Meno & Me to reach out to other women going through menopause. “We are a new generation of menos” said Jane on Channel 5’s Menopause: Breaking the Taboo documentary, “We need to share and be positive.” Belonging to this new generation of menos is Bollywood diva, Rekha. The 64-year-young actress looks more radiant and positive with each passing year.
Kathryn Colas, CEO and founder of Simply Hormones, shares this mentality, traveling around the country educating businesses about menopause and how to create positive work environments.
West Midlands Police Force is putting this learning into action by setting up support groups for female police officers, offering them extra support and amenities such as desk fans. Wellness brands are also beginning to design services for women going through menopause. The Mail recently reported on three-day ‘menopause retreats’ conceived by former PR guru Lynne Franks. A pioneer in this space is Grace Belgravia, an upscale women’s health and lifestyle destination. They offer tailored advice and bespoke plans for customers that encompass all aspects of health, fitness, beauty and nutrition.
Taking a celebratory approach is Libeeration, a beer for the menopause from New Hampshire’s Portsmouth Brewery. It’s the brainchild of brewery co-owner Joanne Francis, who had noted the rise of herbal teas, remedies and essences and wondered why no one had thought to add those essences to beer, a drink she and all her friends loved. The brew was designed with the help of women’s health practitioners and herbalists and contains a range of ingredients including motherwort, lemon balm, chamomile and stinging nettle.

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CSR is embedded in our philosophy: Dr. Priti G. Adani, Chairperson, Adani Foundation

By
Amit Upadhyay
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Presenting Dil Se Dil Ki Baatein with The CSR Journal. Watch editor-in-chief Amit Upadhyay in an exclusive conversation with Dr. Priti Adani at her foundation in Ahmedabad. She is the chairperson of Adani Foundation and married to business tycoon Gautam Adani (founder-chairman of multinational conglomerate Adani Group) yet is surprisingly humble and media-shy.

She has been steering the foundation for 20 years now. Besides creating benchmarks in the areas of Corporate Social Responsibility as well as Sustainable Development, Dr. Adani has also been a doting and proud mother.

Today, Adani Foundation benefits more than 2.3 million children, women and youth each year through its four core areas namely, Education, Community Health, Sustainable Livelihood Development and Rural Infrastructure Development. The foundation’s work is spread across 13 states covering 1,470 villages and towns across India.

Adani Foundation adopts an inclusive approach while being committed towards a holistic development of the society by empowering individuals and communities through its participatory and innovative activities.

Thank you for watching the interview 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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What Is Consent? #MeToo

By
Hency Thacker
-
Consent is a highly misunderstood concept in India. With the #MeToo movement taking the country by the storm, there are men who are completely clueless as to which of their actions would be considered sexual harassment. We help you understand what is consent and what is not.

What is Consent?

There are four levels. Let’s delve into them:

1. Informed Consent

Both the parties involved in any form of sexual activity should be informed of all the risks, contraception options and the complete situation before making a decision. Both the parties should be awake and without any external influence of alcohol or drugs.

2. Enthusiastic

Both parties should want to participate in the sexual activity eagerly. If even one of them is feeling less than excited, it is time to stop and re-evaluate.

3. Continuous

Consent at the beginning does not mean it’s accepted throughout. A person can withdraw participation in the middle of an act if they are not comfortable. If a person agrees to an initial activity like kissing, it does not mean she is willing to extend it further into other activities.

4. Without coercion

The consent is not valid if it is given under any fear, force, pressure or guilt.
Consent is very difficult to understand in a patriarchal society where women do not have a lot of say whatsoever. Apart from that, women expressing their willingness for having sex is also considered scandalous and a taboo. In such a scenario, it becomes very difficult for women to express themselves clearly.

Grey areas

There is never a clear “yes” or “no” in consent among Indian women. There are grey areas like, “I wanted to say yes, but I would be judged if I would have said yes,” or “I didn’t want to say yes, but I didn’t want him to feel bad, and so I caved in.” Both these cases are violations.
In order to make the conversation of what is consent clearer, it is important for women to understand that no matter how difficult it is for them to verbalise, sending out mixed signals is dangerous. Everyone needs to understand their partner’s feelings, choices and body language in order to avoid doing anything that might hurt them.

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Taj Hotels Palaces Resorts Safaris Has Highest Number of Earthcheck Gold Certified Hotels Globally

By
The CSR Journal
-

Taj Hotels Palaces Resorts Safaris has set a global benchmark in hospitality for environmental sustainability with 67 of its hotels being awarded Gold Certification by EarthCheck out of a total of 79 EarthCheck certified hotels. EarthCheck is an international leader in environmental benchmarking and certification.

Commenting on the achievement, Dr. P.V. Ramana Murthy, Executive Vice President & Global Head, The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) said, “We are privileged to be associated with an organization as prestigious as EarthCheck. This certification reflects IHCL’s long standing and unflinching commitment to creating a better environment through sustainable best practices.”

By virtue of the certification program proposed by EarthCheck to manage green initiatives, the certified hotels have achieved a saving of:

  • 925 million mega joules of energy which is equivalent to the energy consumption of approximately 286,000 houses (a typical of 4 person households)
  • 191,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide which is equivalent to over 64,000 cars off the road
  • 4 billion litres of water which is equivalent to 963 Olympic sized swimming pools
  • 6 million litres of waste which is equivalent to 182 standard 20 feet cargo containers

The certification program has not only helped to set and achieve targets in reducing the amount of waste, water consumption, emissions and energy, but also enabled the certified hotels to improve its environmental footprint by a considerable 5%.

TCS ‘Billion Steps Challenge’ draws 200,000 participants globally who log a record 3 billion steps

By
The CSR Journal
-

Tata Consultancy Services announced that its ‘Billion Steps Challenge’ to employees evoked an overwhelming response, with over 200,000 participants across the globe registering and collectively logging a record three billion steps. At over 2.4 million kms, this distance is equivalent to three return trips to the moon, or going sixty times around the Earth, or five and a half times around Jupiter.

The TCS ‘Billion Steps Challenge’ is one of the biggest employee engagement initiatives undertaken by the company, and is a part of the TCS50 program – an enterprise-wide initiative celebrating fifty years of TCS. At a larger level, ‘Billion Steps’ is an expression of energy and coming together of all TCS employees as a part of #OneTCS.

TCS employees literally stepped up to the challenge to walk or run individually and in groups, so as to collectively log a billion steps in a special app. The challenge, conducted between Sep 28th to Oct 7th drew an overwhelming response, attracting over 200,000 TCSers across 48 countries and registering a 300 percent result over the original goal.  

3 Types of Hacks To Reduce Food Wastage

By
Kasmin Fernandes
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When it comes to food and drink, the best thing we can do, both environmentally and financially, is make the most of what we buy rather than throwing it away. It is our citizen social responsibility (CSR) to cut food wastage. By the time food has reached our homes, it has taken a huge amount of energy, water, and packaging to be produced, transported, and stored. Follow these hacks to reduce food wastage as part of your CSR.

Hacks to reduce food waste

1. Planning

Planning is everything. Planning your meals is one of the most effective ways you can cut food waste and bills.
a) Keep a pad and pen in the kitchen (or use a note or app on your phone) and write down items when they run out so you don’t buy things you already have.
b) Work out a weekly meal plan. Shopping for specific ingredients with meals in mind and taking a list helps ensure we use what we buy.
c) Don’t plan every meal! Just thinking about 4-5 meals allows you to be flexible with unexpected leftovers, especially if you keep some meals in the freezer as a back-up in case your plans fall through.
d) Buying foods that can be used for several different dishes gives us flexibility to create different meals.

2. Storage

a) Make sure you store food correctly according to the label. Often, foods come with lots of packaging which seems wasteful, but is often designed to help keep the food fresh, so keep it in its original packaging when you store it.
b) Make sure your fridge and freezer are at the correct temperature. A fridge that is too warm will lead to waste.
c) Use your freezer. It’s an amazing resource to prevent waste when your plans change.
d) Food can be frozen any time before the ‘use by’ date on the label so if you buy something and don’t use it straight away, you can freeze it anytime before the use by date and it will still be safe.

3. Cooking Leftovers

a) Try to keep your store-cupboard and freezer well-stocked with a variety of canned, dried, and frozen goods. These store-cupboard essentials have a long life and can be mixed with other foods to make delicious meals.
b) Use leftovers for lunch the next day. A small investment in a plastic tub to carry leftovers can pay-back very quickly.
These hacks to reduce food wastage will save money while simultaneously reducing your carbon footprint.

Shantha Biotechnics’ polio vaccine ShanIPV gets WHO prequalification status

By
The CSR Journal
-

Sanofi Pasteur said on Wednesday its inactivated polio vaccine ShanIPV has received prequalification status from the World Health Organization (WHO).

The status qualifies ShanIPV vaccine for purchase by the United Nations’ agencies, Sanofi Pasteur and Shantha Biotechnics said in a joint statement.

The polio vaccine has been developed by Sanofi Pasteur’s arm Shantha Biotechnics.

Shantha Biotechnics Executive Director & COO Mahesh Bhalgat said, “WHO-prequalification of a vaccine is a stringent process wherein the WHO reviews the production process, quality control procedures,tests consistency of various batches and works closely with the responsible national regulatory authority in this process.”

“Over the last two decades, Sanofi Pasteur has been serving the vaccination needs of India by making available the highest quality products. Today, the only 2 WHO-prequalified IPV containing vaccines that are available in India are both from Sanofi Pasteur (ShanIPV and Hexaxim),” said Sanofi Pasteur, India & South Asia Country Head Jean-Pierre Baylet.

Shantha Biotechnics was acquired by Sanofi Pasteur Holding in 2009.

(PTI)

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