In recent times clean energy is getting a lot of attention across the globe. With increasing temperatures because of excess use of fossil fuels, the carbon emissions across the globe has resulted in a 2-degree rise in temperature in the last century. As a result of this, about a million species in the world are at risk of extinction according to a recent study by the UN. The alarming details have encouraged the countries of the world to encourage and promote the use and production of clean energy, such as solar energy, hydroelectric energy, biomass, wind power, etc.
The solar energy sector is emerging rapidly in the world. Recently, India achieved the third rank globally for solar installation capacity. Mercom India, a clean energy research organisation, has reported that the installed solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in the country has reached over 28 GW as of December 2018.
However, this accounts for only about 5.5 per cent of the total global cumulative installations. India may have emerged as the third largest market for solar, but a comparison at the global front suggests that India has a long way to go in order to become a solar superpower.
India has a target of installing 100 GW of solar capacity by 2022 and is still 72 GW short of it. To achieve this ambitious goal, a ramping up of the yearly targets is the need of the hour.
Firstly, to achieve the target, India needs an investment of $65 billion in the next four years. In the last 18 years, the country was able to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) worth $7.5 billion according to a report by the India Brand Equity Foundation. Other than this, a major part of this investment has to be raised within the country.
Second, the factors causing negative growth of the solar sector in CY 2018 such as the confusion along the GST and the import duty on solar equipment, are yet to be resolved completely.
Thirdly, India needs to buck up on the domestic manufacturing front. Various efforts by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) to attract bids for the development of the Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) connected Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Power Plant since May 2018 has been in vain.
Lastly, the Indian manufacturing sector has yet to kick-start. Therefore, the capacity addition will be done at the expense of imports. Solar cells and PV modules worth about $20 billion need to be imported in the next four years.
India needs a more comprehensive approach in order to achieve its targets. Alternate demand has to be generated through open-access platforms in the situation when discoms are violating the Power Purchase Agreements.
Thank you for reading. Your thoughts and inputs will genuinely make a difference to us. Please drop a line and help us do better.
Discarded plastic clutters pristine land, floats in huge masses in oceans and rivers and entangles wildlife, sometimes with deadly results.
An agreement on tracking thousands of types of plastic waste emerged at the end of a two-week meeting of United Nations-backed conventions on plastic waste and toxic, hazardous chemicals.
One-hundred-and-eighty-seven participants agreed to make global trade in plastic waste more transparent and better regulated, and to ensure that its management is safer for human health and the environment.
Rolph Payet of the United Nations Environment Program said the “historic” agreement linked to the United Nations-supported Basel Convention means that countries will have to monitor and track the movements of plastic waste outside their borders.
The deal affects products used in a broad array of industries, such as health care, technology, aerospace, fashion, food and beverages.
Impact doubtful
The new rules will take a year to come into force, however. The biggest polluter of them all, the USA, hasn’t signed on either. So, how effective is this pact going to be? The agreement is likely to lead to customs agents being on the lookout for electronic waste or other types of potentially hazardous waste more than before.
German media outlet DW reported that the government in Berlin was proposing to go even further than the terms of the agreement, by banning all plastic bags.
India-inspired mural in London
Meanwhile, The Body Shop has launched its first Community Trade recycled plastic from Bengaluru. The initiative highlights the lesser-known, human side of the plastic crisis.
To mark this launch, the company unveiled a giant artwork of a female Indian waste picker in London’s Borough Market. Made using recycled plastic collected by waste pickers in Bengaluru, the artwork was on public display from May 10-11, 2019.
An artwork of a female Indian waste picker by perceptual artist Michael Murphy is unveiled in London’s Borough Market to celebrate the launch of The Body Shop’s first Community Trade recycled plastic initiative, supporting marginalised waste pickers in Bengaluru. Pic: Jeff Spicer/PA WireThe artwork was created using 1,500 pieces of recycled plastic collected by the waste pickers being supported. Pic: Jeff Spicer/PA Wire
India has 1.5 million waste pickers who collect and sort over 6,000 tonnes of plastic every day that would otherwise pollute rivers and oceans. The majority of them are Dalits, previously known as ‘untouchables’. They have virtually no visibility in society and have limited rights. They are vulnerable to discrimination, poor living and working conditions and an unpredictable payment system. With over three decades of working with disadvantaged communities around the world, The Body Shop is applying its expertise to help fight for people and the planet.
The Body Shop will increase the amount of Community Trade Recycled plastic over time. Working with a start-up company and small waste picker communities means starting small and scaling up slowly and sustainably. In three years, the aim is to purchase over 900 tonnes of Community Trade recycled plastic and help empower up to 2,500 waste pickers in Bengaluru.
Thank you for reading. Please drop a line and help us do better.
Healthcare as an industry has seen major developments in the past decade. There has been a constant requirement of qualified doctors, medical practitioners, and public-private collaborations that will promote better quality healthcare services to the masses. Corporate Social Responsibility in India has the maximum contribution towards education followed by healthcare.
Although the contribution towards improving health infrastructure has seen support in the form of corporate social responsibility in India, there is a need to streamline and focus efforts in a particular direction to draw out maximum output. A specific plan to derive the objectives, reasoning, timeline, methodology and geographical roadmap, will be helpful in rationalizing efforts made in this direction.
According to a report by KPMG last year, the CSR spends stand at a total of about Rs 7,536 crore in the financial year that ended in March 2018. Only second to education, health CSR expenditure stood at Rs 1,691 crore. However, if you dig deep into the statistics you realize a different picture. If you compare 2017’s data, it turns out that in 2018 the spend was only 0.02% more from last year. This demands a planned approach to address issues related to the industry. The objective should be to reach out to the rural pockets of the country and build a robust infrastructure to deliver health services to the less privileged.
Equal access to healthcare has to be addressed by the private entities through a step by step approach. Through collaboration with public units, the outreach of the programs widens and there stands a chance to increase the number of beneficiaries. The disease burden has been on the rise and there is an urgent need to tackle and control the increasing burden. This cannot be achieved alone through healthcare providers that practice it as a business but through extended efforts from corporate social responsibility initiatives.
In terms of a healthcare service provider, identifying the geographies based on the organization’s offerings followed by the knowledge of the prevalence of a particular disease/s in that area can be helpful in determining the focus of efforts that the company plans to have. Post identification of these factors, specific tools need to be shortlisted to deliver the services. Tools form a significant part of the process of problem-solving and hence need to be picked based on the maximum output that could be relevant for the use case developed before.
Numerous tools can be designed to transfer the services to the underprivileged. These could range from health vans stationed at important spots like the market, main road, etc. to reach maximum audiences. In addition to this, regular health check-up camps in municipal schools to keep a check on the health of students can also be arranged. The most crucial aspect of these activities will be the deployment of qualified medical professionals to deal with medical requirements.
In order to have a far-reaching effect of corporate social responsibility in India on the communities in terms of healthcare delivery, a structured approach and a planned collaboration of healthcare service providers will go a long way in changing dynamics and bringing about a transformation in the health setting of poor and the deprived communities.
Equal access to healthcare has to be addressed by the private entities through a step by step approach. The attitude of understanding and contributing towards corporate social responsibility in India will work best when corporates do it by will and not just as a mandated responsibility. That is how problems can be solved at the macro level.
Dr Huzaifa Khorakiwala heads the non-profit organisation, Wockhardt Foundation, which runs several programmes in health, education, water and sanitation across India. He is also the Executive Director of Wockhardt Limited. An MBA from the prestigious Yale University in the USA, he has won numerous awards and is associated with many social causes. He is also the Founder of “The World Peacekeepers Movement”, an online movement.
Views of the author are personal and do not necessarily represent the website’s views.
Thank you for reading. Your thoughts and inputs will genuinely make a difference to us. Please drop a line and help us do better.
Kangana Ranaut has always been a vocal and responsible star. The Bollywood diva has established herself as a symbol of resilience against the patriarchy ingrained in the industry.
Last year, after the devastating floods that shook Kerala, Kangana had donated to those who had been affected. She had said, “I want to urge to people of this country that in whichever capacity they can, they should contribute, even a small amount will make a difference to Kerala. To my people there, I want to say, the whole nation is praying for them and supports them. We feel their pain and sense of loss. And by the grace of God, they will be soon back to their glory.”
Recently, the actress and her sister donated INR 1 lakh to Aamir Khan’s Paani foundation, which is spearheading the campaign Jalmitra.
Kangana’s sister Rangoli took to Twitter to share this piece of information. Rangoli wrote: “Kangana donated 1 lakh and I donated 1 thousand to jalmitra.org please donate whatever you can to help our farmers, it’s not charity, we have been unfair to them for way too long. India got independence but still cruel British laws and policies weren’t changed to favour our farmers, we eat because of them, on this earth day let’s show our gratitude to “Dhartiputras” our dear farmers.”
Organised by Aamir and Kiran Rao’s NGO – Paani Foundation – the ‘Jalmitra’ campaign was started on World Water Day (March 22) last year as part of the Satyamev Jayate Water Cup initiative.
After the release of her film Manikarnika, the star released a statement saying that women are already empowered but its time that people stop suppressing them.
“We don’t need to empower them, they are powerful, and they are the very reason why humanity and human race exists. How can we empower them? We just don’t need to suppress them, that’s all… we need to recognise their subtle, sophisticated and superior strength and respect that.” Amen to that!
Thank you for reading. Please drop a line and help us do better.
जहां एक तरफ अपने देश भारत में नरेंद्र मोदी के पक्ष में मोदी मोदी के नारे हर गली हर कूचे में लग रही है वहीं अमेरिका की प्रतिष्ठित टाइम मैगजीन ने प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी को अपने कवर पेज पर जगह देते हुए नरेंद्र मोदी को डिवाइडर इन चीफ की संज्ञा दी है। साथी एक विवादास्पद सवाल भी पूछा है पूछा है कि क्या विश्व का सबसे बड़ा लोकतंत्र फिर से मोदी को पांच साल का मौका देने को तैयार है? मैगजीन ने अपने कवर पेज पर ‘इंडियाज डिवाइडर इन चीफ’ शीर्षक से मोदी का फोटो लगाया है। मोदी पर आधारित यह लेख आतिश तासीर ने लिखा है। कोई पहली बार नहीं है कि टाइम मैगजीन ने भारत के प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी पर लेख पहली बार लिखा है इसके पहले टाइम ने 2014, 2015 और 2017 में प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी को विश्व के 100 सर्वाधिक प्रभावशाली लोगों की लिस्ट में शामिल किया था। 2012 फिर 2015 में अपने कवर पेज पर जगह दी थी।
टाइम मैगजीन में प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी के लिए कई विवादास्पद लेख लिखे गए हैं सिलसिलेवार तरीके से अगर जो बताए तो मैगजीन में लिखा गया है कि साल 2014 में लोगों को आर्थिक सुधार के बड़े-बड़े सपने दिखाने वाले मोदी अब इस बारे में बात भी नहीं करना चाहते। अब उनका सारा जोर हर नाकामी के लिए कांग्रेस को जिम्मेदार ठहराकर लोगों के बीच राष्ट्रवाद की भावना का संचार करना है। साथ ही भारत-पाक के बीच चल रहे तनाव का फायदा उठाने की भी कोशिश नरेंद्र मोदी की सरकार द्वारा किया जा रहा है। पीएम नरेंद्र मोदी को लेकर टाइम मैगजीन ने बिल्कुल शक जाहिर नहीं किया की लोकसभा चुनाव में नरेंद्र मोदी की ही सरकार बनेगी लेकिन साल 2014 वाला करिश्मा इस बार इस चुनाव में नहीं रहेगा।
टाइम मैगजीन में नरेंद्र मोदी को लेकर कई टिप्पणियां की गई है स्टोरी की शुरुआत भारत-पाकिस्तान के विभाजन से यानी 1947 से की गई है। स्टोरी में कई बातें और कई तथ्य बताए गए हैं। इन सब के अलावा मैगजीन में यह भी बताया गया है कि देशवासियों को एक बेहतर भारत की उम्मीद थी लेकिन मोदी के कार्यकाल में अविश्वास का दौर शुरू हुआ। हिंदु-मुस्लिम के बीच तेजी से सौहार्द और भाईचारा कम हुआ। गाय के नाम पर एक वर्ग विशेष को निशाना बनाया गया। सबसे अहम यह कि सरकार ने इस पर कोई ठोस कदम उठाने की बजाए चुप रहना ही बेहतर समझा। मैगजीन का कहना है कि अपनी नाकामियों के लिए अक्सर कांग्रेस के पुरोधाओं को निशाना बनाने वाले मोदी जनता की नब्ज को बेहतर समझते हैं। यही वजह है कि जब भी फंसा महसूस करते हैं तो खुद को गरीब का बेटा बताने से नहीं चूकते। यही बात अक्षय कुमार को दिए हुए इंटरव्यू में हम साफ तौर पर देख सकते हैं कि पीएम नरेंद्र मोदी अपने आप को किस तरह से प्रोजेक्ट करते रहे।
टाइम मैगजीन में नोट बंदी का भी जिक्र किया गया है, नोट बंदी की मार से भारत आज भी नहीं उबर सका है। मोदी को लगता है कि सत्ता में बने रहने के लिए राष्ट्रवाद ही बेहतर विकल्प है। वह भारत- पाकिस्तान के बीच चल रहे तनाव का फायदा लेने से भी नहीं चूक रहे। इसीलिए आर्थिक विकास पर वह राष्ट्रवाद को तरजीह दे रहे हैं।
इन सबके बीच मैगजीन में विपक्ष के बारे में भी लिखा गया है कमजोर विपक्ष नरेंद्र मोदी की ताकत है यही कारण है कि नरेंद्र मोदी अपने शब्दों के बाण विपक्ष पर चलाते रहते हैं और विपक्ष है कि सिर्फ एक दो मुद्दों को छोड़कर दूसरे मुद्दों पर नरेंद्र मोदी को घेर नहीं पा रहा है।भले ही टाइम मैगजीन ने नरेंद्र मोदी को लेकर नकारात्मक लेख लिखे हो लेकिन सकारात्मक बात यह है खासकर नरेंद्र मोदी के लिए कि साल 2014 के चुनाव के बाद साल 2019 का भी चुनाव नरेंद्र मोदी ही जीत रहे हैं और पीएम खुद नरेंद्र मोदी बन रहे हैं। मैगजीन की माने तो नरेंद्र मोदी को भारत देश की जनता दूसरा कार्यकाल जरूर देगी, दूसरी कार्यकाल मिलने में मिलने में पीएम नरेंद्र मोदी को ज्यादा अड़चनें नहीं हैं। बहरहाल पीएम नरेंद्र मोदी के बारे में टाइम मैगजीन में चुनाव के दरमियान नकारात्मक लेख छपना अपने आप में बड़ी बात है जिसका असर सीधे तौर पर नरेंद्र मोदी की छवि पर और पार्टी और एनडीए की सीटों पर पड़ेगा।
Long before I heard the term ‘cruelty-free’, I had switched to using skincare products from a brand that proudly refrained from animal testing. As an animal lover, I didn’t want my personal grooming to bring any harm to other living beings. I didn’t know back then (more than a decade ago) that the brand I was growing so fond of — The Body Shop — was the first global beauty brand to fight against animal testing.
I grew up to eventually write about sustainability and life came full circle when The Body Shop’s team took me to Bengaluru to witness the initiation of another project that could prove momentous for advocates of the circular economy… Community Trade Recycled Plastic.
With over three decades of working with disadvantaged communities around the world, The Body Shop is applying its expertise to help tackle the plastic crisis. In its first year, the brand will purchase 250 tonnes of Community Trade recycled plastic to use in nearly three million 250 ml haircare bottles by the end of 2019.
This marks the start of a wider ambition, which is to introduce Community Trade Recycled plastic across all PET plastic used across the world by the beauty label within three years. Over the course of three years the programme will scale up to purchasing over 900 tonnes of Community Trade Recycled Plastic and help empower up to 2,500 waste pickers in Bengaluru.
They will receive a fair price for their work, a predictable income and access to better working conditions. The Body Shop and Plastics for Change will work alongside local partners such as Hasiru Dala, a non-governmental organisation that fights for waste picker rights, and Hasiru Dala Innovations, a social enterprise dedicated to creating essential employment opportunities for waste pickers. The Body Shop will buy recycled plastic collected by the waste pickers in Bengaluru and introduce it into its packaging following a thorough cleaning process.
“By utilizing such recycled resources and incorporating them for ingredients, gifts and accessories in a fair way, we are creating sustainable trading relationships with marginalized communities around the world,” says Shriti Malhotra, CEO, The Body Shop India.
Excerpts from an exclusive interview where she talks community trade and responsible business:
What is your association with The Body Shop?
I have been a part of The Body Shop since the beginning. It’s been an incredible 12 years for the brand in India. The brand journey has been exceptionally fast paced, exhilarating and dynamic.
Our business principle is that business is a force for good and we are committed to giving back to the planet, environment & communities through our community initiatives and far reaching impact.
This business principle has led to a historic ban on animal testing in cosmetics.
The Body Shop was the first international cosmetics company to be recognized under the Humane Cosmetics Standard supported by leading international animal protection groups.
Over the last three decades, we’ve worked with our campaign partner Cruelty Free International and our collective efforts helped lead to a European Union ban in 2013. But that isn’t enough. 80% of countries don’t have laws against animal testing, including the U.S. Animals continue to be used in testing, and we want to end this practice everywhere and forever.
In 2018, The Body Shop had submitted 8 Million signatures to United Nations in a petition to ban animal testing in cosmetics forever and in every country of our world.
India has one of the earliest connections with the company’s community trade programme. What is the story behind it?
A firm believer in empowering people, The Body Shop’s founder Dame Anita Roddick founded Community Trade as Trade Not Aid in February 1987. It was a movement to give developing communities a hand up, rather than a hand out.
The Body Shop’s association with India goes back across decades as Teddy Exports from India is our first Community Trade supplier since 1987 and continues till date to craft wooden massagers and organic cotton tote bags for us.
Since 1987, Community Trade has helped Teddy Exports grow from 5 employees to 600 craftspeople from over 30 villages. This initiative has helped provide vital employment & empowerment to the marginalized community including women, HIV positive patients & disabled members. Teddy Exports also supports training, education and health schemes benefiting the community holistically.
The Body Shop is also sourcing mango seed oil from Manorama Industries, located in Chattisgarh, India. The new CT mango seed oil will be included in the entire mango range starting with Body Butter.
Today, The Body Shop launched the first ever Community Trade Recycled Plastic, from Bengaluru. The initiative highlights the lesser-known, human side of the plastic crisis. Through this campaign, The Body Shop wants to fight more than plastic pollution — it wants to drive social change and help empower people at the same time.
Shivasiddha at work in a segregation centre which participates in The Body Shop’s recycling programme
The Body Shop engaged in CSR long before it became standard practice. What is the brand’s history with corporate social responsibility?
The Body Shop pioneered social activism from the 1970s, long before it became fashionable. We are often credited with being one of the founders of modern corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Our Founder, Dame Anita Roddick always believed that business should be a force for doing good. Activism and positive campaigns to bring in change will help to inspire, educate and motivate communities around the world. We would like to do it with passion, irreverence and humour.
Community Trade was born from our founder Anita Roddick’s belief in ‘trade not aid’ and a commitment to developing lasting relationships with communities from around the world. We are continuously on the lookout for more! The Body Shop has always worked hard to do things differently and we still operate this way today.
The Companies Act 2013 calls for a company to fulfil its CSR obligations including ensuring environmental sustainability and ecological balance, animal welfare & community welfare. This obligation entirely aligns with our own Community, Environment and Sustainability programmes which we have been working on for over 40 years.
Take us through some of your ongoing CSR projects and activities in India.
We have worked strongly in the areas of Animal Cruelty and Environmental protection over the last 2-3 years. In 2017, we launched the campaign ‘Forever Against Animal Testing’. Conducted in partnership with Cruelty Free International, the campaign aimed to collect 8 million signatures globally.
On October 4, 2018 we submitted these 8 million petitions signed from consumers around the world to the United Nations Headquarters in New York City to create a global framework to end animal testing. This campaign received huge support from consumers in India and we are one of the Top 3 countries in the number of consumer petitions by country.
The Bio Bridge programme in Garo Hills is another key environment project for The Body Shop India. In 2017, The Body Shop pledged to protect the endangered Indian Elephant and Western Hoolock Gibbon with its Bio-Bridge project in Garo Hills, India. The programme is part of the brand’s existing commitment to protect and regenerate 75 million square metres of habitat through Bio Bridges around the world.
Bio bridges are an innovative way to create protected corridors of biodiversity that allow the wider forest to flourish and its inhabitants to breed and thrive. In addition to protecting the environment, this project also catered to improving health and sanitation facilities for the Garo community. Poor access to medical healthcare and sanitation facilities has been a concern for the communities of Garo Hills. Even the healthcare centres that exist, lacked basic equipment and hygiene.
The Body Shop, partnering with Wildlife Trust of India, provided modern healthcare equipment at Siju and Baghmara (in South Garo Hills). It extended support to upgrade the Asanang Health Centre (in West Garo Hills) by construction of public sanitation facilities.
The support from The Body Shop India and WLT will go a long way in achieving the aim of securing approximately 4500 hectares of Canopies, Corridors and Catchments of Garo Green Spine for enhancing the survival prospects of elephants, gibbons, chocolate mahseer and other key wildlife indicators by 2025.
Who are the implementing partners? How are they chosen?
The Body Shop works with different partners who are specialists in the field. Our Partners are chosen on the basis of the area of work, shared ethics and values. For the current recycling program, we have collaborated with Plastics For Change (PFC).
Through this partnership, The Body Shop will be helping waste pickers with access to fair and consistent income opportunities. PFC have applied mobile technology to create sustainable livelihoods for the urban poor, while transitioning the industry towards a circular economy.
In addition to PFC, Hasiru Dala (‘Green Force’), a non-profit organisation helping the marginalized waste picker community in Bengaluru is also our implementation partner.
What are some of the measures being taken to ensure responsible business practices?
The launch of our Community Trade recycled plastic is just one part of our approach towards sustainable packaging. We believe in taking a responsible approach, in this case helping marginalized communities working on waste, protecting our planet by collecting used plastic and re-purposing it responsibly.
The Body Shop is committed to reducing its impact on the environment and we know we have a lot to do. As part of this commitment, we are undergoing a full review of sustainable packaging, exploring a variety of options that can be delivered at a global scale, in a socially and environmentally sustainable way.
Our long-term vision is that ‘Our products do not cause harm to people or the environment and can be repurposed’. We have also tied up with Children on The Edge in association with their local partner Parivartan Kendra which supports 10 learning centres, educating 230 Dalit children in the rural communities of the Vaishali District.
Since 2014-2016 for Support Her Education (S.H.E) campaign, we have fundraised INR 30 lakhs for the education, nutrition, healthcare and self defence training of 100 girls in need, in partnership with Food For Life Vrindavan (FFLV), an NGO dedicated to this cause.
What makes The Body Shop one of the most ethical and conscious beauty brands today?
We believe that business has the power to make a difference to the world around us, and the best way to convince others is to lead by example. All our products are made with a love of the life and world we live in, our individuality, our community spirit and a commitment to trading fairly.
The Body Shop was one of the first international beauty brands to use an alternative to sperm whale oil, pioneering the use of Jojoba oil as an alternative. In 1986, the Save the Whale campaign was launched with Greenpeace – the first major campaign that Anita Roddick and The Body Shop launched, drawing attention to the continued threat facing the great mammals.
The Against Animal Testing campaign led to a UK-wide ban on animal testing on cosmetic products and ingredients in November 1998 and the largest ever petition (4 million signatures) being delivered to the European Commission.
We introduced 100% post-consumer recycled PET bottles in 2008. The Body Shop and ECPAT International launched The Stop Trafficking of Children & Young People campaign in 2009. It inspired change on an unprecedented scale, gathering over 7 million signatures from customers globally, resulting in over 20 countries across the world committing to adopting new legislation in response to our petitions.
Community development and social impact is the soul of our business. To me, it means to transform the way we conduct ourselves our business on a daily basis. Responsible business means driving awareness, creating sensitivity and bringing action towards social and environmental challenges. Businesses should be no longer only about the ideals of success but the ideals of service.
Thank you for reading. Your thoughts and inputs will genuinely make a difference to us. Please drop a line.
Policy makers, practitioners and researchers from 15 countries across the region wrapped up a four-day training in Cambodia underscoring the need for appropriate agricultural machinery to enable the adoption of conservation agriculture approaches in the Asia-Pacific region.
Despite its growing significance as a means to address land degradation and declining yields in the agricultural sector, the area under conservation agriculture in the region is still very limited. The poor availability of suitable agricultural machinery, restricted investment capacities and inadequate application of mechanization solutions, particularly for resource-poor smallholder farmers, have been recognized as key constraints.
The ‘Regional Training on Appropriate Scale Mechanization for Conservation Agriculture’ was organized by the Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization (CSAM) of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), in collaboration with the General Directorate of Agriculture of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Cambodia, the French Agricultural Research Institute for International Development and Swiss contact.
The hands-on regional training served not only to enhance the knowledge of participants on the subject and exchange good practices but also to build strong linkages and networks with other stakeholders including the private sector to enhance the collective scale and impact of their work.
Participants were further introduced to new ideas and innovations on the mechanization aspects of conservation agriculture, which can help bring benefits to farmers by improving productivity, and enhancing profits and food security while preserving the environment.
Commenting on the occasion, Head of CSAM Dr Li Yutong said: “CSAM is pleased to collaborate with our partners to strengthen capacities for appropriate scale mechanization for conservation agriculture in the Asia-Pacific region, thus serving the plan of action for ‘people, planet and prosperity’ embodied in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”
Successful adoption of conservation agriculture in the region can contribute towards achieving several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets including increasing agricultural productivity, alleviating rural poverty, strengthening adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards, and restoring degraded land and soil.
CSAM is making concerted efforts to increase the awareness of the role of sustainable agricultural mechanization in promoting conservation agriculture and the understanding of policy issues favouring appropriate scale mechanization in the Asia-Pacific region. The training was held as a follow-up to last year’s ‘Regional Workshop on the Role of Mechanization in Strengthening Smallholders’ Resilience through Conservation Agriculture in Asia and the Pacific’.
The global economy is growing at a rapid speed. However, the price for this growth is being paid by nature in the most horrendous manner. The relentless pursuit of growth combined with the impact of climate changehas put one million species at risk of extinction, according to a report on the damage done by modern civilisation to the natural world, conducted by the scientists of the UN.
The report endorsed by 130 countries including the U.S., Russia and China concluded that only a wide-ranging transformation of the global economic and financial system could pull ecosystems that are vital to the future of human communities worldwide back from the brink of collapse.
“The essential, interconnected web of life on Earth is getting smaller and increasingly frayed,” said Professor Josef Settele, who co-chaired the study, launched in Paris on Monday by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). “This loss is a direct result of human activity and constitutes a direct threat to human well-being in all regions of the world.”
The report compiled by 145 expert authors from 50 countries found that up to one million of Earth’s estimated eight million plants, insect and animal species are at risk of extinction, many within decades. It suggests the world may need to embrace a new “post-growth” form of economics if it is to avert the existential risks posed because of pollution, habitat destruction and carbon emissions.
The authors have identified industrial farming and fishing as major drivers with the current rate of species extinction tens to hundreds of times higher than the average over the last 10 million years. According to Robert Watson, a British environmental scientist, it would be possible to start conserving, restoring and using nature sustainably only if societies were prepared to confront “vested interests” committed to preserving the status quo.
The report states that it is not too late to make a difference, however profound economic and social changes would be needed to curb greenhouse gases quickly enough to avert the most devastating consequences of a warming world.
The threatened list includes more than 40% of amphibian species, almost 33% of reef-forming corals, and more than a third of all marine mammals. The picture was less clear for insect species, but a tentative estimate suggests 10% are at risk of extinction.
Thank you for reading. Your thoughts and inputs will genuinely make a difference to us. Please drop a line and help us do better.
By Ami Misra, Programme Specialist, National CSR Hub, Tata Institute of Social Sciences
Women’s empowerment is a buzzword in contemporary times. However, the nuances of this buzzword are seldom understood with all its complexities.
The Indian landscape has a large variety of actors advocating for and promoting the cause of women. Apart from having a Cabinet Ministry dealing with Women and Child Development at the Central level, the Indian Government has special commissions for women at the union and state levels that cover a broad range of issues related to gender justice. The Indian feminist movement is also active in its existence as thought leaders, collectives, grassroots civil society movements and organisations.
The extent of the women’s problems in India is vast. India has a patriarchal society which affects individuals socially, economically and culturally. The reproduction of gender roles, male dominance, sexism and misogyny are common in a patriarchal society. According to the Gender Inequality Index, India ranks high at 127 out of the 160 countries surveyed in the year 2018. The Gender Inequality Index uses the indicators of reproductive health, empowerment, and economic activity.
In such a gendered society, the bulk of domestic and care work (which is underpaid or unpaid) lies on women. Moreover, the double burden of managing the home and work is also a reality across class sections (from influential women leaders working for multinational corporations to daily wage women labourers working in the unorganised sectors).
The lesser paying sectors (e.g. manufacturing processes in fast fashion) are by default assigned to women in this globalised economy thereby reproducing already persistent wage gaps between genders. The issues of violence, sexual harassment, decision-making, political participation and access to cultural rights are also legitimate problems faced by women.
Given the quantum and extent of women’s problems in the country, the state and civil society cannot alone solve the problem. There is a need for multiple development actors to produce a ripple effect of actions towards establishing gender parity.
The corporate sector can play an important role in contributing towards the cause of women’s empowerment. Empowerment is when individuals can express power “to” act, “with” associations and experience it “within”. Women’s empowerment has to be understood in this context as well. One approach for bridging the gap is through gender mainstreaming.
Gender mainstreaming uses three kinds of strategies to create impact and change the everyday realities of women. These three strategies are focussed on empowering women by expanding their agency in being able to negotiate with power structures. Agency here refers to the sociological concept that focuses on an individual’s capacity to act independently and by choice.
Structures of power are deep rooted in the Indian scenario. These power structures are influenced by the hierarchical and pluralistic intersections at the ground level. Unequal power relations affect an individual’s access to opportunities.
Gender is an overarching social category among other intersections like caste, class, religion and ethnicity. The omnipresence of gender as an intersection therefore justifies the need for programmes and interventions focussed on improving the status quo.
The approach of gender mainstreaming programmes can help in ameliorating gender based discriminatory practices. Under gender mainstreaming, the consequences of programmes on men and women are assessed across the programme cycle – in planning, monitoring, and implementation. According to UN Women, the primary objective behind gender mainstreaming is to design and implement development projects, programmes and policies that are:
Gender Neutral: Programmes and policies that do not reinforce existing gender inequalities come under this category. Gender norms, roles and relations are not affected (for better or worse). The neutrality of the intervention ensures that equality of opportunity is available to both genders. Gender is not relevant to the intervention.
Gender Sensitive: Programmes and policies that attempt to redress existing gender inequalities are considered gender sensitive. Responding to the inequalities that persist in the society is an important function while delivering such interventions. Here, the importance of gender is seen as important so far as to achieve the development outcomes desired under the programme. Gender is a measure to reach identified development goals.
Under the Roshini initiative by Idea Cellular, women are imparted digital literacy training to use internet on their smartphones
Gender Transformative: Programmes that attempt to re-define women and men’s gender roles and relations are considered gender transformative. Under this approach, long-term changes in individuals’ access to opportunities are changed as the normative discriminatory gendered practices are challenged. Gender is considered central to the programme design.
To better understand the context of gender mainstreaming within corporate social responsibility in India, here are three examples of CSR projects with their alignment to the above-mentioned categories:
Category
Gender Neutral
Gender Sensitive
Gender Transformative
Name of Project and Enterprise
Ride Safe India initiative by Hero MotoCorp Limited
Roshini: Digital & Economic Empowerment of Women by IDEA Cellular
Project Swayam by RPG Group
About the Project
Under this initiative, Hero MotoCorp regularly organises Road Safety Awareness and Safe Riding Education programmes for school/college students and other institutions in collaboration with local administration, traffic police, and transport departments.
Under this initiative women are imparted digital literacy training to use internet on their smartphones. This initiative connects women to the internet to gain access to important information and services such as healthcare, banking, and education and earn a living too.
Swayam provides training to women from less privileged backgrounds to work in the non-traditional transport and logistics sector as commercial drivers, last mile two-wheeler delivery professionals, forklift operators, autorickshaw drivers amongst others.
Analysis
This project is Gender Neutral because (i) it does not deliver the intervention based on gender; and (ii) no gender roles or stereotypes are reinforced by its implementation.
This project is Gender Sensitive because (i) it seeks to fill gaps which are caused by gender; and (ii) it customises delivery according to the needs of women specifically.
This project is Gender Transformative because (i) it challenges existing gender stereotypes and roles; and (ii) attempts to bring long-term transformational changes to the lives of the women beneficiaries.
Applying such analytical frameworks to corporate social responsibility in India can help in achieving gender justice. It is critical that women’s empowerment and gender is seen as more than an afterthought while implementing CSR projects.
Corporates must try to incorporate gender mainstreaming strategies not only in their corporate social responsibility projects but also through improving the corporate governance structures.
A version of this article first appeared in our April 2019 print edition. To grab a copy of the magazine, click here
Apart from being a Programme Specialist at the National CSR Hub, TISS, Ami is part of the TISS AESDII team. She has worked with UN Women, Columbia Global Centers | Mumbai and the NITI Aayog (and erstwhile Planning Commission), Government of India. Ami has a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Public Governance and Administration from ETH Zurich and a Master of Art degree in Women’s Studies.
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.
HDFC Bank today announced that it will restore and repair 20 government schools in Odisha that were affected by cyclone Fani. This initiative is aimed to help restore normalcy for distressed school students in the cyclone-hit districts of Khurda, Puri and Cuttack.
The restoration plan will cover:
Repairs and Refurbishment for school premises
Restoring Sanitation Facilities
The 20 schools will be finalised in consultation with the state government and the Bank’s local NGO partners will provide on-ground help with execution of the work.
As a humanitarian gesture, the bank is also donating INR 10 crore to the Odisha Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
HDFC Bank’s Parivartan programme is the umbrella brand for all its social initiatives. It is the Bank’s way of contributing to long-term, sustainable change in society as a whole. HDFC Bank is also working round-the-clock to restore banking services to normalcy. To know the locations of branches made operational so far, click here.
In order to further ease customer woes, the bank has also waived off penalties on late payments for Credit cards or on EMIs for Personal Loans, Business loans, Auto Loan, Two-wheeler loans, Agri loans, Business Banking Working capital and Consumer durable loans for the month of May. Cheque bounce charges on payment of these loans have also been waived, in addition to late payment charges on credit cards.
“We stand by the people of Odisha in this time of crisis,” said Ashima Bhat, Group Head, CSR, HDFC Bank. “We hope through our efforts we are able to make a small difference to people’s lives.”
Sandeep Kumar, Branch Banking Head, East, HDFC Bank said “At HDFC Bank, we believe in giving back to the communities that we operate in. Through this initiative, we hope to play a small role in the commendable on-going efforts to help rebuild Odisha. We would also like to thank our employees who have contributed to this effort.”
Dr Huzaifa Khorakiwala heads the non-profit organisation, Wockhardt Foundation, which runs several programmes in health, education, water and sanitation across India. He is also the Executive Director of Wockhardt Limited. An MBA from the prestigious Yale University in the USA, he has won numerous awards and is associated with many social causes. He is also the Founder of “The World Peacekeepers Movement”, an online movement.
Apart from being a Programme Specialist at the National CSR Hub, TISS, Ami is part of the TISS AESDII team. She has worked with UN Women, Columbia Global Centers | Mumbai and the NITI Aayog (and erstwhile Planning Commission), Government of India. Ami has a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Public Governance and Administration from ETH Zurich and a Master of Art degree in Women’s Studies.
