CSR: Paving Way for Pedestrians for Inclusive Growth

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July 16, 2019

Walking is one of the most important means of moving from one place to another. However, as India’s car ownership capacity increases, the lives of these pedestrians and cyclists are more at risk.

In the absence of pedestrian-specific infrastructure in the country, the walkability of the Indian cities is getting worse as the number of cars increases on roads. About one of every ten traffic-related fatalities in the country is a pedestrian. According to Data Sources in India, in 2016 nearly 15,800 pedestrians were killed. They were mainly exposed to risk when crossing and walking on the road in urban and rural areas.

Pedestrians and bicyclists are often the most vulnerable. The urban poor is often ‘captive users’ of non-motorised transport. They walk or cycle even when it’s inconvenient because they can’t afford any other modes of transport. As a result, unsafe roads overwhelmingly affect socially and economically disadvantaged residents. Marginalised communities such as poor people and migrants are also unduly affected by collisions, as they’re often in more vulnerable positions as pedestrians or users of non-motorised transport. They also potentially lack good access to medical and trauma care.

Indian cities must address these issues and improve pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. In most Indian cities, barely 30% of streets have pedestrian pathways. Even where pedestrian paths exist, they’re often taken over for parking or sometimes even driving of motorised vehicles, especially two-wheelers in many Indian cities.

Better enforcement of traffic laws is also crucial. This needs to benefit the people most endangered by traffic violations. Reports of speeding SUVs hitting auto rickshaws and pedestrians continue to be common, with low-income road users being the most affected.

Despite this, pedestrians or cyclists are sometimes made to bear the burden of traffic regulation. Pedestrians are regularly urged to use footbridges or skywalks (elevated walkways) in the absence of pedestrian crossings. But many cases have shown that this is less than an effective solution. Wheelchair users, for one, are completely ignored in these designs.

In Mumbai, more than 30 skywalks have been built since 2008. But these have come under fire for being very expensive to build and difficult to use, given the lack of escalators or lifts and limited considerations of safety.

Some individuals have taken matters into their own hands. Gangadhara Tilak Katnam is a 70-year-old resident of Hyderabad who quit his job to repair potholes full-time under his own steam. He’s filled more than 1,300 potholes so far.

However, individual solutions can’t replace sustained governmental action. Indian cities need better coordination between agencies that can holistically take responsibility for transport, including generating reliable transport data.

Thank you for reading. Please drop a line and help us do better.

Regards,
The CSR Journal Team

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मुंबई में मौत बांटती बीएमसी

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Rahuldeo Sharma

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July 15, 2019

open drain — Open drain where the toddler fell in Goregaon, Mumbai

देश की सबसे बड़ी और अमीर महानगर पालिका बीएमसी मुंबई में मौत बांटती है, मुंबई की महानगर पालिका बीएमसी मुंबईकरों को गटर का ‘कीड़ा’ समझती है, दौड़ती भागती जिंदगी में अगला कदम मौत का होगा ये मुंबईकर नहीं जानते। 3 करोड़ की आबादी वाले मुंबई को सपनों की नगरी कहते है लेकिन इसी ड्रीम सिटी में कब कहाँ और कैसे मौत आ जाये इस बात से मुंबई के लोग अनजान और बेफिक्र होकर अपने अपने सपने को पूरा करने में जुटे रहते है।

मौत का कारण जब कोई सरकारी लापरवाही हो तो प्रसाशन की जवाबदेही और ज्यादा बन जाती है। लेकिन जब भी मुंबई में इस तरह की घटनाएं हुई क्या प्रशासन, क्या शासन हर कोई मौन हो जाता है और यही पीड़ित पक्ष के लिए दुखदाई होता है। कम से कम पिछ्ले गलती से सबक लेने के बजाय ये प्रसाशनिक अमलों के लोग अपनी सामाजिक जिम्मेदारी से दूर भागते हैं। और यही कारण है कि मौत की लापरवाही का।

ऐसा ही एक मौत की लापरवाही है दिव्यांशु का गायब हो जाना, बुधवार से गुरुवार, शुक्रवार और आज सोमवार हो गया लेकिन दिव्यांशु का अभी तक कुछ पता नही चल सका, यहां तक कि 6 दिन बाद भी दिव्यांशु का सुराग तक नही लग सका। दिव्यांशु की जिंदगी के लिए दुआओं का दौर जारी है, एक आस, एक उम्मीद अभी भी दिव्यांशु के माता पिता में बरकरार है कि उनके मासूम की कोई तो खोज ख़बर आएगी और एक बार फिर से हंसता खिलखिलाता दिव्यांशु की आवाज घर में गूंजेगी।

डेढ़ साल के दिव्यांशु सिंह की बस इतनी-सी गलती थी कि वह बुधवार की रात गोरेगांव के अंबेडकर नगर स्थित खोली से सामान खरीदने निकले पिता सूरजभान सिंह को ढूंढते-ढूंढते घर से निकल कर मेन रोड पर आ गया था। उसे पिता तो नहीं मिले लेकिन वह खुद कहां चला गया यह अभी तक किसी को पता नहीं चल पाया है। करीब तीन दिन तक युद्धस्तर पर गटर, सीवर, नाला, मैंग्रोव और समंदर की खाक छान मारने के बाद मुंबई फायर ब्रिगेड, एनडीआरएफ ने खोजबीन अभियान बंद कर दिया। लेकिन पुलिस और बीएमसी को आस है कि दिव्यांशु कहीं न कहीं जरूर मिल जाएगा।

पिता सूरजभान सिंह बीएमसी को लापरवाह मानकर स्थानीय बीएमसी के अधिकारियों के खिलाफ आपराधिक मामला दर्ज करने की मांग कर रहे हैं, दिव्यांशु के परिजन दिंडोशी पुलिस परिसर में अनशन पर बैठ गए हैं। उनकी मांग है कि दिव्यांश को प्रशासन खोज कर लाए और दोषी अधिकारियों के खिलाफ गैर-इरादतन हत्या का मामला दर्ज हो।गौरतलब है कि बुधवार की रात 10:24 बजे दिव्यांशु गटर में गिर कर लापता हो गया था। बीएमसी के लापरवाही का ये कोई पहला मामला नही है, एक आधिकारिक जानकारी के मुताबिक पिछले साढ़े पांच सालों में मुंबई शहर में मैनहॉल, गटर, समुन्द्र में कुल 639 दुर्घटनाओं में 328 लोगों की मौत हो चुकी है। और कहीं न कहीं बीएमसी और सरकार इन मौतों के पीछे जिम्मेदार है।

Jaquar Group aims to train over 10,000 more plumbers by 2020

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The CSR Journal

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July 15, 2019

Jaquar Group, the leading ‘complete bathroom and lighting’ solutions company with a presence in over 45+ countries, announced its continued support to the government’s Skill India initiative on World Youth Skill Day. As part of the Group’s existing plumber training and customer service initiative; 63,000 plumbers have been trained through PAD (Plumber Associated with Dealers) and 2,000 unskilled personnel have been trained through Jaquar Group skill development centres. Currently, 17 skill development centres are operational while 20 are under construction at various stages. These specialised training centres have been set up in partnerships with Industrial Training Institutes (ITI), Art of Living and National Skill Development Centres (NSDC) across India. As part of the partnership with Art of Living, the Group has set new benchmarks for skill training by setting up centres within jails (3 functional and 4 in the pipeline).

These skill training centres offer an opportunity for unemployed youth in gaining specialised skill sets and create a lively hood for themselves. They also train skilled plumbers that are a part of the Group’s customer service team on regular developments in the bath fittings industry with respect to new products, trends and plumbing techniques.

Mr Rajesh Mehra, Promoter & Director, Jaquar Group said, “As a leader in the bathroom category, we believe it is our responsibility to address the shortage of skilled plumbers in India and offer quality training and employment opportunities to unskilled youth.”

“Skill development is an important initiative driven by the Government and we believe that this programme not only helps the plumbers generate livelihood but also supports Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Skill India initiative”, he further added.

With 60 years of experience in the bathroom industry, the Group has made plumber training as a core agenda to be part of its corporate social responsibility initiatives.

As part of the programme, individuals are imparted the skills of a trained plumber through on ground teaching and execution of mock instances. The training is in 80-20 concept; 20% of theory & 80% of practical. It encompasses teaching on safety measures and fittings of high-tech bathing fittings including showers and wellness products.

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An IPS who solved 450 cases of Trafficking in a Year

By

Hency Thacker

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July 15, 2019

Raj-Tilak-Roushan - IPS who solved Trafficking cases

Human trafficking, defined as the illegal trade of humans most commonly for the purposes of sexual slavery and forced labour, currently claims an estimated 24.9 million victims worldwide. Of them, 8 million trafficking victims live within India’s borders according to the Global Slavery Index.

In 2017, an IPS officer, Raj Tilak Roushan was transferred from Osmanabad to Vasau-Virar, Palgarh as Additional Superintendent of Police. He brought in a change in the system of tracking the trafficking victims and enabled 89 per cent of the minor-missing cases being solved.

450 children were either reunited with their parents or found shelter in Child Welfare Centres because of his work. Additionally, more than 100 victims of sex and labour trafficking were rescued.

When the IPS moved to Palgarh district, the first thing he did was study the crimes in the district. He was shocked to see the missing-children statistics. In Palgarh alone, 30 to 40 cases of missing children were being registered per month under section 363 of the Indian Penal Code.

Understanding the gravity of the cases, Raj with his team looked at the available data from the last six years and identified gaps and designed a 72-column objective format proform for missing children cases that covered a complete 360-degree profile of the victim so that everything was covered by the IO (Investigating Officer) during an investigation.

The officers were asked to investigate each case as if it was their own family that had gone missing. Every missing case was investigated as a human trafficking case to solve the case faster. The team held awareness programs and briefed auto and cab drivers as well. An innovative way to spot traffickers was also identified where a lady police constable was briefed to act like a distraught teenager sitting in a public space like a garden with other policemen as a backup.

The new protocols worked, increasing the detection rate from 66 to 89 per cent in Palgarh in 2017. Police in India is among the nastiest reputed service. With so many officers making headlines for their corrupt activities, the trust of the citizens towards police has depleted. Interaction by policemen is often viewed as a hassle and unpleasant. People would go to any lengths to avoid prolonging it. This in return leads to an increase in corruption. With more hardworking and honest officers like Raj Tilak Roushan in the service, the perception of people will change, and the trust on the police will eventually be restored.

This piece is part of a series for celebrating the applaud-worthy contributions by the bureaucrats and civil servants of India.

Thank you for reading. Please drop a line and help us do better.

Regards,
The CSR Journal Team

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Corporates and Road Safety in India- Blazing the Trail

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Abanti Sankaranarayanan, Chief Strategy & Corporate Affairs Officer, Diageo India

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July 13, 2019

During the recent Road Safety Week, there was much discussion in the media about road accident fatalities in India. To all of us lucky enough not be affected by such ghastly mishaps, these numbers are mere meaningless statistics. So, let’s try and put in some context.

In November 2018, Brown University in the US released a report under its ‘Cost of War’ Project. This report estimated that in a 17-year period from 2001 to October 2018, there have been an estimated 507,000 deaths directly as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now compare this with the figures released by the Research wing of the Indian Ministry of Road Transport. According to the report, more than 1.5 million people died in India in road accidents between 2005-2016. In other words, in 11 years, the number of fatalities on Indian roads were three times the number of deaths from pitched battles, artillery and aerial bombardment, drone strikes and terror attacks in two wars over 17 years!

There are many reasons for this horrific death rate. The biggest one being, people’s ‘chalta hai or casual’ attitude. We are always on a run and when a road signal is broken the easiest approach, we feel is to bribe the cop. There are other reasons too, from road engineering, porous licensing procedures, ill-maintained vehicles, lack of road safety education as well as poor enforcement of rules and regulations and drink driving. However, all of these problems can be addressed, and people’s behaviour corrected.

We have been working for the last several years in the area of road safety. We partner with central and state governments, universities, law enforcement agencies, and knowledge partners to tackle this issue at a holistic level. We base our programme four pillars – Education on road safety, Enforcement of rules and regulations, Emergency Services and Engineering for Road Safety.

Our education efforts are directed into two areas. One is a high visibility public awareness campaign with Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli as the brand ambassador. The campaign has also seen enthusiastic participation and support by celebrities like Karishma Kapoor, Gul Panag, Kirron Kher and Chris Gayle. On-ground activations in pubs and restaurants urge revellers to have a Designated Driver. We have also been able to collect 20 million pledges from youngsters on Never Drink and Drive.

The second part of our education efforts is in partnership with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. We have devised the country’s first ever integrated formal training to university students seeking a learner’s license. The goal is to reach over 500 universities across the country in the next three to five years; with the first year’s target being 100 programmes across 50 universities. In partnership with Institute of Road Traffic Education in India (IRTE), we have also conducted driver training courses for over 6,000 commercial vehicle drivers To aid better enforcement, working with IRTE, we have trained 6,100 police officials as well as donated high-quality breath analyzers to police departments of several states.

For improving emergency services, we are working with oil companies to train their staff at petrol pumps to provide first aid and emergency response. We are also working with various state governments to conduct road safety audits as well as identify blind spots that can be corrected. Recently, we conducted a capacity-building programme for traffic and police departments of the union territory of Puducherry.

While the Union and state governments have been active in trying to make Indian roads safer, this is not a task for the government alone. It requires participation by corporates, civil society as well as concerned individuals. Happily, many more corporates are coming forward to spread awareness about road safety.

Bringing down the number of road accidents and associated fatalities need change at a behavioural level. This is a long drawn-out process. But as the two following examples will illustrate, if all sections of society work together, it is possible.

The first example is from Vietnam. By 2008, of the total 32 million registered vehicles in the country, 95% were motorcycles. However, since few Vietnamese used helmets, tens of thousands tended to die in road accidents. A coalition of charities, as well as multilateral aid agencies, carried out a decade-long campaign to raise awareness about helmet use. When surveys found out that the main reason why the Vietnamese were reluctant to use helmets was that they found it uncomfortable and unsuited for the country’s hot weather, these charities even designed a lighter helmet that was better suited for the country’s climate. This new helmet and a law passed by the government making helmet use compulsory has resulted in a dramatic shift in behaviour. Helmet use has gone up from 30% to over 95% and has resulted in a 69% reduction in injuries and a 42 per cent reduction in fatalities from road accidents.

The second example is from our own country. In 1992, alarmed by the rate AIDS was spreading in India, the government set up the National Aids Control Programme with representation in each state. A sustained campaign by the government, health workers, NGOs and civil society has meant that the last decade has seen a 50% decline in new infections. Undoubtedly, India still has a huge population of people suffering from HIV/AIDS (in fact, the third largest in the world), but that the battle for behaviour change is being won can be seen from the fact that the rate of AIDS prevalence has been dropping year on year.

We need similar concerted action in the area of road safety with participation from every stakeholder. Most importantly, we need to implement these programmes aimed at education, enforcement, emergency services and engineering on a mission mode. We need to remember that every day we allow the present situation to prevail, 400 more of our people will die an unnecessary death on our roads.

Abanti Sankaranarayanan leads the Strategy and Corporate Affairs functions at Diageo India (United Spirits
Ltd), and is a member of its Executive Committee. Her responsibilities include Alcohol Policy, Regulatory & Trade matters, Market Access, Corporate Communications & Reputation and programs to address alcohol
misuse, champion responsible consumption and deliver Social Impact. As head of Strategy, Abanti leads strategy development & execution for Diageo’s business in India.

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

Thank you for reading. Please drop a line and help us do better.

Regards,
The CSR Journal Team

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Sula Vineyards wants to turn acres into forests

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The CSR Journal

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July 12, 2019

Sula Vineyards, India’s leading wine producer, has joined hands with the forest department of the Government of Maharashtra for an exhaustive tree plantation drive in Nashik. As a part of the voluntary activity ‘Shramdaan’, Sula planted over 5,000 healthy saplings spread over 11 acres of land in Vasadi village. These saplings included native species like Karanja, Sheesham, Jamun, Arjuna, Aapta, Tamarind, Bamboo and some medicinal plants.

The brand also undertook the responsibility of digging pits, fencing of the entire area and ensuring safety of the plants till they grow into self-sustainable trees. The winery is also in conversation with the authorities to acquire three times the current area of plantation to grow over 25,000 trees by the end of this year.

Sustainable practices like mass plantations, use of solar energy, water harvesting and community service are the heart of the wine brand. “We believe in making wine keeping the future in mind. Our efforts have included rainwater harvesting, usage of solar panels and waste management. It is imperative for businesses to realize the responsibility towards the environment and we take full onus of our practices. Climate change is affecting everyone and it calls for immediate actions. Our journey towards a greener future will include many more tree plantation drives, moving to even more solar energy and reducing our water consumption,” said Founder and CEO of Sula Vineyards, Rajeev Samant.

Sula is on a mission to become the most sustainable winery in India and Asia by 2021. It is cultivating additional land across Maharashtra and Karnataka, to boost to the agriculture sector. The company has also installed water ATMs in nearby communities which provide water security and safe drinking water to many villages near their plant.

Water Treatment and Conservation Business Growing at Double Digits in India

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The CSR Journal

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July 12, 2019

As India’s cities run out of running out of the water, water-intensive industries like manufacturing and hospitality are investing not only in better effluent treatment but reducing overall consumption.

Hyatt, which had to invest on improving the quality of treated sewage treatment plant water to maintain heating and cooling of its property when local body cut water supply or a steel plant that enough water amounting to the combined annual drinking needs of Kolkata and Pune.

The water solutions industry in India is estimated to be worth $1 billion including annuity.

In 2016, Hyatt hotel in Pune, with more than 200 rooms, faced complicated issues when its water supply was abruptly cut off due to a municipal water shortage. To maintain heating and cooling comfort for its guests and employees in the face of this cut, the hotel used treated sewage treatment plant (STP) water in its cooling towers, which created some technical challenges. US-headquartered Ecolab, which provides water solutions, helped Hyatt overcome those challenges.

As industries have realised the need to conserve and treat water for continuity of their business, the business of water and industrial water treatment is growing at double the rate of growth of industrial GDP.

“Ecolab has expanded its manufacturing plant at Pune by 50% in the previous year while seeking a licence to expand its Kolkata manufacturing plant by 100% next year. Future hiring will be 15% add-on in the coming year, to the current capacity which is 600 employees,” said Mukund Vasudevan, managing director and country head of India for Ecolab.

According to a Niti Aayog study, thermal power plants in India account for 87.8% of total industrial water consumption in the country. Power plants are the biggest customers of companies providing water solutions, followed by textiles, pulp and paper and FMCG.

Ecolab claimed that one of India’s largest steelmaker lowered its water consumption by 2.3 billion gallons—equal to one year of drinking water for more than 7.9 million people, more than the combined populations of the cities of Kolkata and Pune without counting the suburbs, as a result of a six-year effort.

Shishir Joshipura, MD and CEO, Praj Industries, which also manufactures equipment for wastewater treatment, said: “The industrial wastewater sector is expected to see strong double-digit growth in coming years, possibly in the range of 10-12% per annum.”

Categorising the consumers of the water treatment business into three categories, Vasudevan said, “Large MNCs, both Indian and international, are well aware that the water they use has to be treated not just for sustainability but for continuity of their business. They are showing a hockey stick increase in water treatment. The mid-sized companies do not have a big sustainability drive, but can be convinced about the payoffs of saving water.”

However, the biggest challenge said Vasudevan, are the SMEs, which account for 50% of the manufacturing activity in the country. “Reaching them is tough, which can be resolved if industry associations take initiatives.”

CEO Water Alliance (CEWA) is a group of companies where CEOs are thinking about water. Its objective is to pool the CSR efforts of these companies to reduce their water consumption by 30% in the next five years.

Praj’s Joshipura said if there is a regulatory call to adhere to stricter norms, it could boost growth in the sector like tightening of Central Pollution Control Board norms or enacting the NationalWater Framework Bill, which is being discussed for the past few years.”

Source: The Economic Times

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Parenting a child with special needs

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The CSR Journal

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July 12, 2019

By Lachmi Deb Roy

There is a famous African proverb according to which, “It takes a village to raise a child”. This applies to all kids, including special needs children. Often parents feel lonely in their journey and with a special needs kid, the stress is likely to be more. Staying in denial doesn’t help and nor does giving up. Of course, it seems easy to say it but I want to talk about ways to come out of denial.

It wasn’t easy for Pratima Tiwari when her two-year-old son was diagnosed with autism. The first signs that she noticed was there was no eye contact when she was having a conversation with him and the child had some speech issues too. But little did she know that the speech difficulty was due to autism. There are times when having a child with special needs makes you feel that you have been cheated by life. The obvious question that comes to mind is ‘Why me?’

For Pratima, her son Anant looked like any other kids of his age. But he behaved differently. How to handle the situation was the most difficult part like any other parents with special kids. Pratima says, “But at some point, you realize that your child is different and you need to accept it. It can be any disability, but how well parents handle the situation is what matters.”

Viddu Hari, another parent with a special kid came across a similar situation. She came to know that her younger son was autistic when he was around one year old. He used to be completely expressionless and used to not react to any things. Initially it was tough for her to cope with the requirements. She used pictures to communicate with him. Her elder son too cooperated a lot in the situation by being extremely caring and protective about his brother.

Denial of the fact

There are times when parents spend days, months and even years not accepting that the child has a problem. They keep pretending that everything is fine. It can be a startling change and your plans about life changes. Most parents go through depression and they start giving up on life.

Often I tell such parents that they need more attention than their special kids because they are the primary care givers. And if they fall sick or are depressed all the time who is going to take care of the kids. I make them feel that they are the chosen one and that they have it in them to take care of a child with special needs. But for that they need to take of themselves first and stop being angry with life.

Denial is not going to help. The first step of taking care of your kid with special needs is acceptance of the harsh reality and living with it in a positive way. Parents of special kids need to be realistic and they should realize that the pace of a special child will not be the same for any other growing kids of their age. They should acknowledge it and not shy away from it.

Detecting Disabilities

Understanding what ‘disability’ is, is very important. When an individual’s physical or mental condition has an impact on daily functioning i.e. impact on social interactions, self-care, communication, or movements etc., the conditions constitute as having a disability. Collaborating with parents via counselling is the most important step when working with any child. Parents are often overwhelmed themselves, so it is important, that we take time to understand how they feel about their child’s condition, their stress level, impact of the child’s condition on their personal and family life etc. This understanding is crucial to fostering a supportive environment.

In case of children with physical disabilities that are apparent, parents can see them and they find it easier to accept. These are directly seen and it is easier to convince parents. But when there are mental disabilities, parents cannot evaluate. They feel that the child is facing some issues and will be able to cope up once he or she is old enough.

Mental disabilities include sub-normality or mental retardation. Parents of children who have very gross problems find it easier to accept since they can see. But in cases, where the child appears physically normal, but his mental development is mildly hampered, parents often say that my child is smart, but teachers/school is showing a partial attitude.

Once these disabilities are seen, there are several tests to detect difficulty in reading, writing, concentrating and understanding or even socializing. ometimes when children suffer from disabilities, they become withdrawn, turn rebellious, disobedient, may lose initiative or show aggression. These problems have to be specifically tackled.

Prachi Deo, who runs a NGO, Nayi Disha Resource Centre, an online information resource platform to empower families of persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) mentioned that IDD are disorders that are usually present at birth and that significantly influence the individual’s physical, intellectual, and emotional development.” Intellectual disability is characterized by problems with both intellectual functioning or intelligence, which includes the ability to learn, reason, solve problems and other skills. They have problem in dealing with everyday social and life skills. Some of the common conditions under IDDs are Autism Spectrum Disorder, Cerebral Palsy, and Down Syndrome.

Acceptance

Coming to terms with the situation is probably the hardest time any parent will face in their life time. Parenthood itself is a very novel experience with many societal pressures. In the midst of this roller coaster to be presented with a situation that is completely alien can give rise to negative emotions. It is normal for parents to go through different stages of emotions, from denial to anger to depression before coming to terms with the new situation.

The key for parents is to get access to as much information as possible and build a supportive community of family, friends, professionals and other parents who have dealt with similar situations. The idea is to go through the cycle of acceptance as fast as possible so parents can focus on the interventions required for the child.

Focus on the strengths

The best way to deal with special kids is to focus on the strengths. The parents of a special kid, who refused to be named, said that initially they were sending him to a regular school, but the child was always differentiated and was made to sit in a separate place and we used to get complains about he disturbing the other kids. Although the family understand his needs, the attitude of people towards disabled kids is indeed a matter of concern. Not everybody understands that special kids need to be given an equal place in society among normal people.

What schools can do

Disability itself puts a child on a back foot. In some cases, the child is extremely conscious of his being different and incompetent in some way even though it is not his fault. It becomes imperative for the teacher not to complicate things further. Being sensitive and empathetic is important.

At the same time, one must not overdo things. Subtle indicators are a plenty. They should be recognized and appropriately dealt with.

This is an excerpt from the new book Are you Overparenting? published by Rupa and authored by Lachmi Deb Roy. Views of the author are personal and do not necessarily represent the website’s views.

The author is a special correspondent with Outlook magazine. She has been a lifestyle journalist for the past fifteen years. She has worked with, and written for, leading publications such as The Hindu, The Times of India and lifestyle magazines. In 2013, she was the cultural ambassador to Mexico on behalf of Rotary International. A sepsis survivor and an autoimmune warrior, she is mother to a 14-year-old and believes in living each day to the fullest.

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

Regards,
The CSR Journal Team

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CSR: Land Sharing Vs Land Sparing

By

Hency Thacker

-

July 12, 2019

Land sharing or Land Sparing - Biodiversity

As food production needs continue to increase, more land is converted to agriculture. This stresses ecosystems and limits land available for biodiversity preservation, so much so that land conversion to agriculture is thought to threaten wildlife and biodiversity to a degree that is on par with climate change.

Two strategies to balance food production and biodiversity conservation have been debated over the past several decades. Land Sparing divides the land into separate areas for high-yield farming and conservation, while Land Sharing farms a greater area of land with low-intensity methods that are compatible with biodiversity conservation. However, both of these strategies have their advantages and drawbacks.

Land Sparing generally enables increased crop yield per area, which leaves more land available for biodiversity preservation. If this available land is used for conservation, it appears to be beneficial to biodiversity. Studies in Ghana and India found higher species density of birds and trees and greater avian functional group diversity in areas that implemented Land Sparing practices relative to areas using other land use strategies. Spared lands were found to be essential for the survival of species that do not tolerate any level of disturbance or those that require extensive natural areas.

Although Land Sparing has many benefits, the intensive agricultural practices used to minimize land needed for crop production require high inputs of nutrients and pesticides. This has negative consequences for long-term food security and biodiversity.

Land Sparing practices may reduce the functional biodiversity in an area, including species that naturally control pests. This necessitates the use of pesticides, which can harm non-target species that provide essential ecosystem services, including pollinators and decomposers. For example, In addition to pesticides, high inputs of nutrients are required to sustain intensive agriculture. From the 1960s to 1990s, intensification of food production led to a substantial increase in the application of inorganic nitrogen fertilizers globally. While increased nitrogen produced greater crop yields, high input/output agriculture degraded the soil. As a result, even greater quantities of nitrogen were required to maintain the same level of crop production.

Inorganic nitrogen is typically used in high-intensity agriculture because it is more readily available to plants than organic nitrogen. However, this also makes the nutrients more susceptible to leaching into groundwater or volatising into the atmosphere. Leaching and volatilization processes enable nitrogen applied on agricultural fields to spread to other areas, negatively affecting spared lands.

Alternatively, the wildlife-friendly agricultural practices utilized in Land Sharing promote the maintenance of functional biodiversity, including natural predators that control pests without the use of pesticides, making the area more habitable to native species. However, this strategy does not meet the increasing demand for food.

Both Land Sparing and Land Sharing have benefits and limitations, and using both strategies in tandem may be most effective. The topography and productivity of a landscape also affect which strategy will be most effective. Areas with low productivity or heterogeneous topography are typically better suited to Land Sharing, while flat or high productivity areas lend themselves to Land Sparing. The area’s history and socioeconomics are also important to consider. However, care should be taken to consider the biophysical processes and animal movement that link areas around the globe. When various strategies along the gradient of Land Sparing to Land Sharing are applied to an appropriate context and used to complement each other, we can make progress towards a sustainable model for food production and biodiversity conservation.

Thank you for reading. Please drop a line and help us do better.

Regards,
The CSR Journal Team

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YLG address the pressing water crisis in the country

By

The CSR Journal

-

July 11, 2019

YLG, one of the country’s leading beauty and wellness brands, takes a revolutionary step towards conserving water. The company has come up with a unique Shampoo technique that will save about 50% water on every wash and compared to a regular wash, this technique will save about five litres of water and is available in all YLG stores across India.

YLG is committed to being an active contributor to the sustainable development goals for the country. With the country battling water crisis, especially in cities like Chennai, this becomes the time to prioritise conserving the most precious resource provided to us. As an incentive to avail this offer, which comes with an added benefit of a soothing and comforting massage, an additional voucher of Rs. 250 is also provided to every customer who opts for this technique in the month of July.

Introducing this revolutionizing technique, Mrs Vaijayanti Bhalchandra, Co-founder and CTO, YLG Salon and YLG Institut said, “The past decade has been full of new adventures and learnings for us. We have always firmly believed that our brand needs to be a responsible entity. The needs of the society cannot be overlooked, and we have always felt that there is a need for us to play a part in it. We are confident that our customers will also be willing to make their contributions towards a sustainable world by opting for the new Save Water Shampoo Technique.”

Adding to this, the co-founder and CEO, Rahul Bhalchandra said, “Each day we read issues taking place due to water scarcity. It is the need of the hour that entrepreneurs like us took charge and played their part in water conservation. With this thought in mind, we have come up with the path-breaking Save Water Shampoo Technique across all our salons. Together with the support of our customers, we are treading towards conserving one of the most essential natural resources and generating awareness about the same.”

We believe that our services are not just limited to our customers, but they also extend towards the society. Initiatives like the ‘Save Water’ Shampoo Technique is what makes us, as well as our customers, stand out of the rest. This is not the first social initiative of YLG. In October 2018, Vaijayanti Bhalchandra was conferred with the Mahatma Gandhi Samman at the UK’s House of Commons, as a result of YLG’s dedication towards focusing on the learning, education and upliftment of its employees.

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