OPINIONS

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have helped streamline the global developmental agenda by identifying 17 clear and quantifiable goals for the world to work towards. The quantum of finance required to achieve them, however, poses a huge challenge. SDGs require an annual investment of USD 5-7 trillion, with India alone needing USD 8.9...

By Rohini Nilekani A lot of ink is spilled, and awards are bestowed celebrating the success of the social sector–and there is much to celebrate. But the truth is, if innovation is essential to the ultimate achievements of the sector, we should spend less time on success, and more time on failure. We lament the inability...

Art | Science | Innovation | Traditional Knowledge | Social Relations | Community Ties | Ecological sensitivity | Sustainable Living | Diversity | Economic Balance. These are not merely keywords but point towards a system that amalgamates all these and much more. The food and agricultural systems around the world have become technology centric, pushing...

By Jonny McCaig, Global Reporting Director at Unilever As we put the finishing touches to our latest Sustainable Living Report (released in early April), it’s a good time to reflect on the bigger picture – the current and possible future state of reporting. Far from a being peripheral communications activity, reporting has cemented itself as a central...

By Poorvi Sanjanwala, Partner, Pearl Boga, Principal Associate and Karen Issac, Associate at Rajani Associates Due to the mandatory financial thresholds stipulated by the Companies Act, even small and medium enterprises (SMEs) would fall within the ambit of CSR compliance in India. There is no correlation between the thresholds stipulated for CSR activities under the Companies...

According to the Environmental Justice Atlas, India has more environmental conflicts than any other country in the world. Most of these conflicts are rooted in the cozy relationship between business and political interests, supported by a compliant administration. Another significant observation that has marred these conflicts is the continuing nature of violations by the same...

In this world of changing priorities, happiness falls at the bottom of the list with more importance being given to materialistic pleasures. In order to recognise its importance in the lives of people around the world, the United Nations started celebrating the International Day of Happiness since the year 2013. To support the idea...

Among the many challenges India faces, the most underappreciated is the ongoing mental health crisis. Mental illness is actually India’s ticking bomb. An estimated 56 million Indians suffer from depression and 38 million from anxiety disorders. For those who suffer from mental illness, life can seem like a terrible prison from which there is no hope of escape;...

Oxfam’s ‘Public good or private wealth?’ report says that the human cost of inequality is devastating and today – a) 262 million children will not be allowed to go to school b) Almost 10,000 people will die because they cannot access healthcare c) 4 billion hours of unpaid care work will be done, the majority by women...

Born into a French Catholic family, Simone de Beauvoir was raised to follow the path of religious devotion, marriage and children. Abandoning her predetermined destiny, de Beauvoir went on to become one of the greatest feminist thinkers of her century. She is also considered to be one of the most preeminent French existential philosophers. Moved...

By Max Bone and Abdul Nejrabi On February 14, 20-year-old Adil Ahmad Dar drove a vehicle laden with explosive into a convoy carrying security personnel in Indian-administered Kashmir. The collision resulted in an explosion that killed 40 security personnel and the attacker himself. The responsibility for this attack was immediately claimed by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM),...

After his experiences facilitating healthcare in the villages of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and Odisha Dr Anantpal Singh writes about Chhattisgarh in his series. Chhattisgarh is a lush green state with abundant natural reserves and beautiful weather. The state that can resemble paradise is famous for its Redbrick Laxman temple and Chitrakoot waterfalls. It is predominantly rural and...