Litter not only looks bad but also has an adverse effect on the environment. Littering sends out a negative message to children and the next generation that it is acceptable behavior to throw your trash anywhere mindless of the environment. Parle Products has taken the initiative to set the course for our community and raise awareness with the positive messaging of its Litter Free Campaign.

Armed with this objective, Parle Products has launched the first phase of the Litter Free campaign across the country through a series of Television Commercials. The commercials are set in a series of everyday scenarios that viewers can identify with and encourage them to “Show Garbage Its Place”.

Speaking about the campaign, Mr. Shalin Desai, Dy Marketing Manager, Parle Products said, “We intend to spread a positive message with the Parle Litter Free initiative and encourage citizens to make a conscious effort to keep their environment clean. Our combined efforts will not only make a difference to the mindset of consumers but also instill a productive commitment.  We are also happy to extend our efforts to the nation in line with the ‘Swaccha Bharat Abhiyan’ launched by our PM.”

Previously, Parle Products had associated the campaign with Indian festivals and successfully spread the Litter Free message at Raas Garba and Jagadhatri Puja in West Bengal.

SAANS from Bangalore (Winner), Godavari Women Weaver’s Services Producer Company (GWWSPC) from Mandapeta, Andhra Pradesh (1^st Runners-up) and Ultrasafe Ultrasound from Kolkata (2^nd Runners-up) emerged as the top three most promising social ventures, winning prize money of Rs. 2 lakhs, Rs. 1.5 lakhs and Rs. 1.25 lakhs, respectively. In a first, during the grand finale ceremony, the 2nd Runners-up team,Ultrasafe Ultra Sound, received on-the-spot seed funding Rs. 500,000 plus technical support by Glocal Healthcare Systems (P) Ltd., a West Bengal based healthcare company.

Khalid Abdullah Quidwai, the winner of the Tata Social Enterprise Challenge 2014-15 has developed SAANS, a low cost and easy to use mechanical device to help keep the lungs of newborns open during troubled breathing. Exhilarated with his win Khalid said, “Tata Social Enterprise Challenge is a great platform to showcase our venture and what we are working for. Getting our concept validated in front of esteemed judges is great motivation for us.”

Vijayan Switha Gandhi, founder of GWWSPC, who was declared as the 1st Runner-up, has developed a business model to strengthen the weaver base by collectivisation and integrating the entire value chain involved in the handloom process. Explaining further, she said, “When I started my work, I got support from Sir Ratan Tata Trust, and since then it has been a long and difficult but fruitful journey. Today, my journey has come to a full circle. I stand here receiving recognition on a Tata platform for a model, created by my team, the seed for which was a grant from Tata’s. I feel very happy and motivated.”

The 2^nd Runners-up, Abhishek Biswas and Aditya Pangte, have developed Ultrasafe Ultra Sound, which uses a patented technology that automatically prevents the identification of genitalia in live images produced by ultrasound machines. Talking about their project, they said, “Tata Social Enterprise Challenge is the biggest platform for social entrepreneurs. Social entrepreneurship is ignored if we compare it to the mainstream entrepreneurship. This is a great validation of our idea and further motivates us to do better. Thank you Tata and IIM Calcutta.”

The ceremony featured special talks by Mr. Anshu Gupta, Founder Goonj, Dr. S.P. Gon Chaudhuri, founder of India’s first renewable energy college – NB Institute for Rural Development (NBIRT), Dr.Sabahat Azim, Founder Glocaland Dr. N.S. Rajan, Member – Group Executive Council and Chief Group Human Resources Officer, Tata Sons. Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Ashok Banerjee, Dean (New Initiatives and External Relations), IIM Calcutta, said, “The 3rd edition of Tata Social Enterprise Challenge has been important in terms of both the quality and the quantity of impact proposals received. We are extremely happy to note that this national level contest is eagerly awaited by aspiring social entrepreneurs. The on-the-spot announcement of seed funding to one of the winners of the contest goes a long way to prove the potential of this platform.”

Felicitating the winners, Dr. N.S. Rajan, Member – Group Executive Council and Chief Group Human Resources Officer, Tata Sons said, “In its third year, Tata Social Enterprise Challenge has grown into a single platform to catalyse new and promising sustainable ventures, build an enabling ecosystem for these ventures to convert their ideas into sustainable impact, create awareness of the social entrepreneurship field, and educate and mentor future champions of change. We are delighted to have IIM – Calcutta as a partner. Their expertise and mentoring proves extremely valuable in making this initiative a success. In line with the Tata group’s ethos of giving back to the society, the group through this platform endeavours to encourage innovative ideas and talent that will help in bringing about a change for the larger good of society. It is heartening to see the passion that these entrepreneurs have to make a difference and we wish them the very best of luck.”

Tata Social Enterprise Challenge 2014-15 kicked-off on August 25, 2014 and invited social entrepreneurs who either had an early stage venture (not older than 3 years) or a promising idea with a plan that could create sustainable social impact in India. Impact Proposals (detailed Business Plans) were invited in the areas of education, health, agriculture, technology, sanitation, and handicrafts, among others.

Apart from the top 3 winning ventures, the 7 ventures that have made it to the top 10 finalists are, Nyayika, Leaps & Bounds, Tinker Tank, Centre for Social Consulting India Pvt. Ltd, Sukhibhava, Autoraja Mobility Solutions Pvt. Ltd, and Future Society. The ventures were judged on three parameters – Business Model, Social Impact and Sustainability. All the top 20 teams have been mentored by Ashoka Innovators for the Public and Villgro, and the IIM Calcutta faculty. The social VC partners of the initiative were Acumen, Ankur Capital, Yunus SocialBusiness and Ennovent. The teams also had an opportunity to network with mentors, experts and fellow social entrepreneurs.

For more details and updates on the ‘Tata Social Enterprise Challenge, please log ontohttp://www.tatasechallenge.org/

GATI-KWE (subsidiary of Gati Ltd) the leader in Express Distribution and Supply Chain Management won an award in the category of ‘Best wp Project for Sustainable Development’ at the 36th edition of All India Public Relations Conference, National wp Awards 2014.

The award was given by Kailash Chandra Meghwal, the Speaker of Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, in a glittering function held in Jaipur on 19th Dec 2014. This award is the testimony to one of the many sustainable wp activities carried out by GATI-KWE in providing livelihoods to the weaver community in Rajoli village.

Rajouli village, known for its famous Gadwal sarees was among one of the worst affected villages in Mahabubnagar district, Andhra Pradesh that was hit by the floods in the first week of October 2009. The floods shattered the lives of the weavers who lost their looms as well as their houses.

Gati took up the responsibility to revive the handloom weavers’ community of Rajouli village and acquired 2 acres of land in that village to construct worksheds. Proper arrangements in terms of water, lighting, ventilation and washrooms for the weavers were also done. The first workshed was inaugurated in Sept 2010 which could accommodate 40 weavers. After the success of the first shed and based on the demand for another shed by the weavers, Gati went ahead and constructed a second Work shed, which was inaugurated on 23rd Dec 2011.

Apart from constructing the worksheds, a yarn spinning machine was also provided to the weavers. With the aim of helping the weavers further, an NGO has also been appointed to train them with improved techniques of weaving which would lead to increased output both in terms of Quantity and quality. The NGO would further help the weavers in developing links with the market for selling their products, getting support from the Banks and keeping them up to date with the market trends.

Gati-Kintetsu Express Private Limited (GATI-KWE) is a joint venture company between Gati – India’s pioneer and leader in Express Distribution and Supply Chain Solutions and Kintetsu World Express Japan’s leading logistics provider

The initiative is inspired by the experience and success of RuralShores, an Indian social venture which provides skills and employment to more than 5,000 people in 25 centres in India, servicing 30+ client firms and government departments.The partnership with IVL will follow the RuralShores’ model and invest in up to 5 centers across rural India. Both Companies will also explore opportunities for IVL to invest directly into RuralShores when such possibilities arise and to expand the model outside India.

The Oxford Executive MBA students visited RuralShores in March 2014 on an annual study trip to India as part of their EMBA programme.  The visit was led by Professor David Upton of Saïd Business School, a leading expert in international operations management and outsourcing.  ‘Businesses are keen to outsource many of their ‘back-room’ functions for greater cost efficiencies, and this demand for skilled, outsourced work can be utilised to create rewarding and sustainable jobs in remote locations’ said Professor Upton. ‘This new initiative is building upon the insights and experiences of RuralShores in India in creating rural jobs, and is applying their model in other settings, including rural locations in the UK. Initially small scale, this venture, and others like it, has the potential to be scalable and to have a significant impact on the employment prospects of rural communities, contributing positively to regional regeneration. This is a terrific example of how we can learn lessons from developing countries for application in the developed world.’

Mohamed Amersi, one of the founders and Chairman of IVL, said: ‘Our visit to RuralShores made a deep impression on a number of the group, and we were keen to establish an ongoing engagement with RuralShores both to help them with their own expansion plans in India, and to learn from their experiences in order to transport their model to other locations around the world. We are working on plans to extend our collaboration with RuralShores in India and are also exploring exporting their innovative model to locations selectively outside India.’

Kathy Harvey, Director of the Oxford Executive MBA programme said:  ‘All Executive MBA students at Oxford are expected to develop plans for entrepreneurial ventures as part of their assignments but in this instance the students have gone further, making the venture a reality, supporting it financially and seeking further funding partners to sustain it over the long term. Our recent class visit to RuralShores in India provided the inspiration for this innovative idea and I’m delighted that such an exciting opportunity has come about as a result and look forward to seeing the initiative develop over the coming months.  We are fortunate to have a wealth of commercial experience within the EMBA class and I’m not surprised that they are transforming their ideas into a business so quickly.  This venture is a clear example of how business schools can make a practical difference in addressing real world problems.  In addition, we are committed to communicating our insights, in this case developing and sharing a case study of RuralShores’ business model.’

The Center of Excellence will work towards the development of an energy-use reporting framework for existing buildings, evaluation of the existing building energy rating systems, derivation of tool and techniques for energy management, real time reporting of consumption, and identification and cost benefit analysis of conservation measures.

Dr. R.K. Pachauri, Director General, TERI, in his video message, said: “I am extremely happy that we are launching this initiative… We hope that this will be a model not only for this country but for other countries as well. With UTC, we can work together in bringing about a smarter world and a more sustainable world, particularly as it relates to buildings and habitat design.”

Mr. Zubin Irani, President, Building and Industrial Systems India, UTC, said:  “Given the energy challenges faced by the nation, energy efficiency in the buildings sector is an important priority. World over, there has been a rapid pace of innovation when it comes to technologies and systems that go into making a building more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. It is important to note that not only do many of these technologies reduce the energy footprint of a building or infrastructure project but they also pay back for themselves in a matter of few years.”

“The Center of Excellence  shall have a core research agenda on enabling energy efficiency in existing buildings in India. The collaboration between TERI and UTC in this endeavour shall help  unlock the potential of energy saving in this sector,“ said Ms Mili Majumdar, Director, Sustainable Habitat, TERI.

Globally, buildings account for 40 per cent of the total energy consumption. By using energy efficient technologies, energy consumption could be reduced by up to 60 per cent. In India, the building sector accounts for approximately 35 per cent of the total energy consumption and is growing at a rate of eight percent annually.

“One of the primary objectives of the UTC- TERI Centre of Excellence is to evaluate energy efficiency and ascertain energy requirements in existing buildings. The findings of the study have the potential of facilitating the new government’s ambitious plan of building 100 smart cities as it will involve upgrading existing cities, expanding and building around them,“ Mr  Irani added.

The Center will first conduct a Pan-India study of 100 buildings and is scheduled  to  cover  a  wide  range  of  climatic zones, covering  cities such as Allahabad,  Ajmer,  Vishakhapatnam,  Varanasi,  Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata,Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat, Jaipur etc. These have been selected as per the Smart Cities Programme recently initiated by the Centre.

The study will include an  energy survey, derivation of tools and techniques for identification and cost benefit analysis of Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs), calibration and validation of simulation tools, development of Measurement and Verification (M&V) protocol for implementation of ECMs, development of financial mechanism, development of remote  monitoring protocol and review and revision of existing building energy standards/codes/rating systems. The initiative is expected to deliver the proposed results within the next five years.

Talking about the future plans of the Centre of Excellence, Mr Irani said: “The ultimate aim of the Centre of Excellence is to enhance the energy efficiency quotient in all buildings across the country. Staying true to this goal, the initial plan of the Centre of Excellence is to identify existing buildings and assess energy use and consumption patterns which would eventually help in base lining the energy performance of buildings with a solid roadmap to make them more energy-efficient.”

A FEW HIGHLIGHTS:

Government of India‘s emphasis on Urbanization and Energy Security:

• The Union Budget of 2014 laid emphasis on infrastructure spending, and allocated $1.1 billion for the creation of 100 Smart Cities with a strong focus on renewable energy.

Smart Cities for an Efficient India:

• In a developing nation like India, the share of energy consumed by buildings and transportation may be well over two-thirds of the country’s entire energy production.
• Given the energy challenges in India, it is of paramount importance that the government relentlessly pursues energy efficiency in all infrastructures.
• This could be accomplished systematically  through   four  key  measures:  1)  Invest  in energy-efficient   designs   and  adopt  the latest  innovations,  2)  Customize technology  according to Indian requirements, 3) Introduce energy-efficiency codes and  regulation,  and  4)  develop/ cultivate  talent  and  build capability in this domain.

XPRIZE, a global leader in incentivized prize competition,announced a formal expansion into India today at an event in Mumbai attended by some of India’s most influential business leaders including Mr Ratan Tata among other business leaders.

XPRIZE announced plans to launch multiple prizes in India over the next few years in the areas of water, energy, waste management, and food & nutrition, with an anticipated first prize addressing water sustainability, to launch in 2015 with the support of Coca-Cola India.

Guests at the event participated in an XPRIZE “Visioneering” process, where corporate leaders, philanthropists, heads of innovation and XPRIZE Trustees worked together in an unique series of brainstorming sessions to identify which of India’s Grand Challenges can best be solved through incentivized prize competitions.

Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus, Tata Sons and trustee at XPRIZE, along with Naveen Jain, founder & CEO of Inome, and Paresh Ghelani, chairman, BPG Motors have been great supporters of XPRIZE and active in bringing XPRIZE to India.  Mr. Tata said, “ We are bringing XPRIZE to India with the belief that the next big innovations to solve some of the world’s Grand Challenges will come from India, directly impacting millions of people at the base of the pyramid. Through XPRIZE, we want to tap into this promise of potential and possibility.”

“We chose India as the first geographic location outside of the U.S. to launch our global development prizes because we believe India has a technological and entrepreneurial capacity like no other country in the world,” said Zenia Tata, program director, global expansion, XPRIZE.“India is also going to provide XPRIZE the platform to meet scale and we are very excited about our global expansion and the impact we believe we are going to create.”

“Coca-Cola India is pleased to support the first XPRIZE in India in the area of water, reflecting Coca-Cola’s overarching commitment to water sustainability,” said Venkatesh Kini, president of Coca-Cola India and South West Asia. “We are excited about this partnership and through it we hope to bring forth innovative solutions to the pressing issue of water sustainability to positively impact millions of lives in India and across the globe.”

Mr. Tata, Mr. Jain, and Mr. Ghelani are among a list of XPRIZE Trustees that includes Elon Musk, Larry Page, James Cameron, Arianna Huffington, Ali Velshi, Wendy Schmidt, Ray Kurzweil, and Anousheh Ansari. Deloitte is the knowledge partner for XPRIZE in India.

Founded in 1995, XPRIZE is the leading organization solving the world’s Grand Challenges by creating and managing large-scale, high-profile, incentivized prizes in five areas: Learning; Exploration; Energy & Environment; Global Development; and Life Sciences.  Active prizes include the $30M Google Lunar XPRIZE, the $15M Global Learning XPRIZE, the $10M Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE, and the $2M Wendy Schmidt Ocean Health XPRIZE.