Walk to Make India Child Begging Free
A 29-year-old Ashish Sharma quit his job in August 2017, to start a 17,000 km walk with an aim to rescue all the child beggars and make India child begging free. His determination towards the cause kept him going despite being abducted once, affected by jaundice and getting mugged as he traversed the different states of India.
Holding an Indian flag in one hand and a heavy backpack on his shoulder, Ashish Sharma keeps his spirits high by shouting “Jai Hind!” after every few kilometres. On his way, he stopped at schools, colleges, tea stalls, and metro coaches to educate people about child beggars. He managed to meet the actor Rajnikanth and his wife Latha and garnered support for his ‘Duayen Foundation’ by tying up with Latha Rajinikanth’s NGO – ‘Shree Dayaa Foundation’ which aims at protecting children from domestic and emotional abuse, trafficking and exploitation.
Taking off on a journey to fulfil late APJ Abdul Kalam’s dream of every child of India going to school by 2020, Ashish has vowed to bring the attention of state governments and citizens on the issue. Ashish’s ‘Duayen Foundation’ has also made a mobile application which helps people get in touch with responsible authorities when they see a child beggar on the street.
The app will be connected to various institutes like NGOs, hospitals, schools and government departments. Currently, the app is being used by four to five of Ashish’s friends as a part of a pilot survey. It will be unofficially launched in the country in the first week of April or May with a hope to get it officially launched by the Prime Minister of the country.
Ashish’s next big project is to open a school in every railway station across the country – where the most number of child-beggars or trafficked children can be spotted. He aims to involve the railway minister, the women & child development minister and the home minister in this project.
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CSR: Sachin Tendulkar set to electrify 25,000 homes
Sachin has won hearts with his sportsmanship and his charity work. He auctioned the bat he used to score his 100th century and donated the money to charity. The former cricketer put in 51 lakh rupees towards a relief fund to help Uttarakhand in its time of loss when it was ruined by enormous floods In 2013.
Now the Master Blaster and Schneider Electric India CSR have come together to provide Energy Autonomy to rural India through Renewable Energy and to “Spread Happiness”. He is helping provide villagers access to energy in the collaboration, SHIF: ‘Spreading Happiness InDiya Foundation‘. They have electrified 25,000 households through their various solar-based interventions.
Says Sachin Tendulkar:
“The very foundation of SHIF was built around the vision of providing ‘energy autonomy’ to rural India through renewable energy. Having achieved this feat under Spreading Happiness Initiative, a year prior to the set target of 2020, we are motivated to take electricity to every corner of our country. This is the foundation stone for building a progressive society and supplementing the government’s efforts in this crucial area.”
So far, Spreading Happiness Initiative has completed projects across Maharashtra, Karnataka, Odisha, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Arunachal Pradesh and J&K. The project is in line with the vision of the government of India to provide 24×7 power for all. With schemes like Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana and Saubhagya, the government aims to provide continuous power supply by allocating electricity connection at an affordable cost to the people living in rural areas.
Schneider Electric India are not only developing various products and solutions but also investing in vocational training of the youth to ensure steady supply of technical resources for deployment in remote regions, according to Zone President and Managing Director, Anil Chaudhry. The solutions include portable lamps, Solar Home Systems and Micro Grids that provide a backup of 6-10 hours.
We are cheering for you all over again, Sachin.
Shapoorji Pallonji promotes inclusion of a diverse workforce with sports
The Shapoorji Pallonji Group integrated corporate social responsibility and employee engagement to break preconceived ideas about the capabilities of the differently abled, with the ‘Breaking Barriers Olympics’.
The daylong event with Cricket, Badminton and Carrom competitions had a special focus on integrating the organization’s differently abled workforce from EuroAble into all sports and games. EuroAble is the official call centre for the Group company Eureka Forbes and it is run by 160 differently abled individuals.

The aim of the programme was to celebrate diversity and inclusivity. Participants included over 200 Shapoorji Pallonji employees and their families, and over 70 employees of EuroAble.
“Differently abled people are capable of being independent and integrating with society at large. And we aim to emphasize this fact among our communities, beginning with our employees and their families, by encouraging them to socialize on team building platforms,” said Zarine Commissariat, Head – CSR, Shapoorji Pallonji Group, adding that this is a purpose-driven activity to sensitize employees about the group’s CSR activities. “We are committed to empowering communities by bringing inequality and providing all with an equal chance to growth and development.”
The ‘Breaking Barriers Olympics’ had 8 cricket teams competing against each other, 32 doubles teams for Badminton and 32 doubles teams for Carrom. All teams celebrated a mix of abled and differently abled employees working together. The ‘Kids Corner’ was engaging with storytelling, art, music and face painting sessions conducted by EuroAble team members. The day ended with an awards ceremony, gaining many friendships, recognition, and cheers for the participants.
World Malaria Day: Decrease in incidences of malaria, says study
It is World Malaria Day today, and SBI General Insurance says there is a reduction in the number of claims due to Malaria in India. The company has seen a significant decline in the data of paid claims for this disease in the last 3 years.
As per the data released by SBI General Insurance, the highest number of claims paid is seen in the millennial (Age 18-35), although the distribution percentage for number of claims has seen a decline from 52.8% to 45.5% for the group (this may be due to improvement in hygiene & cleanliness drives).
The research also shows that males are more effected by the disease compared to females. In FY 18-19, 65% cases of claim settlement were seen in men whereas in the case of women, it is 37%.
Trends that came up in the report:
- Age group of 18-35 has been seen highest number of claims paid followed by 35 to 45 age group
- 65% of claims were paid to male, 35% of claims were paid to female
- Non-Metros cities see 52% of claims paid
- Uttar Pradesh has reported highest number of claims as well as amount for Malarial fever related claims, followed by Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
Said Sukhesh Bhave, Head – Accident & Health Claims, SBI General Insurance, “This World Malaria Day, we must all dedicate ourselves to end malaria. Our research shows that India has already started its journey towards this mission, most of which has come due to initiatives like Swachha Bharat Abhiyaan and increased awareness towards hygiene and sanitation which is seen in every part of the country. There has been a significant decrease in the number of claims in the last 3 years.”
Berger Paints India Limited join hands with Indian Army for the “Go Green” Initiative
Berger Paints India Ltd extended a hand of support to Eastern Command of the Indian Army, headquartered in Fort William, Kolkata on the impactful “GO GREEN” initiative. The sole objective behind this initiative is to create awareness to make Kolkata green and eco-friendly with each passing day.
With the growing concern of the residents of the city regarding pollution levels, ’Go Green Initiative’ is a great step towards combating environmental challenges. Berger Paints has a palette of eco-friendly products, which have no added lead, mercury and chromium in their formulation. All the products are low in VOC (volatile organic compound) as defined under LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – the certifying agency.)
Berger Paints along with Indian Army jointly announced this initiative by organizing a ‘Go Green’ art competition wherein 600 students participated from Fort William and Army Public School, Ballygunge. The participating children were provided with Go Green & Berger T-shirt with a cap and painting items. Lt. General MM Naravane, PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, GOC-in-C, Eastern Command and Mrs Veena Naravane Regional President AWWA (Army Wives Welfare Association) graced the occasion along with Mr Sudhir Nair, General Manager Marketing, Berger Paints India Limited. They encouraged the participants and promoted the cause. “Go Green Exhibition Mela” was also organized around the same occasion at Fort William Stadium coinciding with “World Earth Day” to generate awareness on the necessity of scientific approach for a sustainable solution of Environment Protection.
Berger Paints in the past has been involved in various city beautification initiatives in the form of ‘Street Art Festival’. Now Berger Paints further wants to take it to the next level by working on waste and water management and planting more trees. A firm believer in sustainable development, Berger Paints surely wants to create a great impact in educating people to preserve our environment.
Thinking ahead of the World Environment Day on June 5, this joint venture of Berger Paints and the Indian army shall prove to be a long-lasting initiative for the dwellers of the city of Joy, Kolkata.
Speaking on this occasion, Mr Sudhir Nair, General Manager, Marketing, Berger Paints India Limited said, ’The concern that the Indian army had regarding the environment seemed to be parallel to Berger Paint’s precept of creating a sustainable ecosystem through an array of eco-friendly products. It is an occasion of immense pleasure where we have joined hands with the Indian army for the development and well-being of the environment.”
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CSR: The Dilemma in the Case of The CJI
A woman who used to work as a junior court assistant in the supreme court of India accused has the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi of sexual harassment. She wrote to 22 of its judges on April 19, alleging that the CJI made sexual advances at her at his residence office on October 10 and 11. In the affidavit, the woman said that after she rebuffed the chief justice, she was moved out of his residence office, where she had been posted in August. Two months later, on December 21, she was dismissed from service. One of the three grounds for dismissal, as detailed in an inquiry report, was that she had taken casual leave for one day without approval.
The CJI Gogoi denied the allegations during a special hearing on April 20 saying that he did not “deem it appropriate” to reply to the allegations and that they were part of a “bigger plot”, possibly one to “deactivate the office of the CJI”. Gogoi said the woman has a criminal background, with two cases against her.
A Top Court Employee Advocate Utsav Bains claims that the allegation made on the CJI is linked to a larger conspiracy to get the justice to resign from his office in order to continue the corrupt business of some politicians and corporates. He submitted an affidavit which said: “On 19th April, 2019, a very reliable person, strictly on the condition of anonymity and in good faith, informed the Deponent about a corporate figure who tried to approach a Hon’ble Supreme Court judge to get a favourable order in a high-profile case listed before this Hon’ble Court but was unsuccessful and then the said corporate figure attempted to get the case transferred from the court of that Hon’ble Supreme Court judge but did not succeed and thus ganged up with an alleged fixer by the name of Romesh Sharma and his aides to frame the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India in a false case of sexual harassment to pressurize him to resign.”
On one hand, the CJI, who is responsible to serve justice to all is under the radar. If the allegations are proven correct, then who should the people of India lay their trust? If the allegations are however not correct, and it is indeed a conspiracy, then the accusations made by the woman can prove insensitive to all the other women who have actually faced this and more at the workplace. A woman will then be responsible for the downfall of all the other women who are at risk of not being heard.
Either way, India is at a crossroad. The people are in dilemma as to who to believe in. Injustice is not an option. And any result is bound to leave scars on the belief system of the entire nation.
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Modi government has failed on every promise, says Ashok Chavan in conversation with Amit Upadhyay on “Dil Se Dil Ki Baat”
Congress Maharashtra President calls Narendra Modi a liar and praises Rahul Gandhi for his simplistic and honest approach. Also talks about various other issues including tie up with Raj Thackery’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and much more. Watch The CSR Journal – News World India, Editor, Amit Upadhyay in an exclusive conversation with Maharashtra Congress Committee President Ashok Chavan on our show “Dil Se Dil Ki Baat”.
16-year-old teen leader rescuing elderly people from Delhi streets
Yesterday, we told you about nine-year-old Ridhima Pandey who is suing the government over climate change inaction. Meet Vivhan Rekhi, a 16-year-old boy from Delhi British School, working hard to raise funds with a mission: to rescue the abandoned elderly from the streets of Delhi.
He has been living with his grandparents in a joint family. “Their stories are illuminating and their unconditional love a blessing. I firmly believe that we should cherish the time we spend with our elders,” he says.
He was horrified when late one night, returning home from a friend’s birthday he saw a frail old man and a tiny hunched old woman fighting dogs over leftovers. “That night I couldn’t sleep, and I asked myself why old people have to fight dogs for food, and how can I help?” he writes on Ketto.
Vivhan learned that thousands of elderly have been abandoned by their families on the roads of Delhi. Old age homes run mostly by NGOs care for an abysmally small number. But they are helping, and he wanted to get involved. His father identified an old age home and over the last year, he has been volunteering a few hours every week at Guru Vishram Vridh Ashram (GVVA).
Providing care, shelter, and love to the homeless elderly through two old age homes, one in Delhi (2003) and the other in Garhmukteshwar (2008), GVVA has saved over 4,000 elders according to Ketto. A dedicated team at GVVA scours for the disowned and brings them to the shelter for medical attention and rehabilitation.
He is currently raising funds through Ketto for a rescue vehicle. “When I heard they were trying to raise funds to buy a vehicle to rescue over 3000 adults over the next decade, I thought this truly could be a gift that keeps on giving, and that I personally could leverage my social network to make this happen.”
This article is part of a series on inspiring child leaders.
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The CSR Journal Team