WITHIN days of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to the corporate sector to contribute liberally towards building toilets, responses have staring pouring in thick and fast. IT bellwether TCS has decided to take the lead into an actionable plan. It has announced a mega initiative of building 10,000 toilets in girls’ schools across the country. The company has provisioned a whopping Rs. 100 crore towards this cause. Bharti Foundation, the wp arm of Bharti Enterprises has pledged the same amount towards building toilets in rural Punjab, especially Ludhiana, where the company’s head Sunil Mittal hails from.
“TCS is proud to support the Prime Minister’s ‘Clean India’ initiative. We believe that achieving the mission of providing hygienic sanitation for girl students will have a tangible impact on the level of education achievement and development of India’s next generation,” said N Chandrasekaran, CEO and MD, TCS.
A couple of days ago, it was Oriental Bank of Commerce, which was perhaps the first organization to react to Modi’s appeal and announced a wp fund of Rs. 2 crore for building toilets.
And that’s not all. We have learned that a number of other corporate and PSUs have already started contemplating the idea of dedicating some part of their wp spend to building toilets, especially for girls.
To borrow Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak’s phrase, ‘this may just be the beginning of a new beginning’. The man who has spent more than four decades in building common toilets throughout the country under the brand name Sulabh International, recently compared Modi’s passion for cleanliness with that of Mahatama Gandhi’s on a television talk show. “For the first time since Gandhi, somebody is so passionate about toilets and sanitation in this country,” said Pathak.
Around 47% government schools in the country still do not have adequate toilets.
In fact, Mahatma Gandhi had once famously said, “I want to clean India first, independence later”. And now, Modi’s intentions are clear, putting toilets on the top of the agenda while addressing the nation on Independence Day from the ramparts of the Red Fort.
According to commentators, addressing the need of toilets for women, is a not merely a sanitation concern, it is a question of dignity, and judging from the response, Modi’s emotionally-charged speech has clearly touched the right chord with corporates. It would not be wrong to assume that this thought and conviction of our three-month-old Prime Minister is capable of becoming a national ambition.
I spoke to a couple of lower middle class women in Eastern Uttar Pradesh, who in a very clear and terse way said, “It’s a question of mindset, our husbands and father own mobile phones and tv, but are not bothered about toilets”. In fact, only a few weeks ago, in a remote part of Kushinagar district of Uttar Pardesh, a group newly-wed brides made news after they left their in-laws place because there were no toilets.
In the manner corporate India has responded to this glaring and shameful problem that we face as a country is indeed a welcome step and perhaps an indicator of the confidence corporates are placing in the ruling government. And as we move towards a more socially responsible society, the toilet-for-all initiative is perhaps one of the most imperative and pressing issues that can be taken up by corporate India while planning their wp spend.
Assam based NGO Parivartan, recently invited a German expert to conduct a workshop on Upcycling Plastic. The main idea was to create awareness in the local communities of the problems associated with plastic garbage and to encourage Upcycling of plastic waste instead of littering or burning.
The workshop touched upon the usual suspects in the plastic waste menace story by talking about:
Assam based NGO Parivartan’s Workshop on Upcycling Plastic Waste trained women of the local communities in the art of using Plarn (Plastic Yarn) to create useful things.
Problems associated with plastic littering and burning.
The value of the wasted resources.
Creating useful and desirable things out of waste by the means of Upcycling (ideally as an income-generating measure).
Promoting creativity, out-of-the-box thinking and new skills in participants.
Over the last century, plastic has taken over the planet. On the one hand, plastic seems a miracle material, on the other hand, it is a curse. Plastic bags, made of depletable natural gas or petroleum resources, are often used only for a matter of minutes. Yet they last in the environment for hundreds of years, shredding into ever-smaller pieces but never fully breaking down and releasing toxins in the process. Low grade plastic is not only presenting an ugly site in millions of heaps all over but also choking up earth and killing animals which feed on it. Plastics have been linked with a slew of health concerns, including certain types of cancer and infertility.
[creativ_alertbox icon=”thumbs-down” colour=”red” custom_colour=”#dd3333″]Worldwide, a trillion single-use plastic bags, the worst pollutants, are used each year, nearly 2 million each minute![/creativ_alertbox][creativ_alertbox icon=”thumbs-up” colour=”green” custom_colour=”#a7d686″]One of the fastest and easiest techniques of upcycling discarded plastic is by turning it into Plarn – Plastic Yarn.[/creativ_alertbox]
Plarn is created out of plastic bags and other packaging materials by cutting them into thin strips and connecting them to a long yarn which can then be used for different crocheting techniques. Plarn can be used to create bags, totes, rugs, mats, pillows, baskets, storage bins etc. Plarn weaving techniques could be devised to create big sheets of a cheap, light, water and weatherproof material.
Plarn can be used to create bags, totes, rugs, mats, pillows, baskets, storage bins etc.
Countries the world over have taken measures including legislations to curb the use of plastic bags but have achieved limited success. More than the making of legislation or laws, it is the mass contact programs and the workshops, which promote recycling and use of better quality plastic, that will help us rid of the problem. Corporate Houses can play a major role in creating and implementing large scale plastic Upcycling projects across their areas of operation.Any initiative aimed at creating awareness about plastic waste is a great first step. However, environment & sustainability experts point out that to be really effective- wp initiatives must offer solutions that have a long term and sustainable impact as a mandatory follow up step to creating awareness about the consequences of the ever piling up plastic waste.
[creativ_alertbox icon=”ok” colour=”blue” custom_colour=”#a7d686″]Plastic Waste Upcycling Projects by Corporates would be an eligible wp activity as per the Companies Act, section (ii) & (iv) -for promoting employment enhancing vocational skills & ensuring environmental sustainability respectively.[/creativ_alertbox]
Such projects could have a 360 degree approach towards tackling the plastic menace by following a step-by-step approach:
Creating Awareness: about the hazards of Plastic Waste accumulation
Providing Alternatives: like distributing locally made recycled cloth bags
On Ground Impact Oriented Activities: Organize Plastic Waste Collection drives
Introducing Sustainable Solutions: Organize Plastic Waste Upcycling Workshops
Employment & Revenue Generation: Sale or dissemination of Upcycled Plastic products
Low grade plastic is not only presenting an ugly site in millions of heaps all over but also choking up earth and killing animals which feed on it.
Experts emphasize that a well-researched, result-oriented approach is the requisite evolutionary step for wp in India is to become meaningful and rise beyond the old tradition of a good picture opportunity and a general Press Release.
एक लोकप्रिय प्रधानमंत्री क्या कर सकता है, ये नरेंद्र मोदी ने कर दिखाया है. 15 अगस्त को लाल किले से जब नरेंद्र मोदी ने देश के कार्पोरेट घरानों से , महिलाओं और ख़ासकर स्कूलों में लड़कियों के लिए शौचालयों के निर्माण करने की अपील की, तो अगले अड़तालीस घंटों में ही करीब 200 करोड़ रूपये इस काम के लिए इकठ्ठा हो गए. कार्पोरेट सामाजिक दायित्व के तहत, देश की दो बड़ी कंपनियों टीसीएस और भारती एअरटेल ने सौ-सौ करोड़ रूपये, शौचालयों के निर्माण के लिए सुरक्षित करने की घोषणा कर दी.
टीसीएस 100 करोड़ की लागत से करीब 10,000 शौचालयों का निर्माण करेगी
भारती एअरटेल 100 करोड़ रूपये की लागत से पंजाब में शौचालय बनवाएगी
ओरिएंटल बैंक 2 करोड़ रूपये लगाकर स्कूलों में 200 शौचालय निर्माण करेगी
कंपनी एक्ट की नई संशोधित धारा के तहत आनेवाली करीब 16,000 कंपनियों को चालू वित्त वर्ष से अपने शुद्ध मुनाफ़े की 2 फ़ीसदी रकम कार्पोरेट सामाजिक दायित्व या सीएसआर के कामकाज पर ख़र्च करना होगा. ऐसे में अगर प्रधानमंत्री ख़ुद किसी एक काम के बारे में अपील करते हैं तो उसकी अहमिअत समझी जा सकती है. कार्पोरेट जगत भी प्रधानमंत्री की इस समझ की तारीफ़ कर रहा है जिन्होंने शौचालय जैसे अनछुए मुद्दे को स्वतंत्रता दिवस जैसे अहम दिन उठाया.
भारत जैसे देश में जहां लोगों के पास मोबाइल फ़ोन ज़्यादा हैं और शौचालय कम, सीएसआर के तहत ऐसी योजनाओं का क्रियान्वन आनेवाले दिनों में देश की मौजूदा तस्वीर को बदल सकता है. भारत में करीब 60 करोड़ की आबादी के पास शौचालय की सुविधा नहीं है. इसका बड़ा सामाजिक असर महिलाओं की सुरक्षा और साक्षरता पर भी पड़ रहा है. स्कूलों में लड़कियों के लिए अलग से साफ़-सुरक्षित शौचालय ना होने की वजह से , किशोर उम्र की लड़कियां अक्सर स्कूल जाना छोड़ देती हैं. आंकड़ों के मुताबिक –
करीब 47 फ़ीसदी लड़कियां स्कूल में शौचालय ना होने की वजह से स्कूल छोड़ रही हैं
11 से 14 वर्ष उम्र की करीब 6 फ़ीसदी लड़कियों का स्कूल में नाम तक नहीं लिखवाया जा रहा
ऐसा नहीं कि सरकार को अब तक इसकी ख़बर नहीं थी क्योंकि ये सभी सरकारी आंकड़े ही हैं , फ़र्क बस इतना है कि सरकार की सोच कभी शौचालय तक गई ही नहीं. सामाजिक बदलाव की शुरुवात शौचालय से हो सकती है , प्रधानमंत्री की इस सोच की कार्पोरेट इंडिया ही नहीं सामाज मे भी काफ़ी सराहना हो रही है.
यामिनी अय्यर, सेंटर फॉर पॉलिसी रिसर्च की डायरेक्टर का कहना है “ जब हम स्कूलों में भारत की अगली पीढ़ी को संवारने की बात करते हैं, तो उन्हें कम से कम स्वच्छ वातावरण तो देना ही होगा, ज़ाहिर है शौचालय जनकल्याण की अहम ज़रुरत है”
भारत में लड़कियों की शिक्षा और महिलाओं का सशक्तिकरण देश की तरक्की के लिए बेहद ज़रुरी है. जहां आज भी 40 फ़ीसदी बाल विवाह, 47 फ़ीसदी की शादी 18 वर्ष से कम उम्र में कर दी जाती है, वहां बदलाव की शुरुआत तो शौचालय से ही होनी चाहिए.
मोदी सरकार की ‘स्वच्छ भारत’ मुहिम से कार्पोरेट सामाजिक दायित्व या सीएसआर के काम को भी सही दिशा मिल रही है, जो काम आज़ादी के सत्तर बरसों में नहीं हो सके हैं – सरकार और कार्पोरेट की सहभागिता से अानेवाले कुछ वर्षों में ज़रुर संभव हैं.
As a resident of Mumbai city, Aamir Khan knows only too well that cleanliness and waste management is a major issue for urban dwellers. The actor has recently launched ‘Waste Free Jodhpur’ a project for which he pledged unequivocal support and a donation of Rs 11 lacs. ‘I wish I could launch such a drive in Mumbai, but I am happy that Jodhpur took this initiative and expressed its determination to deal with one of the biggest menaces of the urban India’, Khan said.
Aamir had taken up the issue of waste management in one of the episodes of his widely popular TV Show Satyamev Jayate. The episode examined how waste is produced, how it can be converted into a useful resource. It also looked at how people are making a difference and introduced ‘waste warriors’ to the audience. Aamir pointed out that Hindi films invariably turn to foreign locales to shoot picturesque scenes simply because of the cleanliness there that make environments so attractive. He also spoke of the paradox of a people who choose to bathe at least once a day and who sweep and swab religiously but pay no heed to the cleanliness of our surroundings.
And so the Jodhpur administration reached out to him suggesting the clean up project which was announced by Aamir on Independence Day. ‘There will be hurdles but this fight has to be won and there cannot be any better occasion than the Independence Day that we exhibited determination to get freedom from waste,’ Khan said.
The Jodhpur Municipal Corporation and the city administration have set a target of 18 months to make the city garbage-free. Aamir Khan administered a pledge of ‘clean & green’ Jodhpur to the audience and flagged off a fleet of battery operated rickshaws, which has been put together to cover the length & breadth of the city and collect the garbage. To make sure that the project is seamless and effective, an expert agency form Hyderabad has also been roped in.
Khan also expressed desire to associate with the drive in a bigger way that it may be replicated in other cities. Here’s hoping for a large scale, quick to effect, nation-wide clean up drive!
I hope The CSR Journal establishes itself as a credible platform for stakeholders to understand CSR strategies, and to enable them to create deeper, more lasting partnerships.
भारत की कंपनियां अब जनता की भलाई के कामों पर सीधे सीधे – करीब 24000 करोड़ रुपये ख़र्च करेंगी. आपको यह जानकर आश्चर्य भले हो मगर – कंपनी अधिनियम की नई धारा 134 के मुताबिक अब उन सभी कंपनियों को सीएसआर यानि – कॉर्पोरेट सामाजिक दायित्व के तहत अपने मुनाफ़े का 2 फ़ीसदी धन सीधे जनता के सरोकार से जुड़े काम-काज पर ख़र्च करना ही होगा जो इसके दायरे में आएंगी.
धारा 134 के दायरे में आनेवाली कंपनियां
जिनकी शुद्ध संपत्ति 1000 करोड़ रूपये या उससे अधिक की होगी – या –
जिनका कारोबार 500 करोड़ रूपये या उससे अधिक का हो – या –
जिनका शुद्ध मुनाफ़ा 50 करोड़ या उससे अधिक का हो
इन सभी पैमानों में से यदि किसी एक पैमाने पर भी कोई कार्पोरेट खरा उतरता है तो उसे अपने – शुद्ध मुनाफ़े का कम से कम दो प्रतिशत हिस्सा सीएसआर यानि सामाजिक दायित्व के काम पर ख़र्च करना ही होगा.
मशहूर रिसर्च कंपनी केपीएमजी के एक अनुमान के मुताबिक – इस नए कानून के दायरे में करीब 16000 कंपनियां आएंगी और करीब 24000 करोड़ रूपये सीधे जनता के भलाई के काम खर्च भी होगा. कानून बनने के बाद अब इसके दायरे में आनेवाली तमाम कंपनियों को अपनी सालाना आर्थिक रिपोर्ट के साथ साथ ही – अपने सामाजिक दायित्व के कामकाज की रिपोर्ट भी कार्पोरेट मंत्रालय में भेजनी होगी – इतना ही नहीं इस रिपोर्ट को उन्हें सार्वजनिक भी करना होगा और ऐसा न करने पर उनकी जवाबदेही बनेगी.
क्या होंगे सामाजिक दायित्व के काम
ऐसा भी नहीं है कि सिर्फ कानून का पालन करने के लिए कंपनियां अनाप-शनाप काम करके अपने सामाजिक दायित्व की खानापूर्ति कर सकेंगी. नए अधिनियम के चैप्टर सात के तहत कार्पोरेट मंत्रालय ने सीएसआर के कामकाज की पूरी लिस्ट भी जारी कर दी है. इसके तहत –
भूख, ग़रीबी और कुपोषण को दूर करना, स्वास्थ्य देख-भाल और स्व्छता को बढ़वा देना एवं पीने सा साफ़ पानी उपल्ब्ध कररवाना
बच्चों, बूढ़ों, अपंग और महिलाओं में शिक्षा और ख़ासकर रोज़गार कौशल निखारनेवाली एवं शिक्षा को बढ़ावा देना, आजीविका के नए साधन उपल्बध करानेवाली योजनाएं
लिंग समानता, महिला सशक्तिकरण, महिला छात्रावास, बृद्धाश्रम बनवाना, अनाथालय बनवाना, वरिष्ठ नागरिकों के लिए डे केअर सेंटर खोलना, सामाजिक एवं आर्थिक रुप से पिछडे़ समाज की असमानता को दूर करनेवाली योजनाएं
पर्यावरण का बचाव एवं संतुलन, जीव-जंतूओं एवं वनस्पतियों का संरक्षण, को बचाना, पशु कल्याण, कृषि वानिकी, प्राकृतिक संसाधनों का संरक्षण तथा जल, वायु और मिट्टी की गुणवत्ता को बनाए रखनेवाली योजनाएं
राष्ट्रीय धरोहरों का संरक्षण, कला एवं संस्कृति के संरक्षण के तहत – ऐतिहासिक महत्व की इमारतों एवं कलाकृतियों का पुनरुत्थान, पब्लिक लाइब्रेरी का निर्माण, पारंपरिक कला एवं हस्तशिल्प का प्रमोशन और विकास भी शामिल है.
सेना से रिटायर सैनिकों, युद्ध की विधावाओं और उनके आश्रितों के फ़ायदे के लिए किए गए उपाय
ग्रामिण खेलकूद, राष्ट्रीय मान्यताप्राप्त खेलकूद, पैराओलंपिक खेलकूद, और ओलंपिक खेलकूदों को प्रमोट करने के लिए ट्रेनिंग देना
प्रधानमंत्री राहतकोष योजना, या सामाजिक एवं आर्थिक रुप से पिछड़े समुदायों, अनुसूतियों, अनुसूचित जनजातियों, माइनॉरीटी, और महिलाओं के कल्याण एवं राहत के लिए बनाए गए केंद्रीय कोष में दिया गया दान
केंद्रीय मान्यताप्राप्त शैक्षणिक संस्थाओं में टेक्नोलॉजी इनक्यूबेटरों के लिए दिया गया दान
ग्रामीण विकास की योजनाएं
लड़कियों की शिक्षा एवं नारी सशक्तिकरण सीएसआर का काम है
सरकार ने इन तमाम कार्यकलापों की खुले विचारों से व्याख्या करने की सलाह दी है – मतलब ये कि कंपनियां नियम के तहत दी गई गतिविधियों को लेकर कंफ्यूज़ ना हों और अगर उन्हें लगता है कि कोई सामाजिक कार्य सीएसआर की मूल भावना से प्रेरित है तो उस काम को भी वो अपने कार्पोरेट सामाजिक दायित्व की योजनाओं में शामिल कर सकती हैं.
कुछ अन्य दिशा-निर्देश
अगर किसी एक वर्ष में किसी वजह से सीएसआर के तहत जमा किया गया फंड पूरी तरह से खर्च नहीं हो पाता है तो बचा हुआ धन कंपनी का मुनाफ़ा नहीं माना जाएगा – बल्कि अगले साल के सीएसआर फंड में अगल से जोड़ दिया जाएगा.
इसी तरह किसी सीएसआर प्रोजेक्ट से कोई नफ़ा होता है तो उसे भी दोबारा सीएसआर के काम में ही लगाना होगा.
कंपनी के आम कारोबार में ज़रुरी कोई योजना जो भले ही सामाजिक हो – उसे सीएसआर नहीं माना जाएगा – मसलन फैक्ट्री लगाने के लिए हटाए गए लोगों का रिहैबिलिटेशन या रोज़गार देना सीएसआर नहीं होगा.
दो या अधिक कंपनियां मिलकर साझा सीएसआर कार्यक्रम चला सकती हैं – बशर्ते सभी कंपनियों का योगदान उनके शुद्ध मुनाफ़े के दो फीसदी से कम ना हो.
कंपनियां खुद या किसी एजेंसी के ज़रिए अपना सीएसआर विभाग चला सकती हैं – लेकिन इसे स्थापित करने का ख़र्च उनके कुल सीएसआर खर्च के 5 फीसदी से ज्यादा नहीं हो सकता.
इसी तरह सीएसआर के लिए काम कर रहे कर्मचारियों और वॉलिंटिअर्स का वेतन सीएसआर के खर्च का हिस्सा माना जाएगा.
राजनीतिक दलों को दिया गया चंदा सीएसआर नहीं माना जाएगा
विदेशों में किया गया सामाजिक कार्य भारत में सीएसआर के तहत मान्य नहीं होगा. वहीं भारत में काम कर रही विदेशी कंपनियां भी सीएसआर के दायरें में शामिल हैं. हर कार्पोरेट को अपने सीएसआर के कामकाज का पूरा ब्यौरा कंपनी की वेबसाइट पर प्रकाशित करना होगा. कंपनियों को सीएसआर के कामकाज की निगरानी और योजना तैयार करने के लिए एक तीन सदस्यों वाली कमीटी का भी गठन करना होगा – जिसमें एक इंडिपिंडेंट डायरेक्टर भी शामिल होगा – हालांकि नीजी एवं अनलिस्टेड पब्लिक कंपनियों पर इंडिपिंडेंट डायरेक्टर रखने की बाध्यता नहीं होगी.
भारत में सीएसआर अधिनियम वित्तिय वर्ष 2014-15 से लागू हो चुका है, हालांकि उम्मीदों के मुताबिक बजट के दौरान इसपर कोई नए दिशानिर्देश नहीं जारी किए गए. ये ज़रुर कहा गया है कि सालभर बाद वो हालात और नियमों का जायज़ा लेने के बाद, सभी पक्षों से बातचीत करके ही निगरानी और नियंत्रण के मसलों पर फैसले लेगी.
Actor, writer, director, and passionate worker for humanitarian causes- Angelina Jolie never fails to use her powerful status as A-lister Hollywood star to lend her voice to the voiceless. Last month Joliespoke at the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict and effortlessly generated countless headlines in publications across the Globe. “We must send a message around the world that there is no disgrace in being a survivor of sexual violence, that the shame is on the aggressor” said Jolie in her opening note that kick started the Summit.
The 39-year-old actress is a UNHCR (U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees) Goodwill Ambassador and has traveled to dozens of countries around the world, including war zones, meeting survivors of rape and other types of assault. Angelina Jolie became noted for going ‘where real bullets fly’, traveling to such war zones as Sudan’s Darfur region during the Darfur conflict, the Syrian-Iraqi border during the Second Gulf War, and the Afghan capital Kabul during the war in Afghanistan, where three aid workers were murdered in the midst of her first visit.
Angelina Jolie speaking with Syrian refugees in a Jordanian military camp based near the Syria-Jordan border.
Jolie has also let her passion for humanitarian causes seep into her work many a time. She brought up the issue of sexual violence against women in conflict through her directorial debut in the 2011 film, “In the Land of Blood and Honey.” The film, which unfolds against the backdrop of the 1992-95 ethnic conflict in Bosnia, is set in detention camps where rape was used as a weapon of war on more than 50,000 women.
In 2011 Angelina Jolie directed ‘In the Land of Blood and Honey’ which brought out the plight of women in detention camps where rape was used as a weapon of war.
The ‘Maleficent’ star first personally encountered the effects of a humanitarian crisis while filming Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) in war-torn Cambodia, an experience she later credited with having brought her a greater understanding of the world.Upon her return home, she contacted the UNHCR for information on international trouble spots. She began visiting refugee camps and met with refugees in more than 30 countries over the next decade. She covered all costs related to her missions and shared the same rudimentary working and living conditions as UNHCR field staff on all of her visits.
[box] Jolie also donated $1 million in response to an international UNHCR emergency appeal, the largest donation UNHCR had ever received from a private individual. [/box]
Angelina Jolie wanted to create awareness of the plight of the people she had visited and decided to chronicle her 2001-02 visits in her book Notes from My Travels, which was published in October 2003 in conjunction with the release of her film Beyond Borders.
Other projects:
In 2006 Jolie create Asia’s first Millennium Village, in Cambodia in accordance with UN development goals. The compound includes schools, roads, and a soy milk factory, all funded by Jolie.
Jolie has built at least ten other schools in Cambodia,and funds the Maddox Chivan Children’s Center, a care facility for children affected by HIV, in the capital Phnom Penh.
In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the birthplace of her adopted daughter Zahara, she funds the Zahara Children’s Center, which treats children suffering from HIV or tuberculosis.
She has also built schools elsewhere in the world, including a school and a boarding facility for girls at Kakuma refugee camp in north-western Kenya, a school for girls in Tangi, Afghanistan, and another girls-only school in the Afghan capital Kabul.
Since its founding at the 2007 Clinton Global Initiative, Jolie has co-chaired the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict, which funds education programs for children affected by disaster.
Jolie also co-chairs Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), which provides free legal aid to unaccompanied minors in immigration proceedings across the U.S.
In the wake of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, she established the Jolie Legal Fellowship, whose member attorneys assist and support government officials and other organizations in their efforts to secure the legal protection of Haiti’s most vulnerable children.
Jolie covers all costs related to her missions and shares the same rudimentary working and living conditions as UNHCR field staff on all of her visits. Photo: E. Parsons /June 2004
It is inconceivable but well known that this powerhouse for humanitarian work has gone through some tough times over the years. She was left devastated by the death of her mother, Marcheline Bertrand, from ovarian cancer in 2007. She herself underwent a preventive double mastectomy last year after learning that she carried the BRCA gene, a mutation that puts a person at higher risk for breast and ovarian cancer. And there have been darker moments in her life where the actor admitted she used to harm herself because she felt her life was empty.
But personal setbacks have never deterred Jolie from her tireless humanitarian work which is inspirational to say the least.
PITTSBURGH: Global technology leader and Infosys co-founder Senapathy “Kris” Gopalakrishnan has donated $1.8 million (Rs. 225 crore) to Carnegie Mellon University to establish a research partnership between CMU and the Centre for Brain Research (CBR) at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore. The partnership will strategically leverage the research strengths of both institutions while enhancing the connection between CMU and India. A world-renowned research university, CMU has become a leading centre for brain research over the past two decades. CMU’s focus in neuroscience has been in computational and cognitive neuroscience, areas that are increasingly critical for linking biological and genetic mechanisms to understanding and discovering new therapeutic interventions of brain disorders.
The CBR was launched through a foundational gift from the Pratiksha Trust, a charitable trust established by Gopalakrishnan, and is focused on understanding and treating neuro-degenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. This partnership will provide opportunities for applying new technologies from fields ranging from imaging to machine learning to address critical questions about neuro-degeneration and normal aging.
The goal of the partnership will be to foster two-way interactions in the areas of brain research and education, and in closely related areas such as data sciences and engineering, human behavior and computation. The gift will be used to support post-doctoral fellowships, encourage interactions between CBR and CMU researchers, and provide strategic seed funding for research that connects CMU researchers with IISc scientists and engineers.
The Centre for Brain Research at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, was launched with a foundational gift from the Pratiksha Trust, established by Gopalakrishnan
“I am profoundly grateful to Kris for his generous gift and his wonderful support of this partnership between CMU and IISc,” said CMU President Subra Suresh. “One of the most pressing challenges facing humanity is to understand the human brain. Our hope is that this new research collaboration will lead to discoveries about neuro–degenerative diseases that afflict the aging population, and that those findings help improve our diagnostic and treatment capabilities for such diseases.”
Carnegie Mellon’s Pittsburgh campus is home to more than 1,000 students from India, comprising nearly 10 percent of the entire student population on campus. India also is home to the second largest concentration of CMU alumni. The partnership will explore avenues to further strengthen the intellectual ties between CMU and India, while addressing some of the most challenging research problems in brain research.
“Carnegie Mellon University is a world-renowned leader in many areas of research and education. I am very pleased to support President Subra Suresh’s strategic vision for the collaboration between CMU and IISc through this gift so that we can address one of the grand challenges of our times by understanding the human brain,” Gopalakrishnan said.
Professor Padmanabhan Balaram, director of the Indian Institute of Science, said, “As an alumnus of Carnegie Mellon, I know firsthand the enormous impact a collaboration of the kind envisioned here between CMU and IISc will have in enhancing our understanding of the human brain. I thank Mr. Gopalakrishnan for his support in creating CBR and for connecting its faculty with CMU through this gift.”
Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburg, has become a leading centre for brain research over the past two decades
Gopalakrishnan co-founded Infosys in 1981, leading the company’s ascent to become one of the world’s largest IT service providers. He served as the chief executive officer and managing director of Infosys from 2007 to 2011. Recognized as a global business and technology thought leader, he was voted the top CEO (IT Services category) in Institutional Investor’s inaugural ranking of Asia’s Top Executives and selected as one of the winners of the second Asian Corporate Director Recognition Awards by Corporate Governance Asia in 2011. He also was selected to Thinkers 50, an elite list of global business thinkers, in 2009. He was elected president of India’s apex industry chamber Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for 2013-14, and served as one of the co-chairs of the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2014.
IISc has grown to become India’s premier center for research and postgraduate education in science and engineering. Founded in 1909, the institute has offered several new areas of research, many of them for the first time in India. Many of India’s most distinguished scientists also have been associated with IISc as students or faculty, and the institute’s alumni head many major organizations in India and abroad.
MARKETING grassroots innovations, as I do for a living, I am often confronted with a predicament: How to rebut gently without rebuke the presumption of buyers, socially-motivated organizations and general good fellas that grassroots innovation is jugaad, as in thrifty in approach, potentially limited in impact and technically not quite there?
To bring home my ill-concealed impatience, let me tell you about Dharamveer Kamboj (51), an innovator, herbalist and farmer.
As I write, Kamboj is a guest at Raisina Hill. President Pranab Mukherjee has conferred on him the honour Innovation-Scholar in Residence, 2014. His creation: A multipurpose food processing machine that facilitates on-farm extraction of oil, essence, pulp, juice and gel from over 100 fruits, flowers and herbs. In a country where about 30 per cent farm produce goes waste due to a lack of storage abilities, on-farm processes like Kamboj’s innovation cuts the farm-to-shop timeline short, stemming wastage.
Kamboj and three other grassroots innovators, chosen from across India, are interacting with concerned ministries, creating linkages with government technical and research institutes and working closely with mentors. So, when they leave the President’s hallowed hospitality in a month’s time, they would have found backing for product-development, scaling-up of operations and commercialisation.
[creativ_pullright colour=”red” colour_custom=”” text=”Even the employees would have left. Kamboj would be the last man standing. When I reminded him that he is the owner of the company, he said, it would take him time to get used to that privilege.”]
Kamboj and I met in the winter of 2013 at the India International Trade Fair. IITF is the largest business-to-business trading platform in the country. Sometimes, at exhibition closing time, packing back products and publicity material in crates in the bitter cold, we would be drinking chai and talking. He would have sent his young son home. Even the employees would have left. Kamboj would be the last man standing. When I reminded him that he is the owner of the company, he said, it would take him time to get used to that privilege. I wondered if he was referring to the years he worked as a rickshaw puller in the Khari Baoli area of Old Delhi.
Kamboj’s mother was an herbalist. As a child, Kamboj accompanied her to collect assorted leaves, roots and stems. Mother and son were very close. She died early, but not before introducing him to her understanding of nature and its herbal wealth. Then, in his early youth, Kamboj fell out with his father, a farmer, and left his village in Haryana, for Delhi.
As he ferried traders in Khari Baoli, arguably Asia’s largest wholesale spice market, he understood herbs mean big money. Circumstance took him back to his village shortly, where relationship with his father improved, and so did his insight. Kamboj began to train in organic farming. In 2003, when an aloe vera extraction proposal came his way, finding the existing machine too expensive, he started building his own.
Design, trial-and error, rectification of glitches, prototype, demonstrations, feedback, fine-tuning, it took four long years, lakhs of rupees, and unaccounted man-hours. Given the extraordinary quality of his innovation (an assessment that is based on the extent to which it addresses a market gap), Grassroots Innovation Augmentation Network, or GIAN, incubated it. Micro Venture Innovation Fund (MVIF) supported upgradations. The Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET) assisted in technical evaluation. HDFC extended him a revolving fund scheme to begin production. Not to mention, the National Innovations Foundation (NIF), under the Science & Technology Ministry, and a partner of GIAN, that nurtures him under its umbrella till date.
[creativ_pullleft colour=”red” colour_custom=”” text=”‘Some of the lazy intellectuals have tried to term all frugal solutions as jugaad… Surely, a term used so loosely becomes meaningless to characterise any systematic aspect of frugal innovation’ – Anil Gupta, Executive Vice Chair, NIF “]
Given its in-depth journey vis-a-vis product development, and the breadth its of application, calling Kamboj’s machine jugaad would be the worst kind of misnomer. As IIM Ahmedabad Professor Anil Gupta, Executive Vice Chair of the NIF, puts it in his blog, ‘‘Tremendous experimental ethic is evident among people attempting local solutions. Some of the lazy intellectuals have tried to term all frugal solutions as jugaad… Surely, a term used so loosely becomes meaningless to characterise any systematic aspect of frugal innovation… Few of them realise that simple innovations sometimes are hardest to design.’’
In 2007, Kamboj sold the first machine. Around each machine a self-help group (SHG) of 15-35 people, connected to organic farming, have been formed. They sell various extracts under their own organic / herbal label to urban outlets. Among SHGs that derive livelihood from Kamboj’s machine are women in the Red Corridor of Maharashtra, adivasis in Rajasthan and specially-abled young adults in Uttar Pradesh.
Kamboj is what you call a serial innovator. I have not even begun to tell you about his other work. That’s for another day. Today, simply recognise him for the game changer he is.
This space brings you stories about the biggest and the best in the realm of grassroots innovations, and how they can change the face of wp. Write in to deepaadhikari@pipilikaenviro.in or editor@thewpjournal.in for business queries, clarifications and feedback
FOR several months now, FIFA’s legitimacy as the governing body of international soccer has been called into question over allegations of corruption, lack of transparency and accountability. Now, as the FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil, the world sport’s most-watched tournament, has come to a close, with Germany reigning supreme, the emphasis on issues of the tournament’s social impact has never been sharper.
To be fair, FIFA’s wp programmes have been more robust this year since the department was started in 2005, even if many are calling its charitable initiatives only a way to mask its failure to take action where it matters the most. From solar-powered stadia, to its organizing street football initiatives for under-privileged youth, FIFA’s wp programme this year has been at odds with the slew of allegations. However, many believe that while all the wp initiatives are a step in the positive direction, they cannot absolve FIFA of its responsibility to greater accountability for its policies. Here are some of the programmes it undertook this year:
ENVIRONMENT
[creativ_pullright colour=”red” colour_custom=”” text=”For the first time, the final match of the FIFA World Cup will be powered by solar energy. Over 1,500 Yingli Solar panels are installed producing enough electricity to power an estimated 240 homes annually.”]
The Solar-Powered Macarana Stadium:
FIFA has triumphantly declared the real star of the 2014 World Cup final as the sun. Football for the Planet is the official environmental programme of FIFA and aims to mitigate the negative impact of its activities on the environment. For the first time, the final match of the FIFA World Cup will be powered by solar energy. The Estádio do Maracanã (popularly known as the Maracana stadium) has been renowned as one of football’s most iconic venues since the 1950 World Cup. This year, with over 1,500 Yingli Solar panels installed, the solar project will produce enough electricity to power an estimated 240 homes annually, preventing the release of about 350 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year. The prominent placement of the panels was aimed to bring green energy to the global stage during the final match of the World Cup, helping to raise environmental awareness among football fans worldwide.
Even the Arena Pernambuco, home to five matches of the 2014 World Cup was powered with clean energy from a 1MW ground-mounted solar power plant, the first for the Brazilian state of Pernambuco. The project contains more than 3,650 high-efficiency Yingli Solar panels, which are expected to generate about 1,500MWh of clean electricity each year.
”Sustainability is one of the key tenants in our vision for the 2014 FIFA World Cup… We hope this landmark project will be the catalyst to increase the production and use of renewable energy in the country,” said FIFA’s Head of Corporate Social Responsibility Federico Addiechi.
The Maracana stadium that will be powered by solar energy for the final match for the first time
Carbon Offsetting:
One of the main factors in global warming is the Carbon Dioxide (CO2) that is released into the atmosphere through human activities. FIFA has estimated the total carbon footprint of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ to be 2.7m tonnes CO2 of which an estimated 251,000 tonnes are under its operational control. FIFA has claimed it is offsetting all emission under their operational control through carefully selected carbon-reduction projects in Brazil. These emissions include travel and accommodation of all staff, officials, teams, volunteers and guests as well as emissions of venues, stadium and offices. In addition, FIFA invited successful ticket applicants to offset the emissions resulting from their travel to the tournament for free, no matter where in the world they are travelling from.
Waste Management at stadiums:
The objective of a new waste law in Brazil is to better control the handling and destination of waste. In collaboration with local waste cooperatives, FIFA, the Local Organising Committee and Coca-Cola have developed a waste management system for the stadiums to ensure that waste is handled properly and recycled where necessary.
FOOTBALL FOR HOPE
Football for Hope has been the main branch of FIFA’s charitable work) since the creation of its wp unit in 2005. One of the fastest growing initiatives, FIFA has invested $36m into the Football for Hope initiative since it was launched.
The Football for Hope Festival 2014 took place from July 2 to July 10 in Caju, Rio de Janeiro. The Festival brought together 32 delegations of young representatives from Football for Hope-supported organisations. The participants were chosen due to their great leadership potential and to the contributions they have made towards building a better future through football in their respective communities. The projects they help to run are tackling a variety of social issues, from homelessness in the UK and landmines in Laos, to HIV/AIDS education in South Africa and responsible citizenship in Brazil. The festival’s programme included an array of cultural and educational activities for the delegations, capacity-building workshops promoting fair play, culminating in a football tournament, where mixed teams will compete without referees. Any disagreements on the pitch will be resolved through dialogue, a method proven to encourage personal development and mutual understanding.
FIFA had announced financial support of $1.05m for 2014, distributed among 26 community-based programmes in Brazil. Across the world, a total of 108 football-related social development programmes will benefit from FIFA’s financial support this year for a total amount of $3.1m USD.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the Caju event, FIFA’s wp head Federico Addiechi said, “It exceeded all of our expectations in terms of the experience we have created for youngsters to come together from around the world and compare notes on how their respective organisations are using football to tackle some of the pressing issues that they face in their communities. It is these learnings that will help them continue to build a better future in their home communities.
ANTI-DISCRIMINATION
FIFA’s social projects now also include campaigns for anti-racism and fair play. Acknowledging the urgent need for tackling the rough discrimination and racism often evidenced at the matches, FIFA President Joseph Blatter said, “Unfortunately, our extremely popular sport – which involves nearly a billion people throughout the world – is affected by several scourges: violence, cheating, doping, match fixing and discrimination. At FIFA, we try to tackle all of them, but the question of discrimination angers me in particular. It’s abhorrent and we have to combat this evil, but it’s difficult to find the adequate response.”
However, the adequacy of FIFA’s response has often been called into question, in matches where there has been a lack of strong and swift action against discriminatory behavior on the part of fans that has been obstructing the smooth play of the games. FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke says, “The integration of anti-discrimination officers requires comprehensive preparation and training of independent experts in anti-discrimination topics from each of the participating countries. It was not expected that the project would be implemented at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Therefore, the Task Force had decided that the necessary resources should be in place for the project to be developed as soon as all elements including the selection and training of such anti-discrimination officers would be in place.”
STREET FOOTBALL CAMPAIGNS
Partner sponsors of FIFA like Sony have partnered with Streetfootballworld, a network in the field of social change through football, to supply Street Football Stadiums to local NGOs in Latin America. The project uses football to address social issues such as poverty and conflict, and has supported the implementation of educational workshops using these stadiums where children will be able to learn the importance of teamwork, communication and respect, in football and in society. The workshops, organized by streetfootballworld and its affiliated NGOs, has been supported by Sony since June, and the support will continue for a period of one year after the 2014 FIFA World Cup™, with a total of over 14,000 children expected to participate in these workshops.
