Thecsrjournal App Store
Thecsrjournal Google Play Store
May 10, 2025
Home Blog Page 1120

CSR: Nandghar For Women And Child Empowerment

By
Hency Thacker
-

Empowering rural women and children is required for the upliftment of their standard of living as well as the overall economic development of the country. An average village worker earns between 30-80 rupees a day. The amount is not enough in today’s market to provide for nutritious meals as well as proper healthcare and educational requirements. Planning and saving for future emergencies is out of the question for these villagers.

Anganwadi initiative was started by the Government of India in 1985 as part of the Integrated Child Development Services program to combat malnutrition and hunger. A typical Anganwadi centre provides basic health care in villages which includes contraceptive counseling and supply, nutrition education and supplementation, as well as pre-school activities.

Nandghar is a service delivery unit established as an extension of the Anganwadi initiative. It has been designed in partnership with Ministry of Women and Child and Development. This project addresses issues relating to pre-primary education, health care, nutrition for children and economic empowerment for women in rural India. In order to work towards community development, Vedanta and the team are focused to start at the grass root level with the holistic development of children and women with the Nandghar initiative.

Nandghar through its vocational training to women in the evening and through micro financing assistance has substantially increased the amount of daily earnings to an average of Rs 200- 300 rupees.

Anasi devi, 28year old w/o Gulab khan lives in Sutharo ki dhani Barmer. She educated till class 5 but she is a very ambitious lady and wanted to do something independent. She joined EDP training where she got a lot of exposure, knowledge, awareness and personality development classes.  Finally she started a mobile accessories shop in crossroad of the village on state highway. She also repair mobile phones and earns a profit of rupees 200-300 daily.

Pinki has completed BA 1st year.  Her husband Rajendra is a wage labour and she lives in a joint family of 11 members. She joined EDP training and started E-mitra shop in her village. She is running the shop successfully with a profit of 300-400 rupees. per day.

These Nandghars are being created at 4000 locations across 11 states in India with Schnell Technology, which aids completion of construction in 45 days. The state of the art construction has clean toilets, safe drinking water and electricity through solar panels.

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

Subscribe

We Still Need To Address Existing Gaps For Women Hygiene

By
Neha Bilandani
-

According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 2015-16, only about 57.6% of the Indian women use sanitary napkins and 62% women in the age group 15-24 years still rely on cloth during periods. A survey by Women Health Organization showed that at least 43% of women have experienced a situation where they did not have ready access to sanitary essentials at the beginning of their periods.

Everteen, involved in feminine hygiene, extended its support for kathak recital and dance ballet on women empowerment led by Dr. Rekha Mehra, a renowned kathak danseuse and social activist. Focused on the theme of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Everteen has claimed to undertake a contribution of sanitary pad supplies for 50 underprivileged girl performers from Urvashi Dance Music Art & Cultural Society.

To focus on societal issues Dr. Rekha Mehra has pioneered dance-based storytelling through thematic fusion ballets focusing on grave social issues such as HIV/ AIDS, global warming, impact of war, terrorism, Mumbai serial blasts, road safety, women empowerment, girl education, female foeticide, the five elements, wellness, needs of specially-abled children with physical and mental handicaps, issues of home-based workers, and more.

Menstrual hygiene is an integral part of personal sanitation and health. The Himalaya Drug Company along with Rotary Club of Bombay is aiming to initiate the installation of sanitary pad dispensers across schools and colleges. The sanitary pads will be accessible to girls at a price of Rs 2.

“A lot of young girls drop out of school due to a lack of affordable menstrual products. If we were to go by the statistics, 88% of women still don’t use menstrual products, and about 4 million women face barriers to comfortable and accessible menstrual hygiene. The need of the hour is to create an environment where these products are easily available at an affordable price,” says Anil Jiandani, Business Director, Pharmaceuticals Division, The Himalaya Drug Company.

PVR Nest along with its other partners National Commission For Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC),  Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR), Department of Women & Child Development (DWCD) have joined hands for the building  of ‘Pink Toilets’ and taking care of its maintenance.

The aim is to create a hygienic public restroom for women and adolescent girls. The ‘Pink Toilet’ is equipped with a sanitary napkin vending machine, incinerator facility and has a breastfeeding area as well. Through this, women and children can address their health and hygiene concerns.

We need to focus on a hygienic and healthy environment especially for adolescent girls. To address barriers which women and adolescent girls face in using existing toilet facilities. Let us engage and educate communities to offer a clean and safer environment. Maintenance and awareness are equally important as it helps in long-term sustainability and to walk the extra mile in addressing existing gaps.

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

Subscribe

Latest Ad Campaign by Salman Khan Features Unsung Heroes Of India

By
Kasmin Fernandes
-
The fashion industry gets a bad rap for promoting capitalism and a culture of excess. Fashion designers like Gaurang, Krishna Mehta, Samant Chauhan and Shruti Sancheti are supporting families of traditional weavers and reviving textiles at the same time. They are proving that fashion does have a heart. One such clothing line is Being Human from Bollywood actor Salman Khan. Their latest #LookGoodDoGood Spring Summer ‘18 campaign supports 9 “unsung heroes” from around the country. According to Khan, they have “stood up to BE HUMAN for various causes”.
Being Human Clothing embodies six positive, simple and humane values: love, care, sharing, hope, help and joy. Each of these values form the brand’s DNA and the campaign endeavours to reflect that.
Take for example, Disability Rights Activist Virali Modi. Her perseverance has made many railway platforms, trains, and even restaurants totally accessible for the physically challenged through her campaigns for building ramps. Another unsung hero is Ankit Kawatra. He founded of ‘Feeding India’ in 2014 after he witnessed food for at least 10,000 people getting wasted in a wedding. His NGO serves nutritious meals to those in need by collecting extra food from restaurants, colleges, and homes in 57 cities with 8,500 volunteers called Hunger Heroes. It has served 11 million meals till date.
Gopal Baranwal represents Manorama Paathshaala, a neighbourhood learning centre aimed at providing education and opportunity for some of the most vulnerable children in Mumbai. Gopal himself studied at this centre and now volunteers there. He teaches kids there. Seeing how he comes from the same background as them, the kids look up to him.
Azhar Maqsusi is the founder of ‘Hunger Has No Religion’, which provides free food to the needy in Hyderabad, Secunderabad and 6 other locations in different states of India. Under this programme around 100 men, women, and children are fed on a regular basis. The tireless Ashok Nayak founded ‘Raktdaan’, a blood call centre where you can get blood free of cost. “Blood is a valuable resource which cannot be produced in a factory. So it is our responsibility to make it available and donate for humanity,” says Nayak.
Beena Rao is the founder of ‘Prayas’ which conducts free coaching classes for the underprivileged. She started by giving moral education to slum children by conducting free workshops for them. Around 5,000 children have benefitted since she founded this organisation.
Shot by renowned photographer Prasad Naik and conceptualised by Pulp, the advertising agency, it puts the activists in the spotlight by having them model the clothes. The idea is to sow the seeds of Social Responsibility, especially in the youth, by bringing these everyday heroes into the limelight.
Khan added, “Their phenomenal work despite limited resources inspires me to do more. I hope it has the same effect on people reading their stories too.”
Said Manish Mandhana, CEO of The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd, the global licensee for Being Human Clothing, “The thought is always to get like-hearted people together and collectively create a stronger communication that inspires individuals to Doing Good while Looking Good. We shall further continue to grow, supporting the twin cause of Education and Healthcare that Being Human – the Salman Khan Foundation has initiated.”

Think Twice Before You Print, To Help Reach Sustainability Goals

By
The CSR Journal
-

Xerox managed print services (MPS) customers will have the opportunity to contribute to the reforestation of global forests through Xerox’s new partnership with PrintReleaf. Based on a theme of “you print one, we’ll plant one,” PrintReleaf leverages paper usage reporting and equates the number of trees needed to reforest that usage on an equivalent basis in geographic areas of need.

Customers from around the world will be able to sign up for PrintReleaf as an add-on to a managed print services contract. Through an online portal, customers can select the managed forestry projects where their trees will be planted, in addition to tracking and reporting on their direct reforestation impact.

“From our Green World Alliance program to the Xerox Print Awareness Tool, we have long been known for our dedication to sustainability,” said Wendi Latko, Vice president, Environment, Health, Safety & Sustainability, Xerox. “With PrintReleaf, now we’re able to take that commitment one step further by empowering our MPS customers with an industry certified service that will accelerate and promote their efforts as stewards of the environment.”

Jordan Darragh, CEO and founder, PrintReleaf, “This partnership holds great potential as we expand our network and reach new reforestation goals.”

PrintReleaf is a technology platform that measures customers’ paper usage and equates the number of trees needed to reforest that usage on an equivalent basis. PrintReleaf technology will not only tracks paper consumption, but also monitor reforestation partners to ensure fulfilment.  Market-leading companies with a passion for the environment and a progressive concern for advancing environmental stewardship, together with their customers, rely on this technology to provide a nexus of partnerships involving forestry, technology, and business.

For a seamless integration between work and personal worlds, we need innovation in our everyday lives, technologies and intelligent work solutions to help people communicate and work better.

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

Subscribe

 

CSR: Wheelchair Users Face Difficulty Due To Outdated Technology, Says Study

By
The CSR Journal
-

A recent study of wheelchair users highlights the need for investment and innovation in the development of assistive technologies for people with limited mobility.  Nine out of ten (94%) Indian wheelchair users say that they experience pain as a result of their mobility device.

The research conducted by ComRes on behalf of Toyota Mobility Foundation, polled wheelchair users in five countries around the world found that 46% say they experience back pain at least once a day, a third (33%) say they experience neck pain at least once a day, 27% say they experience shoulder pain at least once a day and 22% say they experience constant pain. The study also found that Indian wheelchair users experience repetitive strain injury (RSI) and pressure sores (32% and 27% respectively).

According to Census 2011, persons with a disability make up for 2.21% in India’s population. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has been helping this 2.21% to get socially accommodated through equal opportunities and rights in the society. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2016 raised the question of the need to create an inclusive infrastructure to facilitate greater independence among the differently-abled.

The study reveals that more than half (51%) of Indian wheelchair users report needing assistance travelling to destinations, while 46% say they have been unable to find an accessible toilet when they needed one. Furthermore, 45% of Indian wheelchair users reported having to wait for multiple buses or trains to pass before one had space to accommodate them, while a third (33%) say they have been declined entry on to public transport.

People with lower-limb paralysis, around the world, are being encouraged to take part in a global conversation about the types of mobility technology innovations they would like to see, using the hashtag #MyMobilityUnlimited.

The Toyota Mobility Foundation launched the $4 million dollar global challenge, with the aim of changing the lives of people with lower-limb paralysis. The Mobility Unlimited Challenge is seeking teams around the world to create game-changing technology that will help radically improve the mobility and independence of people with paralysis. Anything from exoskeletons, to artificial intelligence and machine learning, from cloud computing to batteries inclusion will be rewarded in the development of personal mobility devices incorporating intelligent systems and solutions of the future.

Ryan Klem, Director of Programs for Toyota Mobility Foundation commented, “This research expresses the urgent need for innovation in this area. It’s surprising that with all of the technology we have today, we still have people in constant pain as a result of their mobility devices. The comments we are receiving through social media show the kinds of developments that people want to see and we hope the Challenge will result in genuinely life-changing technologies.”

Around the world, millions of people have lower-limb paralysis (the most common causes being strokes, spinal cord injury and multiple sclerosis). While there are no statistics on paralysis worldwide, the World Health Organization estimates there are 250,000-500,000 new cases of spinal cord injury globally every year.

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

Subscribe

 

CSR: Integrate Sports In Your Daily Routine

By
Neha Bilandani
-

With the Indian badminton contingent making us all proud at the recently concluded Common Wealth Games 2018, the action continues on the court. The International School Sport Federation’s World Schools Championship badminton tournament held in Pune witnessed some close encounters and skillful shuttle play. The action on these courts was no less compared to that of what we witnessed in the Commonwealth Games 2018 earlier this month.

Around 240 children from 15 countries participated in the tournament. All the participants from across the world schools between the age 15 to 17 years represented their countries such as Bulgaria, Belgium, Brazil, China, Chinese Taipei, Croatia, Czech Republic, England, France, Greece, Georgia, Italy, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, India ‘A’ and India ‘B’. The championship saw participation of 64 coaches, 32 managers along with 80 umpires and technical officials. 15 countries participated with 300 boys and girls representing nations. A total number of 690 matches were played across number of categories during a span of 5 days.

The International Sports Federation (ISF) along with the School Games Federation of India (SGFI) in association with Kinder+Sport is working towards showcasing the best badminton talent amongst the boys and girls globally.

The display of highest level sportsmanship on-court by the players of Belgium earned them the title of the Kinder+Sport Fair Play trophy at this year’s edition of ISF World Schools Championship badminton tournament.

Inder Chopra, Secretary General, Ferrero India said, “Kinder+Sport shares similar values that ISF believes in, such as, education through sport, healthy lifestyle and gender equality. The CSR initiative aims to bring the ‘Joy of Moving’ amongst the young badminton players. To encourage physical activity across the younger generations and inspire them to adopt active lifestyles to make it an integral part of their daily routine.”

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

Subscribe

 

CSR: Efficient Irrigation Methods

By
Hency Thacker
-

India is one of the world’s largest food producers. This makes the sustainability of the country’s agriculture system of global importance. Groundwater irrigation has been respite to India’s agriculture sector, especially for places with low, or uneven rainfall. However, this has led to overexploitation of groundwater.

According to the World Bank data, since 1980, groundwater levels have dropped from 8 meters below ground level (mbgl) to 16 mbgl in northwestern India and from 1 to 8 mbgl in the rest of the country. Groundwater declines have led to decrease in food production and subsequent increase in poverty in the rural households.

The water scarcity caused in the country because of groundwater depletion calls for alternative methods of irrigation. The current irrigation methods used by the farmers lead to wastage of 60% of the water used. This further calls for efficient solutions to get better yield by using less amount of water.

The farmers in India currently use flood irrigation method. However, this causes water wastage in form of surface run off, percolation and bare soil evaporation that does not contribute to any increases in yield. In order to curb the situation, the farmers need to adapt different irrigation techniques.

Drip irrigation is one of the most productive solutions for the water scarce country like India. Drip irrigation supplies water directly to the crops’ root zone using a network of pipes and tubes. This is unlike the flood irrigation where water is indiscriminately supplied to the field in large quantities, from which only 35 to 40% is actually consumed. The consumption of water by plants using drip irriagtion is upto 90% making it way more efficient.

The drip irrigation system not only contributes in reducing the water losses but also enhances the health of crops and results in higher yields of 30-80%.

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

Subscribe

CSR: Paying Price For Coffee

By
Hency Thacker
-

A cup of coffee is what it takes to be able to wake up and start the day for many of us. But what is the cost of that one cup of our beloved bitter concoction?

Coffee is world’s second largest tradable commodity after oil. It is a multimillion dollar global industry and is constantly growing. Tom Grant, a journalism professor at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and director of the documentary “Elephants in the Coffee,” said in the last 30 years, India’s coffee industry has doubled.  As a result, coffee plantations have taken over the natural habitats of many animals.

Karnataka produces about 70% of country’s coffee. In order to meet demands of this burgeoning industry, coffee farmers have resorted to increase the plantations by cultivating it in the forests and taking over the natural habitat of elephants in the region. Since the elephants consider the place their home, they roam about around the plantations often damaging the crop and injuring the workers.

To avoid the situation, the elephants are captured and are trained to make them dependent and non-violent. The wild animals are kept in a wooden cage and tied to chains. The mahauts often resort to starving them for months to tame them and teach them to be dependent on humans. These inhumane treatments are covered in the documentary by Grant.

Some large coffee producers like Starbucks and Tata have fairly efficient ways of coexisting with elephants. They employ people to watch out for elephants and have implemented a notification system to warn workers when elephants are around. When that happens, workers simply move to a safe, elephant-free area on the plantation.

Unfortunately, implementing this method on other coffee plantations in the region is more difficult since Most plantations are only 10 acres or less. Trying to find an area away from the danger of elephants on a plantation that small might be tricky.

Currently the future of the elephants look shady around the coffee plantations. And many solutions have been suggested including tracking of elephants using surveillance and compensation by government for damaged crops. However, all these possible solutions require a lot of time, money, resources and commitment by community as well as government.

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

Subscribe

CSR: Road Trip To Promote Organ Donation

By
Neha Bilandani
-

India historically has a very low rate of organ donation. Although this number has improved over the past three-four years, the country still has a long way to go. Every year 3,00,000 Indians need an organ transplant, but only 2 to 3% of this demand for new organs is met. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), only about 0,01% people in India donate their organs after death, while in the western countries up to 70 to 80% people agree to organ donation.

As per past reports, more than 30,000 individuals are in need of liver transplants in the country. However, less than 5% of this number receives a liver before it is too late. The need for kidneys in India stands at two lakh annually, of which only 8,000 manage a transplant. Patients requiring heart or lungs transplants are worst of with less than 1% of them receiving a transplant before time runs out.

SBI Foundation and Mohan Foundation under their project ‘Gift Hope, Gift Life’ have supported and organised a trip to spread awareness in multiple countries on the importance of donating organs.  The association aims at bridging the wide gap in the number of patients needing organ transplant and availability of organs. In the coming months, the foundation will reach out to all employees in the corporate centre to register as organ donors.

Rajnish Kumar, Chairman, SBI flagged off the Mumbai-London road trip of Bhal Shekhar Chilana who will travel around 15 countries, covering 22000 Kms to reach the destination (London) in 91 days. With this trip Shekhar Chilana would be promoting the cause of organ donation.

“I feel everyone must support this cause. I have registered myself as an Organ Donor and we are glad that many of our colleagues have also taken the Pledge. On this occasion, I would like to urge all the employees to spread awareness about the cause of Organ Donation,” said Kumar.

The idea of a road trip struck Shekhar Chilana after his daughter was detected with end-stage kidney failure a few years back. Last year she received a kidney transplant and had got a new lease of life.

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

Subscribe

CSR: Corporates Can Incubate And Nurture New Ideas In Energy Sector

By
Neha Bilandani
-

There will be no resources left at the way humans are consuming energy. The Indian government is aiming to develop cost effective and efficient solar power stove systems. The intention is to touch the lives of poor by providing them safe and low cost alternatives for clean household cooking.

Recently, ONGC held a Solar Chulha Challenge’ exhibition, to promote solar chulha in order to reach out to the last mile of the society. “This innovation would significantly impact the nation’s dependence on imported fuel in one stroke”, the PM Narendra Modi had said.

Clean cooking alternatives need to be made available to the commonest of common citizens of the country. Integrated solar systems can provide multi-purpose utility.

The team from IIT Bombay won the challenge, claiming prize money of Rs 10 lakhs. The submission titled ‘Design and development of Solar PV powered electric stove for domestic application’ was chosen by the expert panel of scientists headed by Dr Anil Kakodkar, Former Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission. Their Cooking solution is named as Solar Intelligent Cook-stove with Storage (or SIX stove).

Smokeless Cookstove Revolution (SCR) is a project saving lives by teaching rural villagers how to make clean burning chulhas without any cost. It has the ambitious target of saving over 1 million lives in the coming 10 years. Nitisha Agrawal, a Mumbai resident quit her lucrative corporate career to pursue work in the development sector. She has gone into the field numerous times with this project since late last year, and having seen the impact it can have, she is now dedicating all her passion to this cause.

The idea started when Australian inventor Russell Collins was experimenting with clay as a material for his stoves in Ladakh. He was working on a social enterprise called Himalayan Rocket Stove in the mountains when he realised that he couldn’t get the high-tech materials he needed to make his stoves work.

After searching for a local solution, he came up with a way of using clay that changed its nature from being heat absorbing to heat repelling. This made it possible to make clay tubes for his commercial stoves, and in the process, came to realise that he had stumbled on a simple and incredibly affordable way to make smokeless chulhas (cookstoves) using well established ‘rocket stove’ technology. He decided to start a not for-profit project in parallel with his commercial stove venture, and called it the ‘Smokeless Cookstove Revolution’.

Corporates need to come forth and aid in the endeavour for start-ups by providing monetary support for innovation to reach different regions across the nation. To foster, nurture and incubate new ideas related to the energy sector.

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

Subscribe

1...1,1191,1201,121...1,247Page 1,120 of 1,247

Hindi Manch

Editor's Pick

© Copyright 2024 The CSR Journal. All Rights Reserved | Powered by : Inventif Web