JANUARY 2015

volume 3 issue 1

`100

An Exclusive Publication on Corporate Social Responsibility & Sustainability

let’s work for a better society

January 2015 n VOLUME 3 n ISSUE 1 Managing Editor Harish Chandra Editor Jyoti Uniyal Associate Editor Bachan Singh Consulting Editors Pooran Chandra Pandey (GCNI) Dr. K.K. Upadhyay (FICCI) Prashant Das K.N. Jayaraj Dr. Siddhartha Das Gupta Special Correspondents Ajay Agarwal Venkat S. Somasundaram (Canada) Ilaria Gualtieri (Middle East) Correspondents Dr. Sudipta Narayan Roy (W.B.) Manoranjan Mohanty (Odisha) Neelesh Bhai Patel (Guj.) Naren Shah (Guj.) G. Shiva (A.P.) Kiran Bongale (M.S) Subramanya Shastri (M.S) Sub-Editor Ayush Vohra Senior Designer Ritu Sharma Media Marketing Director: Roob Kirat Vice President: Rajesh Manglani Head Operations & Marketing: Rajesh Thakur Chief Brand Strategy & Comm’n: S D Raturi Business Head : Suresh Negi Head – Business Development & PR: R. Verma Production Manager : Rahul Thakur Circulation Head: Surender Prasad Coordinator: Hina Bisht Legal Advisor: Advocate Suman Dobal Advisor: Ramesh Pranesh, Girish Kumar Printed & Published by Jyoti Uniyal for First Step Foundation Published at E-301, Mangal Apartments, Vashudhara Enclave, Delhi-110096 Editorial & Marketing Office: 312, Vardhman Sunrize Plaza, Vasundhara Enclave, Delhi-110096 Phone: 011-43085920 CSR Times Kolkata office: Royal Fortune Ventures (I) Ltd. # 2C, S. P. Block, 1st Floor Raja S C Mullick Road Jadavpur, Kolkata – 700032. Tel.: 09051433333. Printed at LIPEE Scan Pvt. Ltd., 89, DSIDC Shed, Okhla Industrial Area-I, New Delhi 110020 DISCLAIMER: All views expressed in this issue are that of the respective authors. The publisher may not agree with the independent views expressed in this magazine. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent courts and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only. COPYRIGHT: No content, text or image, of this magazine is permissible for reproduction in any form, print or digital, without written consent of the Editor. FEEDBACK: [email protected] www.facebook.com/csrtimesmag www.twitter.com/csrtimesmag www.linkedin.com/in/csrtimesmag www.csrtimes.org RNI: DELENG/2013/49640

guest editor

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he importance of Corporate Social Responsibility is engraving deep into Indian companies as three out of four companies in India already have or are planning for a core team dedicated for managing their CSR initiatives within a year’s time frame. A robust CSR planning is central to India’s quest for equitable, inclusive and sustainable growth. With the new skills ministry in place, we would soon see a pie of the CSR budget of corporates and industries being channelised into training and certification of the workforce. The focus is very clear – a skilled India by 2022. With the introduction of the Companies Act, 2013, the mandate for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been formally introduced to the Indian corporates. The industry has responded in an extremely positive way to the reform measures undertaken by the government with huge interest across the public and private sector, within and outside India. The practice of CSR is not new to companies in India and skill development will be the game changer for Corporate Social Responsibility. CSR has assumed a new meaning in today’s world, where it is not just a philanthropic exercise, or one imposed on companies by the government, but one that has become an essential cog in the important process of nation building. Further, this Act will get more companies into the bracket. Also, it is likely that we will see more CSR spends in the future. The activation of the skills ministry and its conversation with the private sector will see a certain amount of this chunk being invested in the skill development of its manpower. It is imperative to ensure that the industry becomes a major partner in the government’s Skill India Mission, a plan to train 500 million people by 2022. To align ourselves to the “Make in India” and “Digital India” initiatives, it is crucial that we train our youth in the employability-linked skill development programmes. The good part is that this also qualifies as approved expenditure under CSR. The industry and associations envisage the change and preparing to equip companies for this shift of structured engagement with communities. Corporates will have to take steps to develop a CSR strategy and identify the key building blocks for initiating and developing CSR programmes which are linked to the growth of their company, their industry and their country. This in true sense can develop an organisation into one that is socially responsible and contributes for a change that it wants to see. It should be our endeavour to build a society which gives ample opportunity to the youth of our country and improve their livelihood. Therefore, the Companies Act, 2013 presents a unique opportunity to stand up to the challenge that India has today, considering the demographic dividend of the country. It is a call for action and a ripe time that we do our bit. The current issue of CSR Times provides some interesting stories on best CSR practices at AT&T, ONGC’s initiative to fill health care gaps in India, success story from OIL, interview of R.G. Rajan, CMD, RCF, Environmentalist Foundation of India’s transformative story, the life of Abul Kalam Azad and his efforts to transform the Indian education system, expert opinion from Prakash Kumar on sanitation and how India can make Swachh Bharat Abhiyan a success and cover story on what difference is NTPC Dadri Plant making to the society. We take immense pleasure in sharing with our readers that Global Compact Network India is now a part of the Editorial Board of CSR Times. Happy reading!

Dilip Chenoy CEO & MD National Skill Development Corporation

cover story

Letters to the Editor 16

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Edulever - bridging the gaps in social sector 6 Mobile Medical Units by ONGC filling the gaps.... 22 Interview: R.G. Rajan, CMD, Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd. 24 Abul Kalam Azad: an advocate of modern education 26 Snippets28 CSR Professional: Radhika Ralhan 34 Event  35 Milind Soman: a sprinter with a cause 38 4 CSR TIMES

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Reputation increases manifolds Current affairs, stories on NGOs, opinions from CSR experts, initiatives by corporates and PSUs, celebs’ social work and what not! The portfolio of CSR Times has something or the other for everyone. If this seemingly top notch magazine doesn’t enjoy the numero uno position, I am quite certain that the day is not far when it will lead and rest will follow. As I have closely watched its evolution through 2013, the year 2014 has raised the magazine’s reputation manifolds. No CSR conference or forum goes without a mention of CSR Times. I wish the team all the best! - Anirudh Raheja, Journalist An impeccable package As the October issue of CSR Times caught my eye, I could witness the facelift of the magazine. One could say – it’s a complete impeccable package. Ranging from opinions to exceptional theme based stories, from celeb social initiatives to write ups by international experts, the magazine is becoming the apple of every eye. Above all, the cover of the issue is worth commending. Comparing it with the earlier issues, the current issue’s font, style, colour selection, picture placement et al have gone through a tremendous transition. The magazine is enriching, engaging and educative at the same time. - Azhar Hussain - Convergys Overhaul will work well I must say the stories enjoy very catchy headlines. Some of the examples are Less is More at Uninor, Conserving is Generating at Schneider Electric, CSR – Doing it the Canara Way, etc. But, as I could recall, I haven’t seen any story or the likes of Global companies with best reputation, Top CSR spenders et al. I anticipate such stories more often.

The cover of CSR Times October issue needs a special mention as it is quite differentiating form the so called common lot. As one could hardly see any guest column in the magazine, it is a suggestion to start one regular column on CSR. - Lalit Kumar, Wipro Filtering down the knowledge from overseas My favourites are Making a Difference, Celeb, initiative and the cover story. Apart from these favourite, I love to keep myself abreast with the current affairs. The magazine, as it brings in authors and writes from overseas to write, is a brilliant concept. It will definitely ensure the reach and readership of the magazine beyond horizons. - Dinesh Bhatt, Entrepreneur Interviews are the USP All the issues of CSR Times in the year 2014 have been a great deal. Except the cover stories, interviews with the likes of Mahesh Gupta, Chairman, Kent RO Systems, Pooja Thakran, Uninor, and Col. Prakash Tewari, Jindal Steel and Power limited have been the USP of this magazine, I feel. Not only the interviews educate scores, but are also a big source of information concerning what corporate are doing and what are the current trends. CSR Times is one such source which one can fully rely on. It acts as a platform for corporate and PSUs while for students it is a great learning resource. May the magazine achieve great heights in the coming times! - Nagendra Gangwar - IBM Bringing diversity under one roof! People at forums either talk about their CSR initiatives of companies or they talk about CSR Times. What makes the magazine a distinguished one is its enriching con-

tent and the overall appeal. On one hand, the UN nominates Leonardo DiCaprio as the UN Messenger of Peace, on the other hand, a story appears on CSR Times discussing Leo’s social causes. Under the section – Making a Difference – the stories in last couple of issues like the one on Goonj and the other on Biodiversity Conservation are a good read. Current affairs, success stories, interviews and opinions are worth investing time in. - Ashutosh Thakur, Delhi University Incorporate new ideas and trends Despite the magazine doing great, it needs to inculcate several new ideas and global trends for the sake of Indian readers and CSR professional. I could also see a lot of scope to add new sections and the pages of the magazine could also go up. The latest issue is an eye-candy, especially the creative cover. Success stories from GAIL and OIL and initiative of Airbus Foundation were good read. A story in the September issue on CSR trends in Gulf was enlightening. As it is a fresh one in my mind, I hope it would have helped many others too in the field of CSR. Article on foreign funding in NGOs in the latest issue was educative as well. - Atul Rawat May success comes in handy All is well that ends well may resonate with the story of CSR Times. Being a person who has had witnessed the struggling period of the magazine with two colours with a minimalistic content approach, to where it stands now narrates a fairy tale. As the magazine is close to its second anniversary, I wish the magazine attracts eternal success to stay in there. - Pragya Sachan, TISS CSR Hub January 2015 l CSR TIMES 5

PROFILE

Edulever - bridging the gaps in social sector

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n early 2012, the global finance major Barclays was looking at expanding its Vocational Training programme in India as part of its CSR. Their earlier foray had yielded some results, but there were quality deficits they were concerned about. Around then, the head of CSR at Barclays India came to know of Edulever, a consulting and resource agency for the social development sector. What followed was a fruitful one-year partnership during which Edulever helped Barclays set up its Youth Employability Programme, focusing on critical qualitative issues such as curriculum, teacher training, and programme monitoring. Edulever was founded in September 2009 by Chetan Kapoor, a 43-year old social entrepreneur who says that he organically gravitated towards the social development sector after drifting in the corporate space for a few years. An alumnus of Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi, Chetan worked with the NGO Pratham for over 3 years where he learnt the ropes about the education sector in particu-

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lar, and the NGO sector in general. As the head of a primary education programme in Delhi which reached out to over 20,000 children annually, Chetan saw at close quarters how quality and scale in an education programme can be at loggerheads with each other. This observation got compounded in his subsequent stints at American India Foundation and Bharti Foundation, gradually giving shape to the idea of Edulever. In its five years of existence, Edulever has worked on close to 60 projects with around 30 clients. The client list includes funding agencies such as Plan International and American India Foundation, large NGOs such as Pratham, Smile and Anudip Foundation, and corporates such as Barclays, ITC, and Tech Mahindra Foundation. In all these projects, Edulever has worked behind the scenes to create high quality programme processes and tools as well as to build capacity of the implementing partners through teacher training workshops. Edulever’s curriculum for vocational training programmes, which has been used by

agencies such as Don Bosco Tech India and Quest Alliance, has benefitted over 200,000 students in various VT centers across the country. Among the most significant associations of Edulever has been the one with the Tech Mahindra Foundation (TMF), with whom Chetan and his team have been working since April 2012. Edulever has played an instrumental role in the conceptualisation and growth of TMF’s flagship Vocational Training programme – the SMART (Skillsfor-Market Training) Programme. By 2012, TMF was already supporting a few NGOs in Skill Development but there was a lack of consistency in its approach. Chetan closely worked with Dr. Loveleen Kacker, the newly-appointed CEO of TMF, to build the framework, processes, and implementation tools for the SMART programme. Starting with three centers in October 2012, the programme is now operational in 51 centers in ten major Indian cities with over 10,000 youth being trained annually. Dr. Kacker says, “The Edulever team has a good understanding of the Vocational Training sector and

is grounded in reality. Having worked on several Skill Development projects, they have taken a comprehensive look at the sector and have developed strong processes to augment quality in a VT programme.” But Edulever is not just about Vocational Training; the agency has worked on some large education projects as well. One of the most challenging projects came Edulever’s way in mid-2010 itself, when the then nascent organisation was commissioned by Education Development Center, a Washington D.C. based agency, to train 240 teachers and 120 leaders from Madarsas for an USAID funded project called MEGA (Minorities Education for Growth & Advancement). The Edulever team fanned out to parts of UP, Bihar, and Rajasthan to deliver these trainings, and then followed up with refresher trainings a few months later. In another project for the Coca Cola-NDTV Support My School campaign, the Edulever team conducted training workshops for government school teachers across 10 states in 6 different languages. The crux of these teacher training workshops is to help the teachers hone their facilitation skills, which, as Chetan puts it, “lie at the heart of the classroom process.” Edulever was founded with the intent of improving the effectiveness and efficiency of all classroom-based education programmes. In its early years, therefore, Edulever focused on three core activities: Curriculum Development, Teacher Training, and Learning Assessment. A series of assignments in 2010 – most of them in the Skill Development domain – helped Edulever develop a repository of experiences in the sector. Though most of its clients are nonprofits, Edulever itself is registered as a for-profit company and charges a consulting fees from its clients for the projects. Chetan believes that the distinction between for-profits and nonprofits is an artificial one; “there’s nothing wrong in making profits as long as it is done with a sense of responsibility,” he says. However, a significant moment for him came in early 2011, when he realised that with Edulever, he would always be “one degree removed from

the ground” as Edulever does not itself implement. Hence, he decided to set up an NGO which could get into direct implementation and serve as a laboratory for Edulever. The outcome of this decision was Agrasar – a Public Charitable Trust based in Gurgaon – which is now running four skill development centers with the support of Tech Mahindra Foundation, Concern India, and ITC. Agrasar has its own management and operations team, and the two organisations work independently but synergistically. With CSR now becoming mandatory, Edulever has recently launched a service called LEVERAGE – an end-to-end solution for CSR. Through this service, Edulever aims at helping corporates maximise their returns on social investment. Whether a company is yet to make a serious foray into CSR, or already has a well-developed CSR programme, LEVERAGE offers an array of services to support CSR activity at various stages. This includes policy and strategy formulation, execution support, NGO due diligence, monitoring & evaluation, impact assessment, and communication & brand promotions.

assessment covering over 12,000 students of classes 9 and 10. In addition, they have observed 250 classroom sessions in these two states. Another research project in the Vocational Training space is currently underway. Despite working on a large number of projects in a short span of five years, Edulever remains a small, well-knit organisation. The core team comprises four members. Edulever relies on a large panel of freelancers and other consultants who are engaged on a project basis. By design, the organisation wants to remain a learning platform for young professionals committed to the social development sector. Palak Arora, who has recently joined the organisation says, “As a young development professional, Edulever has given me the opportunity to explore, sharpen my skills and contribute in the social development space. The environment here propels to use my abilities in shaping up a better future for ‘we’ and ‘me’!” With the focus on CSR and the role of civil society increasing by the day, there is a significant gap that organisations such as Edulever can fill. Not only do

Chetan Kapoor conducting a workshop The other area in which Edulever has recently made serious forays is that of Research and Evaluation. In 2014, Edulever started work on one of its largest projects – impact assessment of an education programme being implemented in UP and Odisha for a UK-based client. As part of this, the Edulever team has recently concluded a baseline

they help bridge the vast gap between NGOs and the corporate sector, but also provide the much-needed boost to the level of quality in social development programmes. n Edulever has its head office in Gurgaon and can be contacted at www.edulever.in

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SUCCESS STORY

Rahul Sahani, IIT Madras Civil Engineering

Oil India Super 30, Dibrugarh (2013-14)

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y name is Rahul Sahani. I belong to Shantipur (in Sadiya) a remote place of Assam. Brahmaputra River separates my native place Sadiya from Tinsukia district, which is the foremost reason that our area is quite backward in terms

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of education, information, connectivity, medical & transportation facilities. My father runs a shop and mother is a house wife. Amongst the four siblings (3 brothers and 1 sister), I am the eldest one. My father was the only bread and butter earner in our family. The shop was

generating good business and we were fairly managing our expenses, till the time misfortune hit us hard due to my father’s drinking habits. My initial schooling happened at St. Thomas School, the only English medium school in our area. I am always indebted to my parents as they

always provided me the best education at any cost. Since my childhood I was a sharp student who always dreamt of becoming an engineer. As both my parents are simple matriculates, the credit of shaping my life goes to my tuition teacher. My father’s drinking habits led to the gradual ruin of our shop, which deteriorated our financial condition. Five years of my life (from 5th to 10th standard) were like the most traumatising years which brought great suffering to my family as well. Sometimes, in the absence of our father, we brothers had to replace our father to run the shop. We were shattered after knowing later that my father had developed kidney tumor, but unfortunately he was being operated for kidney stone by the doctors (an example of complete careless attitude of them towards patients). This period brought misfortune to our family in huge multitudes. I topped in 8th standard, but by the time I reached 10th, I was burdened with a lot of family issues. My father frequented hospitals for medical reasons and in December (while my exams were supposed to happen in February), for the entire month I had to run our family shop with my brother (a hotel), as my father had a severe head injury. In our village or amongst my relatives and acquaintances nobody had even heard about NIT, IIT or such concepts before. Due to lack of awareness and knowledge sharing, I had not even the least idea about IIT or NIT. During this painful period, however, I still grappled to my limits to study as hard as I could. Adversity couldn’t break my will and I scored 89.5% in my 10th grade, irrespective of my severe circumstances. It was the highest in Sadiya Sub-Division and among top 10 scores in the entire district. My good score fetched me admission in Cotton College in Guwahati. But the adversity didn’t fade away, it continued to trouble us and my father was to be operated for tumor. As operation in Assam was risky, my uncle took him to Chennai and the

operation went to be a success. But on the other hand, my father had to lose one kidney. We didn’t have the money to pay for his operation, but my grandfather somehow arranged the money by selling his land. Under such a situation, I didn’t want to be a burden on my family anymore. Therefore, I requested one of my friends studying in Dibrugarh to search for any institute which offers free education based on good academic records. Then Gurukul Juniour College happened and they provided me free seat on the condition that I will have to prove myself at studies. While pursuing studies here, I came to know about coachings, entrance exams for various profiles and so on. But given my economic condition, I could not even think of private coaching. In class 11, I was pretty sure to get some work on my own and hoped to get a seat in Assam Engineering Colleges. Having heard many a times about how tough and challenging it is to crack IIT/JEE, I always thought of IIT/JEE as something beyond my reach and capability. Moreover, I didn’t have the good fortune to undergo the biggest guarantee of cracking IIT/JEE – a private coaching. Still at Gurukul I used to practice some JEE problems on my own and my faculty members too at times helped me in that. But it was not enough, it didn’t have the JEE approach and standard. This was the ripe time when God smiled at me and said, “Your effort should meet some opportunity” and hence I came to know about Indian OIL Super 30 in Jorhat. Earlier I was of the view that it has its presence in Bihar only. As I knew a little more about it, about free residential coaching, my heart passionately started beating for it. While thinking to appear for it after my 12th, I decided to somehow give it a try while I was in 11th. I felt extremely lucky when I got to know that I have cleared it and have been called for an interview. On the other hand, around this time only I had also applied for NERIST – a premiere institute in North East. I

cracked the entrance with Rank 1 while on the other hand I got selected for Super 30 also. Having in dilemma for quite some time, I eventually decided to opt for OIL India Super 30, which happens to be close to my college in Dibrugarh. Initially it was a feel good factor at Super 30, but soon the picture emerged very clearly telling me that you need to give sweat and blood, sleepless nights to make it to IIT. The training at Super 30 taught me that we need to complete 2 years syllabus in just a few months. Regular classes and tests helped me learn various problem solving techniques and higher order problems/ concepts that weren’t taught in my college. At the same time, I needed to prepare for my board exams and my college expected me to be in top 10 ranks. Pressure was very high, but I didn’t give up. I was primarily prepared for JEE and secondarily for NIT. I would like to mention Yadav Sir (Maths), Alam Sir (Chemistry) and Damodar Sir (Physics), who would help us in advance level problems solving and concepts. After appearing for my board exams, I had to prepare for JEE Advance. I studied hard (could have studied much harder), solved previous years’ papers, problem solving etc. 19th June, when our results were announced, was a big day for me and some of my friends at Super 30, as we made it to IIT. The joy of my family and relatives knew no bounds, as I was the first one in entire Sadiya to get a seat at IIT. I opted for IIT Madras, Civil Engineering. And with the help of CSRL and OIL India, today I am here at IIT Madras, a boy from a lower middle class, economically challenged family from a remote, underdeveloped place where nobody is even aware of anything like IIT, JEE or NIT. This became possible because of my parents and family’s unconditional support and love, Super 30 run by CSRL and OIL India combined by my hard work. But I feel that the journey has just begun and that I have to go a long way. n January 2015 l CSR TIMES 9

OPINION

En route clean India learnings from the past

Sanitation, health, hygiene, cleanliness are closely associated, but to address the existing loopholes in various sanitation and health related programmes in India, one size fits all approach is not viable for every related aspect. Moreover, it becomes imperative to take lessons from the failure of similar cleanliness initiatives in the past and come up with customised yet innovative solutions to make the Clean India Drive a success.

By Prakash Kumar

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ndian Government under the leadership of Narendra Modi has given highest impetus to “Clean India Campaign” to make India clean and its citizens healthy. After Mahatma Gandhi, the Hon’ble PM is the only mass leader to understand the value of sanitation and its link with individual’s health and national pride.

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Mahatma Gandhi way back in 1925 said that “Cleanliness is next to Godliness” and having a lavatory in each and every household should be the top priority. But after his iconic call of 1925 and later on for improving sanitation the situation remains very grim. Modi government has taken this long unfinished agenda of the nation to make India clean by 2019, as a tribute on the 150th birth anniversary year

of Mahatma Gandhi. This is a daunting task but he has given the much desired momentum and vision to see India clean as a nation. The vision to see India clean now rests with government functionaries from centre to village level, civil society, women groups, panchayati raj institutions, corporates through CSR and more on the 125 crore citizens of India, individually and collectively. Sanitation touches one and

all with direct link to nutrition, health and livelihood. By this renewed campaign India wants to achieve overall cleanliness encompassing all the components of sanitation: safe drinking water, safe disposal of waste water, sanitary toilets in homes and public institutions, solid waste disposal, domestic & food hygiene, personal hygiene and community cleanliness. The vision, mission and objective of Clean India Campaign is in line with what India needs at the moment to provide good health to all its citizens by curbing disease outbreaks due to poor sanitation, respect & dignity particularly to women, reduce child mortality, improve sanitation conditions at schools & anganwadi centres, increase in productive man days and attracting more tourists to clean India. However, in independent India, similar campaigns were launched in 1986 as Central Rural Sanitation Programme, changed to Total Sanitation Campaign in 1999, renamed in 2009 as Nirmal Bharat Abhiyaan and now it is Clean India – Healthy India. What changed in all previous programmes was that all revolves around providing incentive for toilet construction to individual households, which increased from Rs 250 in 80s to Rs 12000 in 2014, whereas rest remains unchanged. The policy, strategy, framework, guidelines talk differently but the delivery remains focused on toilet construction. The desired goals were not achieved through these programmes which promised to make India clean in a decade and also to meet MDG goal 7. The problem lies in delivering the intended benefits to the community. Sanitation is not limited to toilet installation yet toilet is one component of sustainable sanitation. All previous programmes entered the community with toilet installation and failed to have any long term sustainable improvement in the lives of community and their surroundings. However, Clean India Campaign has visualised and put additional thrust on making India free from open defecation, but the irony is that the existing loopholes in the delivery model for such a huge campaign

remain same. Without proper delivery mechanism, one of the best triggering and sparking atmosphere created by Modi government will fizzle out and then it will be difficult for any government to again re-ignite the nation for making India clean and healthy in near term. 60 crore people defecate open in India everyday, roughly discharging 9 crore tonnes of fresh faecal matter in the environment, which in turn pollutes and contaminates fields and water bodies. On an average, an adult defecates 50 litres of faecal matter and 500 litres of urine per year. But what we made out of this 50 litre of highly pathogenic matter mixed with less pathogenic urine and further mixed

requires solutions specific to coastal, flood prone, deserts, mountainous, high water table and water stressed areas. Modern technology and solutions are needed on the principle of reduce, reuse and recycle. For this, Clean India Campaign requires to put additional thrust on innovation and research for area specific sanitation solutions. Apart from poor linkage of sanitation with nutrition, health and education, Clean India Campaign is silent on linking sanitation with agriculture and thereof with energy by using human excreta as resource. Resource oriented sanitation solutions have in-built sustainability and there are several technological solutions available to safely recycle NPK found in human excreta to

with anal cleaning water and flush water to roughly 15,550 litres per annum per person. We make the problem bigger for treatment and discharge. It is a blessing in disguise that 60 crore people in India are defecating in open. This provides us an unmatched opportunity to Clean India Campaign to promote newer technologies for sanitation which requires less water and energy for treatment and that can be recycled. Therefore, sanitation technology is another area which will play a vital role for the success of Clean India Campaign. Be it for toilets, solid waste, waste water etc. One solution for the entire country with different geographical regions will not work. Clean India Campaign

field. The Chinese community knew it well that human excreta carries value that can be used in farming. Clean India Campaign needs to promote productive sanitation as a win-win solution for better health for its citizens and also to use the resources. An average adult can produce approximately 5-6 kg of NPK per year from faecal discharge and urine. India is largely a washing community which uses water for anal cleaning. This washing nature also instils a sense of fear in handling faecal matter that gives more challenge to sanitation management. The fecophobic nature is also one of the major causes of large scale open defecation away from home January 2015 l CSR TIMES 11

OPINION in the fields in rural areas and flush and forget while using toilet. Clean India Campaign stands with a huge target to meet in next five years, with only 11.91 % of the panchayats in India achieving clean status (as per 2012-13 data) while many more are slipping back rapidly due to poor post implementation support. The target to rid India of open defecation is to install 12 crore usable toilets in next five years, ie: 20 lac toilets per month or 66,666 toilets per day. The situation is not only alarming in open defecators’ case, but the practice is equally rampant amongst toilet owners too. Participatory learning tools should be used for community awareness and action to identify and prioritise prob-

lems, plan strategies, put strategies into practice and evaluate together. Let the campaign awareness spread and facilitate community to prepare them to improve their environment. Not only linking sanitation with respect and dignity, but to highlight shame and disgust for open defecation is imperative too. If community and its various groups can be made aware, then only they will change their conditions. Strong community monitoring groups and some sort of disincentives for those who practice open defecation will help Clean India Campaign to sustain the initiatives. But a question rises here: Is building toilets the only way that can substitute/break the faecal oral contamination route? No, it’s not. There are other doable solutions too. One such solution is to cover the faeces with soil to break the 12 CSR TIMES

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faecal oral contamination route and slowly moving to permanent solutions by constructing a sanitary toilet, suitable to specific geographical region. This is the way to make India clean and healthy and this is not new, as Mahatma Gandhi said in 1925 that “Tatti (faeces) par Mittti (soil).” The intent for Clean India Campaign is revolutionary but the methodology to achieve the desired result needs revision and detailed deliberation on the following: 1. Creation of demand for sanitation through consistent awareness and behaviour change campaigns. To deliver full benefits of Clean India Campaign, universal improvement in sanitation is a must. The full benefit of sanitation could not be derived by community in which some households still practice open defecation. The pathogenic bacteria don’t know any boundary and will pose danger to the households using safe sanitation practices. Build demand then build toilets. 2. Special emphasis on children ‘catch them young’ and curriculum change in schools for long term sustainability of campaign. 3. Linking demand with supply side and delivery mechanism from centre to state, from district to block to panchayat and villages. Open and transparent delivery system. 4. Menu of technological options for specific geographical areas. Match solution with the region. 5. Adequate human resources, capacity building and skills enhancement of all stakeholders including attracting fresh skills to the sector. Creating regular positions at villages for sanitation as ASHA in health and AWW in nutrition, block and district level facilitators. 6. Regular monitoring and evaluation and course correction. Third party independent monitoring involving all stakeholders. 7. Strengthening the supply side of material availability at block and panchayat level. Support sanitary marts at

panchayat level. 8. Transfer of direct incentive to beneficiary account. Instil trust in beneficiary to receive incentive after construction of toilet. 9. Better coordination and joint shared responsibility with government vertical mission mode programme of ICDS for utrition, NRHM for health, NRDWP for water and education with sanitation. 10. Post implementation support for minimum two years on long term sustainability and operation & maintenance of created facilities. 11. Enhanced focus on women participation and women self-help groups. 12. Trust building between government counterparts and community. 13. Separate adequate budget for sustaining BCC across the country is required in Clean India Campaign. Government is providing an incentive of Rs. 12000 for one toilet and similarly provisions should be made for approximately Rs 300-400 per household for BCC for a longer period. 14. Behaviour change messages should be simple and understandable. One such message that has potential to trigger community is to demonstrate that they are digesting faecal matter of others through flies, finger, field, food and water. This revelation has made many communities to set a realistic target to make their entire community open defecation free. To conclude, universal sanitation improvement in India cannot be achieved in short term. It requires a generation mind set to change and to do that Clean India Campaign should focus on children and women so that the next generation of India will live and breathe in an open defecation free environment. It requires patience, robust planning with achievable targets and meaningful community participation. n Prakash Kumar is Team Leader at SWASTH-Bihar Technical Assistance and Support Team, Patna supported by DFID, UK implementing health sector reform program in Bihar in partnership with GoB integrating Health, Nutrition and WASH.

GLOBAL BEST PRACTICES

CSR and PR

a key tool to best practices

Among 2014 PRWeek Awards winners, the AT&T’s ‘It can wait’ CSR road safety awareness movement emerges as a perfect example of integrated CSR/PR campaign.

By Ilaria Gualtieri

C

orporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can be successfully used to convey social messages and drive attitude change in people around the world. Public relations (PR) and technology in particular are a great attention multiplier, for either the good or the bad. However, how can a company successfully drive social change? What is the key to effective corporate advocacy? CSR and Public Relations are two different disciplines. The first aims at promoting a social role for corpora14 CSR TIMES

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tions; the other at persuading and influencing publics in multiple ways. CSR shall be supported by an appropriate use of PR to effectively reach out to wider publics: PR can indeed magnify and enhance CSR messages. However, when practitioners try to harmonise the disciplines, potential risks may arise. The CSR/PR panorama brings numerous examples of alleged social campaigns that sank because of lack of credibility, while others that made the headlines fall in the PR ‘stunts’ category, presenting weak linkages with the cause supported. A great example of how PR may sup-

port and multiply CSR efforts is a social awareness campaign, It can wait. With technology permeating our everyday life, along with the comfort of accessing information and friends 24/7, behaviours such as texting and driving are especially dangerous. Nearly 200,000 people worldwide die every year in car accidents associated with inappropriate use of mobile phones. These statistics were an important driver for AT&T, a provider of telecommunications services in the United States and worldwide (Reuters, 2014). The company’s It Can Wait CSR campaign links straight to its core busi-

nesses, being dedicated to product safety and promoting a responsible use of technology. The long-term campaign is an exemplary model of integrated marketing communication, including advertising, online resources, employee and suppliers involvement, social media engagement, events and programmes, external support, multimedia, and, last but not least, a sound background research. It Can Wait kicked off in 2010 to raise awareness on the dangers of texting and driving. The campaign escalated to action in 2012 by reaching out to schools and communities, providing interactive driving simulations for participants to experience what happens when drivers are distracted, and encouraging people to pledge not to text and drive. In 2013, the programme moved onto advocacy, officially becoming a social movement (AT&T, 2014). In 2014, raising awareness was supported by the launch of Drive Mode mobile app, which silences incoming text message alerts so to allow drivers focusing while driving. The app automatically replies to text messages: it turns on when the vehicle is moving, and keeps young drivers safe by sending a text message to a parent if the app is turned off. Interestingly, the campaign introduced a social tool, “#X”: when drivers send the message “#X” to their family and social networks, it means “I’m checking out while I drive. Back soon.” The campaign also launched a national event, the Drive 4 Pledges Day, gathering activists and online users with more than 200 events across the US which generated around 1.2 billion impressions on Twitter. AT&T, working with a renowned PR agency, gathered support from approximately 1,500 organisations, enlisted celebrity help, created a documentary, and engaged audiences via social media (#ItCanWait), while traditional advertising was presented through a national ad campaign featuring celebrities and sharing the stories of those whose lives were impacted by a texting-while-driving crash (AT&T, 2014). What makes this campaign 2014 PR Week’s Cause Branding Campaign and

Public Relations Society of America’s (PRSA) awards winner? What are the elements that make it a best practice? Firstly, the company’s CSR practitioners have found a perfect match between the corporate business and a growing social issue, texting-whiledriving. The link is plausible, and the problem is wide enough to touch a vast public, including different age groups, such as youngsters, millennials, and their parents. The objectives of AT&T for embarking in this programme are simply deduced: associating their brand with a social cause, promoting a safe and responsible use of technology in everyday life, branding their company as a corporation that “cares” for its customers, and, of course, strengthen relations with their stakeholders (customers, suppliers, employees, etc.) whilst extending their reach to new ones. Roper and Fill (2012:259) advise CSR communicators to account four dimensions: accuracy, timeliness, transparency, and credibility. The credibility dimension is well met: it is plausible that a telecom giant associates with responsible technology use awareness. Throughout the campaign, publications, videos, social media, advert and events have met and exceeded the other dimensions’ requirements, creating an emotional connection with the target, providing information, promoting engagement, permeating publics’ everyday lives through various communication and PR channels. The consistency of the campaign is also supported by its duration: started in 2010, the growth was gradual and coherent. This is an undeniable sign that it is not just PR, but a concerted effort that allowed the company enjoying extensive visibility and branding benefits. Academia believes that CSR entails spreading information that legitimises a company by trying to manage stakeholders’ perceptions (Birth et al., 2008). In this sense, CSR is not only a mechanism to express and achieve corporate objectives, but also an effective way to construct and negotiate meaning with stakeholders (Christensen

and Cheney, 2011). This is particularly true looking at this campaign: It can Wait. The campaign is the exemplification of CSR potential. With a worthy background cause and the appropriate use of public relations, corporations may indeed be ‘a vehicle for advancing societal goals’ (Kanter, 2011:66). CSR generates an emotional branding connection, establishes means of personal dialogue with consumers (through a correct use of communication channels) that can permeate their lives at multiple levels (Gobe, 2001). Fun enough, two distinguished authors such as Capriotti and Moreno, defined CSR “one of the most prominent themes in…public relations” (2007:85). Similarly, Dawkins (2004:118) advised that communication is “the missing link in corporate responsibility”. This means that although CSR campaigns may exist without the support of PR, CSR would not be able to grow and effectively reach stakeholders, if not supported by an appropriate PR and communication strategy. Although some CSR initiatives may be fancy whilst empty PR facades, a proactive, transparent, and accurate PR and communication strategy is a key tool to engage stakeholders. The skepticism towards an excess of CSR promotion is not entirely solved. Today there are, and there will continue to be, companies that look more at promoting, rather than doing, good CSR. However, the lesson learnt from this best practice can be applied at multiple levels, also by corporations with smaller human and financial resources. The moral of the story is that a wellconstructed CSR campaign that meets Roper’s and Fill four dimensions can be enhanced by a targeted use of public relations. Although the CSR and PR disciplines may exist independently, their appropriate synergy is a key tool to bring tangible benefits to the corporation, especially in the field of corporate advocacy to a cause. n The writer is a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and communication consultant specialised in the Middle East and Gulf Region.

January 2015 l CSR TIMES 15

COVER STORY

Dadri Plant: Striving to bring inclusive growth through need assessment As Corporate Social Responsibility has got the prime attention of CSR professionals in most of the organisations in the recent times which fall under Companies Act, 2013 purview, CSR Times brings to you an overview of how CSR acts as a change maker at NTPC Dadri Plant.

I

t was 10 am and our vehicle was cutting through the NH 24 smog, spearheading the way towards Dadri, a small town of UP on the outskirts of Ghaziabad (NCR). The scenario en route was quite differentiating as time squeezed the distance between Noida and Dadri. Soon we were on a link road which connects NH 24 to Dadri. We realised that it was unlike the usual roads we have been habitual to in our day to day life. It was a concretised road, well leveled and well maintained. Travelling on it was a little bizarre experience as our journey was

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quite comfy than our routine travelling in and around Delhi-NCR. A few minutes passed and we were at the gate of National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) Dadri plant. The purpose was to have a close look on what the public sector enterprise plant is upto in the social sector in its own capacity. NTPC Dadri is a flagship project of NTPC Ltd. The station believes in sustainable development of the surrounding areas along with the development of main business of the company. It’s a milestone project in power generation, catering to the needs of the Na-

tional Capital Region and other states apart from Railways. The Station occupies 2703 acres of land and has the distinction of being the unique project, consisting of 1820 MW of coal based unit, 829 MW gas based modules and 5 MW solar unit. Also, the station has the largest switchyard in the country with a power handling capacity of 5300 MW and Asia’s first dry ash handling system. The CSR team at the plant welcomed us and within a few minutes we were at the plant’s Executive Director’s office. Post a quick round of introduction

and overview with DK Sood (Executive Director, NTPC Dadri Plant) about the CSR initiatives carried out by the plant, we left to have a firsthand experience of the humanly camaraderie created by NTPC with its neighbourhood and the local ecosystem. Rated 3rd best company in India to work for by Economic Times in 2012, we initiated our first step to visit its CSR initiatives across the spectrum. Let’s know upto what extent has the plant gone in fulfilling its social responsibility.

Health Care SC Sharma, AGM, CSR at the plant accompanied us on our visit to NTPC Hospital. As you walk past the corridors between the different blocks of the hospital building, one would get an all together different feeling of cleanliness and hygiene. Not even a speck of dust could be found in the corridors. A feeling surges inside you as if you are not in a hospital. Housing various departments like Emergency, Inpatient, Department of Medicine (2 doctors), Surgery Department (2 doctors), Gynaecology (3 doctors), Anesthesia (1 doctor), Ortho (1 doctor), Pediatrics (1 doctor), Dental Department (1 visiting doctor), ENT Department, Eye Department (2 doctors), Department of Optometry, Department of Pathology, Department of Radiology, Department of Homeopathy, Department of Physiotherapy, Department of Ayurveda et al, the hospital caters to every medical need of the local population. Albeit

Dr Arup Roy Choudhury, CMD, NTPC

“We will continue to take up Sustainable development projects for conserving natural resources, energy, water and make all out efforts to minimise environmental impacts of our projects on the society. We will also continue to invest in community around our power stations through various initiatives by providing access to water, electricity, education, healthcare etc.”

the hospital is equipped with a strong team of doctors, housing almost every required department, the highlights of the Hospital are NTPC Foundation National Disability Rehabilitation Center (NFNDRC) and TB Dot Care Center, the most talked about among all. As we came in contact with Dr. Ashok G. RisBood, Orthopaedician at the hospital, he escorted us to have a quick round

NTPC Hospital in Dadri Plant

of the various departments in the hospital. For eradication of TB in the nearby area a DOT center is functional in NTPC hospital and one medical van goes to the villages to identify TB patients who are subsequently treated free in DOT center. While asked about the working model pertaining to people with disabilities, Dr Ashok shared, “NTPC in collaboration with National Institute for the Orthopaedically Handicapped (NIOH), Kolkata carry out a survey in the nearby villages and based on need assessment, we ensure that the requirements are met quickly.” Not only this, NTPC even helps people with disabilities to get disability certificates, pension etc by arranging meetings for them with the concerned state government department officials. The team visits a nearby village twice a week to identify disabled individuals and provide them medical aid like artificial limbs, calipers, wheel chairs etc, on the other hand the doctors carry out surgeries for these villagers if need be, sans any cost involved. Health checkup camps are organised more often in villages while eye check up camps are organised every year where more than 200 cases of cataract are operated every year.

Infrastructure Development & Sanitation As the story unfolded further, we inquired about the roads. And we were informed that NTPC Dadri plant has developed a 70 kilometers of metallic road connecting various villages and rural areas. In fiscal year 2013-14 itself, with a budget of Rs 81.89 lakh, the Maharatna has constructed 2 kms of CC lanes, comforting nine villages like Tataarpur, Rasoolpur Daasna, Sidhipur, Chouna, Gulawathi Khurd, Khagauda, Onncha Amirpur, Badpura and Salaarpur Kala of Dadri. 13 villages around the plant have been provided bore well hand pumps in 2013-14. Although the maintenance and up keep of the roads is the responsibility of the state Govt., need based repair/renovation of these roads is carried out by NTPC. Besides this, a concrete link road approximate January 2015 l CSR TIMES 17

ITI Centre, infrastructure & sanitation development in the villages around the plant

Scholarship distribution to students

Beneficiaries of Eye Camp

15 km has been constructed to connect NH-91 with NH-24 which has helped the public at large. Concrete lanes are being constructed in all project affected villages to provide long term solution of the village roads. When we met Chouna Village Pradhan, he informed us that with NTPC’s collaboration the village has created a Panchayat Ghar, which is a model Panchayat Ghar in the entire UP, with separate rooms for different purposes. Infact, Chouna Village has emerged on UP map as a model village for various reasons. Almost every house in the village has its own toilet. This could become possible only with the intervention of NTPC Dadri Plant. On one hand, the plant constructed toilets for Below Poverty Line families; on the other hand, rest of the families of Chouna received direct or indirect support in the form of cement bags, financial assistance et al. With a quick gaze around, one comes with an observation how well every aspect is dealt 18 CSR TIMES

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with. CC drains and lanes are ensuring the highest quality of sanitation while making various aspects of life smooth for the village residents.

Education Many lives have witnessed a change since the time NTPC came in for their rescue in Chouna Village. Long ago, a bizarre incidence attracted everyone’s attention during school hours at a primary school in Chouna village. A school girl was observed leaving her class more often that day, but she would quickly return to her class with her head hanging down, exhibiting a feeling of discomfort. Later on when enquired by the Gram Pradhan, the girl shared her concern of not being able to relieve herself. Every time she would go to relieve herself in open, ironically she would encounter some passerby. The instance moved the heart of Devinder Khari, Pradhan, Village Chouna who visited senior officials at NTPC

and requested them if something could be done to address the issue. The plant officials understood the significance of the issue, hence intervened to construct toilet in the school and today the scenario is such that the primary school of the village has the maximum number of students in the entire district (350). The Village Pradhan shares the information with utmost proud. The intervention of the Maharatna has played a pivotal role in addressing a problem which is the foremost reason for ever increasing girl students’ dropout rate in most of the rural schools in India. Another middle school, Saraswati Shishu Mandir has been constructed by NTPC. Every requirement of the school has been fulfilled by the PSU for initial 3 years, but to make it sustainable in a long run, the local support was sought and now is run by employees’ voluntary organisation. The Headmaster at the school feels elated to share that value based education is the prime point here while all the teachers have a very strong compassionate bonding with more than 650 of their students at the school. The school nurtures a culture where every student is considered and treated special and their problems are addressed humanely. Apart from these schools, the plant has setup three schools Delhi Pubic School, DAV and Kendriya Vidyalya which are open to the local community also. SC Sharma, AGM, CSR, Dadri Plant shares, “We encourage the villagers to send their children to these schools and currently we have around 40 students from villages

studying in Delhi Public School, Dadri. The plant also provides scholarships to 24 meritorious students of 10th and 12th standards every year.

Skill Building NTPC believes in capacity building of the community for improving the life standard. To provide a sustainable solution, Industrial Training Institute was setup by NTPC in the year 1997 in association with the UP Govt. The institute houses 4 trades: Fitter, Electronics, Electrician and Welder. So far, the center has trained more than 700 students. Every infrastructure requirement like land, building and machinery has been provided by NTPC while running arrangements are provided by UP Govt. under NCVT (National Council of Vocational Trade, Govt. of India). The instructor at the center tells us that more than 70-80% of the trained manpower from the ITI Center have been absorbed by NTPC or are working in the nearby industrial area of Ghaziabad/Noida. Women Empowerment The Jagriti Samaj - Ladies club of NTPC Dadri provides a forum for the female members of families of employees with a view to not only enrich their own social lives but also to undertake various social welfare activities (programmes related to promoting literacy, education, skill building) for the benefit of women and children of nearby areas. The highly acclaimed CSR programmes of Jagriti Samaj include the Annual Eye Camp. Environment The station is the first in the country

to incorporate dry ash disposal technique. It has helped in conservation of land and water and has provided greater scope of ash utilisation for industrial use. Land requirement has reduced by 960 acres while water requirement has been brought down to the ratio of 1:50 by the use of dry ash handling system. The quantum of total ash produced is about 8500 MT/day. This ash has been constantly utilised to develop a 37 acre ash mound. As they say, “Where there is a will, there is a way”, the mound has been developed into a green forest. Apart from being used to enhance agriculture produce, the ash has also been utilised by various cement manufacturers. Yet another remarkable environment feature is the ash utilisation activities of the station. A long term plan has been drawn for 100% utilisation of ash in a phased manner. A fully automated ash brick plant with a capacity of more than 1 Lakh bricks/day has been setup for manufacturing of fly ash products like bricks, kerb stones, inter locking blocks, tiles, cement mortar etc. Almost 22 products are being manufactured at this brick plant. Electrostatic Precipitators with 99.94% efficiency have been installed to each generating unit to arrest all fly ash and fugitive dust from the boiler. The discharge of flue gases is through a 225 meter high metal multi-flue chimney to allow a wider disposal of the small percentage of dust that escapes the ESP. More than 1.6 million plants have been planted in and around the NTPC Dadri township. Liquid discharge from the plant is suitably treated. The neutralised effluent is directed to a sediment action basin and

after sedimentation the clear water is re-cycled by taking it to the water reservoir. Further sewage treatment plant and bio-methanation plant take care of the domestic waste. Conclusion NTPC Dadri had carried out a SocioEconomic Study of the affected area in the year 1993 through IIT, Kanpur and community development works were implemented. Subsequently in year 2009, Need Assessment Survey was done by the Social Department of Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi and based on their recommendation community development projects like construction of CC lanes, drains, providing hand pumps for drinking water and improvement of facilities of the schools have been executed. After execution of these activities, social impact evaluation has been done by Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi, which indicates that the efforts of NTPC have been well taken by the community and the brand image of NTPC as a responsible social entity has improved. Besides the satisfactory social profile of NTPC Dadri Plant, the need is now to accelerate the efforts. Albeit NTPC is committed to build more than 24,000 toilets in government schools under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, contribution should also be made towards programmes like Digital India and Skill India Mission. As India is expected to train 500 million skilled manpower by 2022 under Skill India Mission, the need for corporates and PSUs is to comply with such programmes if we want to bring an inclusive national growth within the set time frame. n January 2015 l CSR TIMES 19

COVER STORY What is CSR for you? Corporate Social Responsibility for us is the focus around the villages and need assessment through a third party agency. Based on the need assessment, we formulate our activities, get approved, and implement them. In your understanding, what challenges do you come across while taking on any CSR project? According to me, we encounter the most critical area during the process of implementing certain projects. For instance, pertaining to some infrastructure related CSR project, we need to offload the project to the state government agencies. Dealing with state government agencies need extensive persuasion while it involves an elongated procedure. Hence, the project gets delayed. Whereas on the other hand, for projects like scholarship programmes for 10th or 12th standard students, which are within our own purview, we don’t face any such challenge and are comparatively easy to implement. For how long has NTPC Dadri Plant contributing to the social good in its vicinity? NTPC as a whole organisation has been contributing to society for its betterment for years now, but I must admit that the scale of Dadri Plant’s activities was not that big as it is today. We ensure that the 2% of our CSR budget is utilised well and covers most of the needy population around. What is NTPC doing to reduce carbon footprints? We have made modifications in our efficiency operations. Our electrostatic precipitators are more than 99% efficient. We are also keeping ourselves abreast with the technological advancements, as we make use of the advanced technology. In order to keep the SPM levels well below the standards provided by the Environmental Pollution Control Board, the plant discharges (going out) have also been minimised. By August 2015, we are targeting to make Dadri Plant a zero discharge plant. Above all, a green zone has been developed over a mound composed of the ash discharged from the plant. This is a unique concept in the entire nation. 20 CSR TIMES

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D K Sood, Executive Director NTPC Dadri Would you like to talk about your CSR budgets for the fiscal year 2014-15? For the financial year 2014-15, we have almost Rs. 4 Crore budget which will be spent on areas like infrastructure building, roads, sanitation, education, scholarship programmes, skill development and women empowerment. In your view, what is the unique element in NTPC CSR initiatives? Our CSR activities’ uniqueness lies in the scale and the magnitude. The basis of our initiatives is need assessment and we try to benefit a vast spectrum of populace, not restricting ourselves to just a few. How do you envision Companies Act, 2013 bringing inclusive growth and prosperity to the nation? The Companies Act, 2013 provided a much needed thrust to the role of companies in order to play a more constructive and effective part in contributing and meeting their responsibilities towards the society. Sustainable development is the key word now and, every company needs to cater to societal development with regards to different facets, in addition to engaging in their main activities/ business. Do you favour voluntary CSR or mandated CSR? Please cite reasons. Mandated CSR puts a formal responsibility on companies to help the society grow. Companies need to follow that. However, it is responsibility that calls for companies to do much more for the society. How do you rate current CSR practices in India? What more is required in your view? Lately, the trend is that companies are putting a lot of emphasis on being responsible corporate entities by undertaking many meaningful CSR initiatives.

This trend didn’t see this much of aggression a few years back. It needs to pick up more pace, thereby making a significant positive impact on the society. Most of the CSR players in India are talking about evaluation and impact assessment on the programmes and projects. How significant are these evaluations and assessments? How good is India in it? It is absolutely necessary to do a Need Assessment Survey by involving various local stakeholders for consolidating the requirements that need to be addressed. It is equally important to do impact assessment to understand the effectiveness of the activities and take steps to further bolster the activities. Any remarkable social project/programme you would like to talk about which is close to your heart? Every activity that we undertake is done with utmost passion, yet I think, as we are adding to the quality of life of the local populace, what needs special mention here is the support we are providing to the local children in growing up to be responsible and educated citizens through Saraswati Shishu Mandir and the local ITI. Our effective ash disposal mechanism also needs to be accentuated, as it’s a substantial contribution to the environment, a major concern for most of the companies today. A unique and successful experiment has been developed to transform the Ash Mound in the station into a small but real forest. A diverse variety of vegetation grows on the Ash Mound. Besides this, we also have a small bird sanctuary where different species of birds including large number of migratory birds flock. Are you satisfied with the provisions in the CSR Act, 2013 or do you have some suggestions to make, as a common feedback talks about clarifying on the stance of MSMEs contribution to CSR? The CSR Act, 2013 adequately addresses the concerned issues. It is now up to the companies to do their bit constructively. As far as MSMEs are concerned, I am glad to say that they are doing tremendous work in helping the youth to acquire skills and become entrepreneurs. n

let’s work for a better society

l An exclusive monthly magazine on Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability.

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The magazine’s objective is to provide a much needed platform to the organisations so that they could come together and bridge the gap between what needs to be done and how it can be done for the betterment of the society.

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December

INITIATIVE

Mobile Medical Units by ONGC

addressing health care issues in rural India We all know that a larger part of Indian population resides in villages and rural areas. It is commonly perceived that people in villages live a much healthier life than in urban India, but rural life is not always a bliss in all aspects. It carries various challenges too. One among them is inaccessibility and inadequacy of health care facilities which leaves rural populace to just give in to their fate. This is where ONGC emerged in the picture to address the issue through Mobile Medical Units.

B

ogi Bhuyan, a 68 years old lady living in village Salaguri of Sivasagar district of Assam was suffering from Essential Hypertensive and cataract in both eyes. This had made her dependent on others for even carrying out daily activities. After undergoing treatment with anti-hypertensive and anti-diabetic with neuro vitamin from MMU Doctor, she has shown remarkable improvement. Subsequently, she was referred for cataract surgery by MMU Doctor in Sivasagar Civil Hospital where she was treated free of cost. Now she can walk freely and needs no support to walk as she has acquired normal vi-

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sion. Her blood pressure too is controlled now. Another similar case was existing in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. Jellella Rathna Raju, a 60 years old agricultural labour lives in Kesavadasu Plem village, situated in the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. He was suffering from Allergic Dermatitis, which had spread to his entire body. This resulted in immense mental strain which disabled him from concentrating on his work, thereby bringing no productivity. His problem not only made him suffer physically but mentally as well. The suffering made him almost a social outcast and people in his community

would not tolerate his presence due to his skin problem. To add salt to the injury, his family had also ostracized him and he was living his life in solitude. Jellella wanted to lead a life of social inclusion but unfortunately had exhausted all treatment options available. When there seemed no hope, he ultimately gave in to the situation and accepted this disease as something integral to live rest of the life with. This was the time when a ray of hope emerged in his destitute life after the intervention from the doctors of Mobile Medical Unit (MMU). It took three weeks of specialised treatment with proper dosage of Prednisolone and

Cetrizine by the doctors that he has almost recovered completely. Another resident of Sivasagar district of Assam, Gourikanta Das, 80 years old is a resident of village Bhati Bon Gaon, Sivasagar. He had been suffering from NIDM (Non Insulin Diabetes Mellitus) for last 6 years. The disease would enforce him to get irritated more often on petty matters and will bog him down. He even could not recall if he had ever been happy in life. But he was desperate t do something about it, as if fish wants water to survive. He opted to register himself with the MMU and doctors treated him on Anti-Diabetic & Neuro Vitamin. Happiness has been able to find back his life, as he has been recovering gradually with the consumption of regular medicines. Not only this, he has been able to reunite with his family once again and enjoys their company these days. Moreover, his Diabetes is in control now. It is not only Jellella Rathna Raju, Bogi Bhuyan or Gourikanta Das whose lives have witnessed this transformation unfolding into reality, but there are thousands of other elderly citizens who are in dire need for these kinds of specialised treatments. Twothirds of this population lives in rural areas where health care facilities are often inadequate and inaccessible. The problems of ‘inaccessibility’ and the inability of low-income groups to afford quality medical care have often prevented the populace and specially the elderly citizens from getting the much needed health care. Considering this ever increasing

problem, ONGC has taken a giant step forward to expand the outreach of community based health services to destitute senior citizens/old people in rural areas through Mobile Medicare Units in association with HelpAge India. Founded with the vision of ‘Reaching the Unreached’, this widespread and comprehensive health care programme aims to diminish the challenges of health-care accessibility. The programme also includes a preventive component aimed at promoting health consciousness amongst the elderly and their family members with respect to the well-being of the older persons. Running across 20 different locations in India, ONGC’s‘ Varishthajana Swasthya Sewa Abhiyan’ i.e: VSSA has focused on the growing population of elderly in India, currently estimated at 90 million and likely to cross 324 million by 2050. VSSA’s mantra – life begins at 60 These Mobile Medicare Units are fully equipped with a doctor, paramedic and a social protection officer. They provide on-spot medical treatment and care or refer other competent medical services depending on severity. The MMU is scheduled to visit each village once a week. Under this project, a total of 20 Mobile Medicare Units funded by ONGC for a period of 5 years bring essential primary health care facilities to the doorsteps of over 3 lakh rural underprivileged, elderly people per annum that covers 240 villages in 113 Gram Panchayats across 9 states. The proj-

ect includes home visits, physiotherapy, free medicines and basic diagnostic tests for each of the beneficiaries. The MMUs have been catering to villages in and around Silchar, Geleky, Jorhat, Rudrasagar, Lakwa, Agartala, Bokaro, Kolkata, Uran, Mumbai, Jodhpur, Mehsana, Ankleshwar, Hazira, Vododara, Rajahmundry, Karaikal and Kakinada. A total of 10,35,543 treatments have been conducted catering to 53,621 beneficiaries till last month and the number is ever increasing. Beneficiaries leading dignified and joyful lives The beneficiaries have shown remarkable improvement in their health after the VSSA intervention. Their outlook has changed and they have been regularly visiting the clinics now. Also, they have shown keen interest in taking part in health care activities like health education, health camps etc. These beneficiaries are trying to help in the day to day family activities better than before. A general phenomenon that has been observed is that the beneficiaries are avidly taking part in community functions, meetings etc with a lot of enthusiasm and willingness. It is only due to the noble intervention of ONGC that these elderly citizens are living with utmost joy while feeling themselves as an integral part of the society. ONGC has left an indubitable signature on the hearts of all of them and their near and dear ones. True to its proven identity, ONGC has once again emerged as a good corporate citizen. n January 2015 l CSR TIMES 23

INTERVIEW: R.G. Rajan

“We have a responsibility towards all our stakeholders” Albeit like a few, Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd. is quite aggressive in its approach towards social initiatives. Despite not that vast portfolio, RCF’s CSR initiatives’ approach and impact is quite effective. For the fiscal year 2014-15, RCF wants to focus on initiatives like health, environment and Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan. R.G. Rajan, CMD, Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd. tells Bachan Singh about various involved aspects of CSR at RCF. How would you define Corporate Social Responsibility? Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) may be construed as the voluntary activities undertaken by a company to integrate social, environmental and sustainable development concerns in its business operations for a holistic balance of economic, environmental and social imperatives. It is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to overall development of the local community and society at large. As CSR now encompasses all related concepts such as triple bottom line, corporate citizenship, philanthropy, strategic philanthropy, shared value, corporate sustainability and business responsibility, which of these concepts fits the most in RCF’s portfolio and why? RCF adopts a holistic approach towards implementation of the CSR activities for business development and growth of individuals, against the backdrop of maintaining social, environmental and economic development, upholding the concept of people, planet and profit. Tell us about RCF’s CSR activities towards education and health hygiene. In the last financial year nearly 53% of our total CSR expenditure was focused towards education and health hygiene activities. The running of school at Kurul (Thal) for the children of mathadi workers & local 24 CSR TIMES

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people, providing scholarships, special coaching facilities to poor students to enable them get admission in IITs and NITs, nurturing children aged 5 to 7 years in education sector and providing mid-day meal to unaided schools are some of our activi-

ties aimed at improving education. RCF has undertaken the activity of providing free primary health care facilities including supply of medicines to villagers and poor people in and around Thal and Trombay areas through Mobile Medical Vans. We

have also launched a scheme called “Moksha” in collaboration with the “Wockhardt Foundation” wherein sanitary napkins are distributed free of cost to the underprivileged women.

A lot of organisations have been putting their CSR budgets into Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Is RCF too following suit? Some of the actions taken by RCF for implementation of Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan are setting up sewage treatment plant at Trombay for treating 22.75 MLD sewage at a cost of about Rs. 200 crore in collaboration with BPCL and contribution of Rs 1 crore to Swachh Bharat Kosh. In 2014-15, RCF has built green toilets in the factory premises for workers and truck drivers at a cost of Rs. 8 lakh while on the other hand, we are actively engaged in distributing sanitary napkins free of cost in nearby slums of Trombay at a cost of Rs. 10 lakhs (80,000 packets will be distributed this year). We are also organising quiz sessions on “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” to sensitise RCF employees about the campaign. What is your CSR budget for the fiscal year 2014-15 and how much out of that has been spent? Have you planned to take up some fresh projects? In FY 2013-14, RCF has spent Rs. 14.61 crore towards various CSR activities in Trombay and Thal areas, which is certainly above the stipulated amount of 2% as per statute. Promoting solar units, tree plantation, health related activities and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan related activities are the focus areas for FY 2014-15. Talking about inclusive growth, what difference do you see in India since the time CSR has become a mandate? With 30% of its population estimated to be living below the poverty line, inclusive growth is an urgent priority in India. To meet its goal of inclusive growth, the Indian government has initiated various social-

sector schemes in education, public health, food security, and livelihood support in order to reach out to the poorest of the poor and facilitate their socio-economic development. There is also a growing consensus that companies should contribute to the welfare of the society in which they operate and from where they draw their resources to generate profits. The call of the time for overall growth of the industry as well as the underprivileged individuals of the society is a business necessity. Now that the Indian government has mandated CSR for the companies, including the private sector, under the new Companies Act, 2013, the impact will become more significant with increasing corporate participation and reaching out to a wider section of the society. Could you kindly share some figures and numbers about how many lives has RCF been able to change through its CSR initiatives? RCF undertakes various CSR projects in Trombay & Thal areas for the beneficiaries, in the fields of education, medical, scholarship to SC/ ST students, environmental preservation, village adoption and many more. Nearly two lakh persons are benefitted under the umbrella of health and family welfare schemes. In education sector nearly 50,000 children stand benefitted. And the list goes on quite long while reviewing head wise each activity. Why did you think to sponsor Super 30 programme? What are your views on the programme? With the large youth population in the world, India beholds immense upcoming talent. The heart of India exists in villages and the untapped talent in rural Maharashtra needs immediate attention. The rural sector results are slow due to lack of infrastructural facilities. With the aim of encouraging bright students of underprivileged categories towards shaping the national interests, this project of Super 30 is taken up by RCF. Under this unique programme,

the company, in association with Centre for Social Responsibility and Leadership (CSRL), has established a unit of Abhayanand Super 30 in Mumbai where about 30 underprivileged but talented students of Maharashtra state are provided free residential coaching of 11 months to enable them get admission in IIT/ NIT and other premier engineering colleges. In the last batch of Super 30 project, the results were impressive with success of 8 students in IIT, 7 in NIT, 3 in IISER and 12 in state level. Similar projects are also executed in other parts of the country in collaboration with other PSUs.

In a report, you have mentioned that RCF’s endeavour is to minimise carbon footprints. How far have you been successful in that endeavour? We believe in our responsibility towards all the stakeholders and our policies are guided by our commitment in adopting environment friendly initiatives. As a primary step for undertaking structured approach to managing company’s carbon risks, Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Accounting study/Carbon Footprinting was conducted for both of our units at Trombay and Thal in the year 2010-11 and we have been closely monitoring it since then. Our Total GHG Emissions are 32.39 lakh tCO2 for the year 2013-14 vis-à-vis 35.11 lakh tCO2 in 201213 for almost similar production levels. That is about 7.7% reduction over the previous year. This is mainly attributable to energy efficiency schemes implemented at both the units. We are targeting further reduction in carbon footprint over the years. As an initiative towards greener energy, we have already installed roof top solar power generation facilities of 10 KWp each – two at Trombay and one at Thal Unit; and two similar facilities of 2 KWp each at two marketing offices. We are also in the process of setting up 2 MWp grid interactive solar power generation unit at our Trombay Unit. n January 2015 l CSR TIMES 25

REFORMATION

Abul Kalam Azad:

an advocate of modern education and nationAL integration Some individuals leave behind a legacy of accomplishment and greatness for generations to follow. One such stalwart is Abul Kalam Azad. Apart from being a role model of national integration, his biggest gifts to India were the establishment of Universal Primary Education, University Grants Commission and the IITs.

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reland considers November 1 as the first day of winters while in Indonesia November 10 is celebrated as National Heroes Day. Angola and Poland celebrate November 11 as their Independence Day. Alike these, there are many significant days in November month, yet the Indian context is quite different. November carries a great significance in terms of producing a stalwart leader and an exceptional educationist who not only lived for himself but also made a notable contribution to countless individuals. We are talking about Abul Kalam Azad. Born in Mecca (Saudi Arabia) on November 11, 1888, Azad’s orginal name was Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin. He was the first Education Minister of Independent India (August 15, 1947 until February 2, 1958). November 11 is celebrated as National Education Day after his name, in other words, India commemorates his birth anniversary every year as a mark of honour to his extraordinary contribution to education. He lived his life in sync with the meaning of his name – Maulana (honorific meaning ‘learned man’) while Azad was adopted by him with the understanding of being a free man or a neutral human being. Having been born in a family of religious scholars, the early days of his life were enriched by Islamic studies imparted to him by learned and eminent Islamic scholars of those 26 CSR TIMES

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times. This budding period instilled in him a sense of making education as the basis for human life as well as that of a nation. Though his roots in Indian culture and Islamic studies were deep rooted, he welcomed the Western Education System with open arms, proving his openness towards any form of education system. Through this he acted as a bridge between the East and the West. Unlike to his vision and mind, partition happened, which left Azad’s vision of a united India devastated. Still to everyone’s surprise Azad focused on the future and not on what had happened. The partition scenario and post-partition communal violence left a deep, painful mark on his heart and he stood up determined to get not only India or Pakistan rid of violence and disharmony, but for the entire Asia. He was of the view that edu-

cation is the only element through which people of diverse ethnicity and religion could be made understood on harmonious and peaceful coexistence. Above all, Abul Kalam was an avid advocate of “Social education”, an education system which makes people aware of their rights and duties as citizens, which enhances mutual appreciation and tolerance et al. A man of varied skills and talents, Azad had stints with literature, education, and politics, as a reformer, activist and so on. At a young age he had ample opportunities to travel various countries like Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Iran etc and became a learned personality about the cultural and political developments of these nations. His religious, spiritual, nationalist and humanistic way of life brought him close to various political figures and he made his political debut in 1905 during the British Raj. Albeit he supported English education and the western educational system, Azad disapproved the British Rule in India and remonstrated with the government on several occasions. After the partition of Bengal, which he objected strongly, Azad came in contact with various revolutionary legends and continued voicing his thoughts for the freedom of India. In the process, after his return from overseas, the nationalist leader started an Urdu journal – Al Hilal in 1912. The journal garnered substantial

popularity, yet unfortunately was banned by the British Government in 1914. He was a scholar of unparalleled caliber and no one was a match to him, not even the most learned and highly revered people of his time. With the closure of his journal he was put behind bars. Later on, while he was released, he started another journal – Al Balagh, which too was closed in 1916. Being a strong supporter of Mahatma Gandhi and his non-violent philosophy, history registered his backing for Gandhiji’s Non-Cooperative Movement to a greater extent, to an extent that when the Muslim League denounced the Satyagrah, Abul Kalam Azad bade adieu to the League forever. His prominence scaled new heights during this period and he became the youngest ever President of Indian National Congress at 35, which was an ally of Gandhiji in Independence and other movements while the year 1942 saw him rose to become the Chief Spokesperson on the party during Quit India Movement. But what he has created for humanity and especially for Indian citizens would not be an exaggeration to term – irreplaceable. Apart from his notable achievements, his distinguished work came into existence after India got independence from the British Raj. As India got independence from the British, Azad became the first Education Minister of free India. His efforts for promoting education, arts and culture came to full manifestation thereafter. Under his regime as Education Minister, he strived enormously to set up various educational institutes of excellence and institutes for arts and culture enhancement. Having seen the deterioration of Indian culture and art during the British rule, Azad established the Indian Council for Cultural Relations in 1950, Sangeet Natak Academy in 1953, Lalit Kala Academy and Sahitya Academy in the year 1954 respectively. He was not very content with the then status of education system

in India, hence proposed some reformative measures to improve the quality and status of education. According to Azad, reforms at state and centre levels were a must, including schools and universities. He was the one to initiate advocacy for Universal Primary Education (UPE). He proclaimed that UPE should be free for all children till the age of 14. Moving ahead, the Education Minister of that time had a deep understanding of how imperative is technical, vocational, agricultural and girl education is, hence he strongly focused on these areas in education. Not only this, understanding the significant role universities will play in producing educated youth and building a social capital through this endeavour, Azad established the University Grants Commission (UGC) in 1956. UGC was commenced with a view to overlook the allotment of funds to various universities and to ensure the maintenance of standards at these varsities. Under his guidance

and leadership, various educational Meccas came into existence one after another. The prime examples of Azad’s efforts to reform the education system that created world class institutes are IIT Kharagpur in 1951, IIT Bombay, Madras, Delhi and Kanpur. Even the credit of School of Planning and Architect goes to him. Apart from his dedicated life to bring freshness in the educational system of India based on the needs and requirement of those times, he equally drove the nation to implement Hindi language as the national need while simultaneously advocated the need to develop India through English language. Above all, he was a person of genuine character and integrity. Apart from his groundbreaking work for education, he was one of the foremost figures of India whose life was dedicated to national integration, especially to always maintain Hindi-Muslim unity and harmony. May India continue to produce such unparalleled individuals! n January 2015 l CSR TIMES 27

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HUDCO BUILD-TECH – 2014 BAGS Bronze medal HUDCO BUILD-TECH - 2014 Pavilion has been adjudged third for Excellence in Display in the 34th India International Trade Fair 2014 held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, in the category – PSUs, EPCs, Commodity Boards and Banks. Dr. M Ravi Kanth, Chairman & Managing Director, HUDCO received the BRONZE MEDAL on 27th November 2014 in a glittering function amid much fanfare. The Build-Tech exhibition showcased a magnificent display of HUDCO’s contribution in sustainable urban development focusing on funding of housing & infrastructure projects as well as innovative consultancy assignments in architecture, planning, utilisation of cost effective

and sustainable building materials, technologies and Services, Disaster Rehabilitation, as well as energy efficient Green Buildings, etc. The exhibition also displayed the work done

Rs.18,000 crore investment proposals for Digital India programme Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister for Communication and Information Technology, recently said that Rs. 18,000 crore worth investment proposals have been received till now for the Digital India Programme, of which Rs. 4000 crore have been approved and more are in the pipeline. Speaking at the session on ‘The role of ICT and ‘Digital India’ initiative in India’s growth’ at the 87th AGM of FICCI, Prasad said while there are issues of spectrum to provide high speed connectivity and regulatory control, India will become an exciting place as far as Digital India is concerned. E-commerce, he said, was worth billions of dollars and will help increase India’s GDP in a big way. Prasad said that the huge postal network can be used for various services like banking, insurance etc. The postal services earn Rs. 280 crore from e-commerce, he said, and urged the private sector to take the initiative to develop India digitally. Stating that digital connectivity is needed for good governance, Prasad said India had more than USD 100 billion turnover in IT industry. All fortune companies connect with India’s IT. India has the potential of becoming no. 2 after China 28 CSR TIMES

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and surpass the United States. Spelling out the initiatives that have already been taken under the Digital India Programme, the Minister said mygov.in portal has been launched to allow India to interact on various government programmes. Suggestions received on various programmes like Clean Ganga, Swachh Bharat through the portal and designing, logo, slogan etc have been prepared. Under the Jan Dhan Yojna – name for the programme was coined with the help of suggestions received through the portal, 8 crore bank accounts have been opened till now with a total deposit amount of Rs. 8000 crore. This is an ideal example of financial inclusion through digital technology.

through HUDCO’s active participation in Government of India programmes, such as JNNURM and RAY by ways of providing appraisal and consultancy services.

LS passes Companies Act (Amendment) Bill

The Companies Act, 2013 faced harsh criticism from various stakeholders and CSR professionals for many of its provisions after it came into effect from April 2014. Therefore, against that backdrop, amendments were proposed to bring more transparency and clarity. The amendments were proposed in the wake of ensuring punishment to those who raise illegal funds from the public. The proposed amendments brought some positive results, as the Lok Sabha recently passed the Companies Act (Amendment) Bill. This will lead to provide solutions to tackle fraudulent investment schemes like the Saradha Scam. The initiative is one of its first/ major steps by the government to remodule the regulatory framework so as to raise India’s global image on ease of doing business, as the current ranking by World Bank puts India on number 142, which is considered to be very low. Corporate Affairs Minister Arun Jaitley was the major force to push for amendments in the Companies Act to ensure ease of doing business in India for companies.

SARTHAK Educational Trust celebrates Annual Day

SARTHAK Educational Trust recently celebrated its Annual Day. The purpose was to bring all the stakeholders like the corporate sector, government sector, NGOs, people with disability, families of people with disabilities, friends, mentors and supporters on the same platform and celebrate the end of the year by thanking the supporters and acknowledging its partners with some cultural performances by people with disability, showcasing their talents. Along with various participants and stakeholders, some of the distinguished personalities at the Annual Day were Prof M.B. Athreya – Management Guru and a guide to SARTHAK, Kiran Mehra-Kerpelman, Director, UNIC, Lt Gen Dr S.P. Kochhar

– CEO, Telecom Skill Sector Council, Avnish Awasthi – Joint Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Department of Disability Affairs, Ranjan Chopra, CMD – Team Computers, Dr Jitender Aggarwal, CEO – SARTHAK et al. After various distinguished guests shared their experiences, the event was followed by cultural performances by people with disabilities. The curtains were brought down for the evening with acknowledging partners and supporters of Sarthak. The event marked the end of the year 2014 and more importantly the beginning of the New Year 2015 with higher targets and more challenges and more commitment and dedication.

The Grundfos Foundation, Grundfos India and Sunlit Future are entering the first phase of an ambitious project to bring clean water to 100 villages in rural India. The first phase will deliver water to 12,400 people in 28 villages in Orissa, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Given that in India, over 700,000 villages do not have access to water, an off-grid, self-sustaining solar pumping solution is the quickest way to provide water to millions. The Grundfos Foundation has agreed to

co-sponsor the construction of the first 28 of 100 solar-powered pumping systems in 100 villages. “We understand the plight of many women and girls in rural India who have to carry up to 20 litres of water two to three times a day. We are happy to bring some respite to these women and the 100 villages through this project. We think it is going to make a tremendous difference in a lot of people’s lives,” said Christian Hartvig, Executive Director of the Grundfos Foundation.

Grundfos Foundation brings water to 100 villages in India

Children led Gurukul completes one year

“Navjyoti Bal (Child) Gurukul works to shape the strong Arjuns to deal with the wicked Shakunis of the world, for life is one long Kurukshetra,” says the enthusiastic and proud Dr Kiran Bedi as her foundation, Navjyoti India Foundation, celebrated the first anniversary of its revolutionary movement - Navjyoti Bal (Child) Gurukul recently. Running in the slums of Bawana, located in North-west Delhi, the unique feature of this movement is that it has ‘department of values’ instead of regular departments of a varsity and children are taught values of courage, honesty and service. It enables thousands of children across sections of society to learn values of ethical leadership. The Vice-Chancellor, Registrar, Head of Department and teachers are young boys and girls, aged between 9-18 years. With more than 3500 students on-roll, the army of 270 faculty members manages their classes efficiently. They are fully trained in time management, record keeping and administration related tasks too. The event, organised in Shah Auditorium, recognises the efforts of these young guns, and felicitates them amidst the presence of esteemed personalities from various sectors. Sweaters were also distributed to the children by Rotary Club of Delhi Rendezvous. An annual magazine focusing on the rights of skills for today’s generation was also launched during the event by Dr Kiran Bedi, which voices the concerns of the youth of the country in the form of articles. January 2015 l CSR TIMES 29

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Ericsson launches Connect to Learn initiative in India Ericsson recently announced the launch of its global education initiative ‘Connect to Learn’ in India. Connect to Learn implements information and communications technology (ICT) in schools in resource poor settings, to ensure that children, no matter where they live, have access to learning resources and a quality education. In line with the vision of a complete 21st Century education for everyone, the programme provides an opportunity for youth to access learning resources that were previously unavailable to them. As a part of the programme, Ericsson has associated with three leading non-governmental organisations

(NGOs) in India - Plan International (India Chapter), Smile Foundation and Pratham Education Foundation. The company has launched projects for periods of one to three years, that make a positive impact on the

lives of underprivileged students and urban youth in different parts of the country. In terms of creating employment opportunities for underprivileged youth, Ericsson has partnered with Smile Foundation to offer job-oriented skills and placement assistance to underprivileged youth in Delhi/National Capital Region (NCR) and Mumbai. This programme will impart training in basic computers and retail sales management skills, along with proficiency in spoken and written English through 20 centres to be set in Delhi/NCR and Mumbai. The curriculum also includes sessions on personal development, career counselling and placement support.

Centre for Responsible Business (CRB), had recently partnered with ISEAL Alliance, UK to organise a day-long seminar on the topic ‘CSR Mandate & Voluntary Sustainabil-

ity Standards: Contribution to Business, Economy, Society and Environment in India’. The event was organised in Leela Ambience, Gurgaon and included speakers from the Government of India, United Nations, World Wildlife Fund, International Labor Organization and Quality Council of India. The entire day was dedicated to discussing various aspects of engaging with CSR and sustainability through voluntary standards, in both public and private sector businesses and was attended by over 120 representatives

from government, businesses and civil society organisations. Ashok Kumar Pavadia, Joint Secretary, Department of Public Enterprises, Government of India mentioned in his keynote speech how CSR in India has evolved over a period of 6 years. He said, “India is a happening place as far as CSR is concerned because of the number of changes going on here. We have formulated our own perspective since different stakeholders in different countries have different perspectives on CSR and sustainability.”

Moser Baer Trust, the social arm of Moser Baer India Limited organised ‘Sangam’ the annual CSR meet to felicitate beneficiaries, partners, employees and other stakeholders of its community development programmes at Don Bosco Provincial House, Okhla, New Delhi recently. The Trust organises Sangam every year to acknowledge and thank its

various partners for acceding to the vision of the Trust and extending support. Giving a glimpse of MBT’s achievements in 2014, Ranu Kulshrestha, Chief Executive, Moser Baer Trust shared, “Sangam is a culmination of our week-long Social Responsibility Week. It is our own unique way of promotion and celebration of corporate and individual social responsibility.

During this period, we reinforce our commitment to inclusive development of all and also to responsible business practices. We also recognise and felicitate those who have, in their own capacities and ways, partnered with us to make this society a better place to live especially for the underprivileged”.

Dialogue on Sustainability Standards in the evolving context for CSR in India

Jabong.com gives action to Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan - the national level campaign that was officially launched on October 2, 2014 by our Prime Minister, Narendra

Samsung committed to promote accessibility for PWD through innovation

Samsung is committed to develop new products and solutions that will help persons with disabilities access the benefits of the latest technologies. In that regard, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. jointly organised an international conference on “Role of ICTs (Information and Communications Technologies) for Persons with Disabilities” with UNESCO and the Government of India recently. Samsung was in-

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dustry partner to the conference, which brought together experts in issues of accessibility for persons with disabilities from across the world. Samsung displayed at the conference some of its products and solutions developed to increase accessibility. The Galaxy Core Advance devices have several sensory enhancing accessories to improve accessibility for hearing or visually impaired people.

organisation, giving back to our community has become an embedded philosophy with Jabong and we encourage all our employees to contribute to the society. For us, working towards creating a more sociable ecosystem for our customers is our prime focus and with the ‘Clean India’ drive, we want to communicate to our consumers that Jabong is not merely an online fashion portal but is also sensitive towards a customer’s overall health.”

SAIL & GAIL ranked 10th and 11th best CSR performers

Tata Steel organises Samvaad

Moser Baer Trust celebrates ‘Sangam-2014’ - its 6th annual CSR Meet

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Modi, has found a crusader for this nationwide cleanliness drive in Jabong.com, India’s leading online fashion destination. Going an extra mile, Jabong is taking this ‘Clean India’ campaign to a new level. The team has adopted an entire locality with an aim to keep their office vicinity clean on a regular basis and not just initiating a onetime cleanliness programme. Commenting on this benevolent cause, Praveen Sinha, Founder and MD, Jabong.com, said, “As an

In continuation to its commitment towards the growth and welfare of tribal community, Tata Steel recently concluded ‘Samvaad’, a 4-day conclave. The tribal meet was organised by Tata Steel’s Tribal Cultural Society. The conclave wit-

nessed panel discussions at the two auditoriums, Manthan and Chintan, with eminent panelists discussing issues related to ‘Tribal Languages’ and ‘Tribals and Protection of Natural Habitat’ respectively. The session on ‘Tribals and Protection of Natural Habitat’ saw a lively discussion moderated by Dr. Felix Padel, with the panelists putting forth their views on the

topic. Noted academician Prof Girdhari Ram Gaunjhu, Jharkhand, moderated the panel discussion on ‘Tribal Languages’at Manthan. Screening of documentary films underscoring the tribal heritage of the country was also one of the main attaractions of Samvaad. The 4-day conclave included a conglomeration of 2000 plus tribal artists, thought leaders, eminent personalities and activists from more than 40 different tribes, from across 19 states in the country.

After leaving their footprints for many to follow in various aspects, Public Sector Enterprises - SAIL and GAIL have achieved a new remarkable milestone. Recently, Corporate Dossier, a supplement of Economic Times has come up with a list of top 100 best performing companies in the field of CSR in India, and here too again, SAIL and GAIL have proved their mettle by grabbing 10th and 11th positions in that list respectively. The index prepared by Corporate Dossier includes top 100 companies who have made significant contribution in the field of CSR. January 2015 l CSR TIMES 31

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DS Group Supports Educational Dreams Philanthropy is at the core of the values of Dharampal Satyapal Group (DS Group) that continues to nurture the society with warmth and generosity. Persistent in its efforts to encourage meritorious performance of the children of its employees, DS Group awarded Cash Awards and Scholarships worth over Rs.23 lakhs to 371 children of employees with outstanding academic achievement, from across the country, in a ceremony held at their corporate office in Noida recently. Out of the total 371- 190 children benefitted through scholarship, while 181 received cash award. 5 silver medals were also given away to the kids who topped their classes in standard 10th & 12th. This was the 15th edition of cash & scholarship award, with the first edition being held in August 2000. The company truly believes in the cause of education and supports the dreams of the youngest members of DS Family, who are the future of the country. Through such recognition, the children are motivated to try harder and perform better in their academics, thus creating a strong foundation for their magnificent future. The children of all employees on the rolls of DS are eligible to receive an annual cash award between Rs.2,500 to Rs.30,000 under the Cash Award Policy and between Rs.2,400 to Rs.6,000, under the Scholarship Policy (amount depends on the grades obtained in the previous academic year). Employees can apply for these educational grants through an application process. In addition, a silver medal is given to the toppers of 10th and 12th class, who apply under this scheme. 32 CSR TIMES

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Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma pledge their movie costumes for charity

eBay India (www.ebay.in) and Event and Entertainment Management Association (EEMA) have come together to help raise funds for redevelopment of flood ravaged Kashmir and Assam by seeking bids for a charity auction on www.ebay.in/charity. The auction offers fans an opportunity to own Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma’s costumes from their movies. Customers can bid for

Ranbir Kapoor’s ‘Kashmiri Pheran from Rockstar’ and Anushka Sharma’s ‘Leather jacket from Jab Tak Hai Jaan’with the highest bidder getting to own these costumes as a priced possession. The charity auction begins on December 04, 2014 and will be live till December 13, 2014. Commenting on this auction, Ranbir Kapoor said, “I feel honoured to be able to contribute towards supporting the redevelopment of Kashmir and Assam through the charity auction run by eBay India and EEMA. I encourage people to participate in this noble cause and help all those in need.” To bid for the charity auction, please log on to: www.ebay.in/ charity.

Nestlé India signed an agreement with Magic Bus India Foundation recently. This initiative is on the lines of Nestlé Healthy Kids Global Programme that focuses on providing nutrition and health awareness to adolescents. The programme will reach out to 50,000 students aged between 10–17 years through government schools. The cities, where the programme will be running for a year, include Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and

Hyderabad. Magic Bus, which works on breaking the poverty cycle, one child at a time, will create a curriculum based on Sports fo r Development (S4D) approach, imparting knowledge about nutrition and a healthy, active lifestyle. Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Etienne Benet, Managing Director, Nestlé India Limited, said, “Being a leading Nutrition, Health and Wellness (NHW) company, Nestlé India intends to enhance the quality of life by creating awareness regarding nutritional health. In line with the already operational Nestlé Healthy Kids Global Programme, we intend to reach out to adolescents across metros in India.”

Nestlé India signs agreement with Magic Bus India Foundation

Bongaigaon Refinery wins OISD Safety Awards

Indian Oil’s Bongaigaon Refinery was bestowed with the prestigious Oil Industry Safety Award for the year 2012-13 for its excellent track record in safety. The refinery also won the coveted OISD Award for the year 201213 for being the Most Consistent Performer Refinery for its continuous

and consistent implementation of Best Safety Practices and Innovative Safety Management Systems. The awards were presented by Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, (Independent Charge) Dharmendra Pradhan at a glittering function held in New Delhi recently.

In partnership with PlaNet Finance, Pernod Ricard implemented a sustainable and fair trade agriculture project in Kerala region in India to help spice farmers make their activity more durable. PlaNet Finance recognised project leader Betty Joseph’s work by awarding her the prize for Sustainable Agriculture during the 7th edition of the

International Micro entrepreneurship Awards recently held in Paris. Thanks to this project lead by Betty Joseph, Pernod Ricard and local partners; 100 spice farmers from Kerala got access to international market opportunities with Pernod Ricard Italy, as the spices are essential to the production of Ramazzotti. This sustainable agriculture initiative allowed Indian producers to diversify their farming, introducing zedoary crops and trading them fairly. Vetiver crops were also added, giving 60 women from local communities the opportunity to learn how to turn it into handicrafts and generating extra income. In total, 502 farmers have been trained on financial literacy to better manage and plan their finances.

Mphasis F1 Foundation partners with Lokalex for National Digital Literacy Mission

Mphasis F1 Foundation, the CSR Trust of Mphasis, recently announced its partnership with Local Community Exchange Empowerment Trust (Lokalex), a non-profit organisation to launch a pilot programme for rural education through IT. This is in keeping with the National Digital Literacy Mission. The programme looks to include equal opportunity in education for disadvantaged children, and promoting education via technology led large scale learning platforms (Digital Education). The Mphasis F1 Foundation and Lokalex will partner to set up education centers for promoting education and allround development of tribal children. The IT and CSR panel of CII have been instrumental in bringing this partnership together. The educational centers run by Mphasis F1 Foundation and Lokalex will provide digital infrastructure in chosen rural areas. The centers will be internet enabled and will train local resources to run the center in the long term. The center will provide education and remote mentoring by experts as well as employee volunteers from Mphasis. Titled ‘Chetan’, the first education center will be set up in Mysore followed by more in the days to come. January 2015 l CSR TIMES 33

CSR PROFESSIONAL

EVENT

Radhika Ralhan – an Indian sustainability and CSR professional with a global outreach

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adhika Ralhan is a sociologist and sustainability expert. Her diverse erudition is explicit in her strengthened academic credentials with a University Gold Medal, an M. Phil in Sociology from Delhi School of Economics et al. She has enhanced her academic insights towards empirical implementation which is explicit in her seven years of professional experience in the realm of sustainability while working with some of the prestigious organisations in India and abroad. Her endeavor to conjoin her academic research work on food consumption with sustainable models was realised while working for the renowned Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi) under the European Commission Asia Link LeNS - Learning Network on Sustainability project involving six nations comprising of Italy, Netherlands, China, India, Finland and Thailand. The LeNS project entailed research and pedagogy of sustainable product service systems in diverse clusters of Food, Health, Mobility and Livelihoods which were developed as essential learning resources for dissemination to worldwide institutions. During the course she was invited by Politecnico Di Milano, Italy to deliberate significant lectures on her primary research work on Indian Sustainable Food Consumption and Service models to worldwide researchers. She transcended her global and contemporary research experience of sustainability into her professional engagement in the realm of Corporate Social Responsibility during her stint with the Indian arm of the United Nations Global Compact. She was working within a consortium of multi stake-

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holders and was responsible for expanding diverse sustainability chapters, working on the CEO Forum for Business and Human Rights chaired by Mr. Narayana Murthy, Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Infosys and capturing responsible sustainable practices of leading companies in India along with wide networking with key industry leaders. She has always endeavored to align the corporate responsibility within the sustainability framework which has been truly realised in her current association with the GlobalHunt Foundation (GHF) as Manager - Corporate Sustainability. Radhika is working directly under the guidance of Sunil Goel, Director GlobalHunt Foundation. Radhika strongly affirms the innovative modus operandi, aligning CSR with core business and radical changes in the methodology of partnerships envisaged by Sunil Goel are key factors towards escalating the sustainability movement. As a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), the Foundation operates primarily as a research and knowledge hub to align the Corporate Sustainable Responsibility (CSR ) of its vast corporate clientele. As a catalyst she has streamlined the social responsibility initiatives through the principles of “partnerships for all” by mobilising multi stakeholders to

actively launch scalable programmes. She has formulated and led innovative community engagement programmes that bore the principles of WASH (menstrual hygiene), women at work, education, skill development and providing livelihoods to ex-servicemen. She is leading a close knit of key professionals and one of the prime accolades for her as a team leader was E project series Click, Conserve and Care that led United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to globally recognise GHF as prime official environment partner for the year 2014. As an expert guest faculty, she has taught sustainability in renowned institutions both in India and abroad such as Politecnico Di Milano, Italy, Institute of Hotel Management, Pusa, Delhi and Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi and recently presented her research work on Sustainable Consumption in Turkey. She reinvented the concept of capacity building programmes and their functionality by forming Collaboration Hubs and Strategic Alliances which entailed an innovative match making framework and on spot partnerships on existing and upcoming CSR projects. She has imparted key sessions on enhancing CSR through innovations in service systems, life cycle approach, embedding the principles of CSR from responsibility to sustainability for leading corporates like GMR V Foundation, Moser baer, Spark Minda along with leading external corporate participants. Most significantly, she has extended her research experience by initiating an online sustainability research tool within GHF as one of the first landmark tools to be developed in India to map the diverse CSR practices of diverse organisations in India. n

CSR Times organises “National Seminar on CSR in India: Challenges & Opportunities”

From Left to Right: K.N. Jayaraj, H.E. Mr. Vitaly Prima, Harish Chandra, Girish Kumar & Dr. K.K. Upadhyay

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SR Times, in collaboration with Republic of Belarus, Indian Achievers’ Forum and Economic Development Forum, organised 38th “National Seminar on CSR in India: Challenges and Opportunities” along with Indian Achievers’ Awards function at India Habitat Center, New Delhi on December 18, 2014. H.E. Mr. Vitaly Prima, Ambassador of Republic of Belarus in India (Chief Guest) with some distinguished personalities like Dr. K.K. Upadhyay, Head - Corporate Social Responsibility, FICCI, K.N. Jayaraj, President, Indian Achievers’ Forum, Harish Chandra, Managing Editor, CSR Times, Prashant Das, Consulting Editor, CSR Times et al graced the seminar with their eminent presence. In his theme address, Dr. K.K. Upad-

Rajeev Bhardwaj receiving the award

hyay enlightened the participants with his insightful understanding on CSR while educated everyone with the recent amendments and latest updates concerning the Companies Act, 2013. The second session began with National Anthem followed by welcome address by Prashant Das, Consulting Editor, CSR Times. K.N. Jayaraj on the other hand, later enlightened the participants on how as a nation we must proceed ahead for nation building. It was followed by a presentation given by Sergei A. Trotsyuk on Business opportunities in Belarus. He also made the audience aware about the relationship between India and Belarus, and trade and tourism potential in Belarus. The latter half of the seminar saw the most awaited happening of

Sandip Samajdar on behalf of Veena Swarup

the day – Indian Achievers’ Award. Some of the proud winners of Indian Achievers’ Award were Veena Swarup, Director (HR), Engineers India Ltd., Rajeev Bhardwaj, Director (HR), Solar Energy Corporation of India, Naresh Kumar, AGM - Corporate Communication, Power Grid Corporation of India Limited. While Veena Swarup clinched Indian Achievers’ Award for Corporate Leadership in Human Resources, Rajeev Bhardwaj was bestowed upon Indian Achievers; Award for Corporate Leadership. PowerGrid’s Naresh Kumar, on the other hand bagged Indian Achievers’ Award for Corporate Leadership in Public Relations. The gala show came to a close with Harish Chandra’s closing remarks who thanked the guests and attendees for making the seminar a success. Naresh Kumar receiving the award

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Arun Krishnamurthy: A dedicated journey from Google to EFI He left a lucrative job at Google, registered his own trust in 2012, and set up an advertising firm to generate funds for his social organisation - Environmentalist Foundation of India (EFI). At a very young age, Arun Krishnamurthy’s life is dedicated to preserve environment.

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n this materialistic world, most of us spend our lives chasing material possessions and still many of our dreams and aspirations remain unfulfilled by the time we come close to the end of our lives. That’s why it is vital to live a life of purpose rather than always running after acquiring materialistic assets, as purpose brings joy and fulfillment in our lives. And among various things, it is also important to pay heed to some criti36 CSR TIMES

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cal issues surrounding our lives. Our environment is that abode for all living and non-living entities which generates life for us in the form of water, oxygen, food et al. Mother earth and the environment generate resources which are imperative for our sustenance. But over the years human beings have exploited these resources to an extent that sustainable survival in a long run seems a far cry. In general, what we do as human beings is that we

look at it from a superficial level, not to see through it into the future. We forget that all life forms co-exist here and all species have the right to sustain in a long run. What becomes our moral duty and responsibility is to ensure conservation and preservation of what is left and is existant. The matter of fact was well understood by Arun Krishnamurthy, an environmental activist who just started it from the moment his conscience got the awakening.

Arun believes that conservation is not a choice rather a compulsion against the backdrop of the deteriorating environmental and ecosystem conditions. Grown up in a village Mudichur, near Chennai in a plush green environment, Arun’s education and family set up were the vital reasons why he nurtured an unconditional love for environment. His upbringing instilled in him the spirit to value environment. Being a brilliant student, after completing his graduation in microbiology, he got a well-paid job at the MNC – Google. Albeit he was working at Google, his heart longed for something else, and this something else was his passion/ dream which he had nourished in his heart for years. Passion overshadowed corporate job, as Arun bade adieu to his corporate career after 3 years of stint at Google Hyderabad office. “We are taught at Google to get out of our comfort zone, thus I quit Google (my comfort zone) to pursue my passion to work for environment conservation,” says Arun. It was the year 2008 that Arun joined Goodall’s Roots & Shoots, which works for young people to resolve problems within the communities. Volunteering for environmental and wildlife conservation was a daily affair for Arun and he influenced many friends and ex-colleagues at Google too for that. As the volunteering work shot up with more and more young champions of cause started joining hands one after another, Arun felt a need to bring the voluntary work under an organised umbrella. Hence, after having his association with Roots & Shoots for a considerable period, the environment activist decided to professionalise the voluntary work and came up with the idea of forming the Environmentalist Foundation of India in 2011. The year 2012 saw the registration of Environmentalist Foundation of India (EFI) as a self-funded organisation and a trust. Since then there has been a phenomenal expansion and EFI’s outreach has gone far and wide, which has now expanded its wings to Delhi, Chennai, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Pondicherry, Coimbatore, Kolkata and has plans to further expand to several other plac-

es. Sharing his views on the initiative Arun says, ”EFI came into existence when we wanted to professionalise our volunteering effort and it’s been a great learning experience. We at EFI focus on wildlife conservation and habitat restoration, our efforts are real time result oriented projects only. We do not wait for somebody, but become that somebody for India and her environment.” The projects undertaken by EFI are cleaning lakes, establishing stray animal care centers and sparrow nests, setting up gardens in schools, to conduct turtle walks to ensure reduced poaching et al. EFI works through school programmes and awareness campaigns, seminars and workshops, and most of the volunteers associated with the organisation are school students or youth. When one establishes such social enterprises, raising funds to make it a sustainable model is always a challenge. Hence, to generate a parallel capital for EFI, Arun founded a company ‘Krish Info Media’ – a business development, digital media marketing, and corporate training firm in 2010. To support his cause at EFI, Arun generates funds through Krish Info Media and utilises them at EFI. In his close to 8 years of volunteering programmes, Arun’s efforts have seen more than 1100 volunteers providing their time and services for environment preservation. With a core team of about 37 members, EFI is dedicated to activities like sparrow reintroduction, stray animal care, herbs restoration, composting, among others. But the projects where EFI leads the way are Green Gramam, Lake Conservation, and Biodiversity Parks at schools. Through the project Green Gramam, the team adopts villages and develops those villages into green hubs. The process includes restoration of water bodies, sensitising the local populace on the subject, manufacturing of green bags and establishing botanical parks while for the revival of life across the spectrum, EFI team works to develop biodiversity parks in different schools. EFI believes that school is precisely the period while we can nurture these values very strongly in young lives which

ensures a much higher retention rate of these values. Besides flaura and fauna, these parks act as abode to various insects, birds, reptiles and herbs. But what one feels unique amongst the wide array of social activities from the house of EFI is its lake conservation programme. EFI adopts beaches, ponds, water bodies etc and takes complete charge of cleaning, beautifying and making them sustainable. “We have cleaned 39 lakes to date, and the reason being lakes are critical habitats for several life forms. A clean lake is beneficial to all of us and prevents all negative impact on human health hence lake clean ups are vital,“ says Arun Krishnamurthy. The cleaning process involve removal of garbage from and around the lakes, repeated scientific lab testing of the waters to check the contamination and pollutants level, de-silting of lake bed, wetlands creation and plantation of native plants et al. Regular zoo visits and educating people and creating awareness campaigns on the significance of proper behavior with the animals is another area where EFI is quite aggressive. Taking a stand against stray animals’ exploitation, the NGO provides animal care centers, medical aids etc to these animals. Arun and EFI’s endeavours gradually started speaking volumes about the change that was underway, the hardwork for a bigger than life cause paid in the form of awards and recognitions like Rolex Award For Enterprise, Google Social Impact Award, JGI Youth Leadership Award and British Council – Outstanding Climate Champion Award. Arun Krishnamurthy’s life is an example of strong will power and persevering. When asked for a message to the youth of India, the environmentalist’s wish is that more and more people join hands in his initiative to preserve our nature and mother earth. Though this is too early to comment, yet he says that we will evolve as a responsible society eventually. Those of whom aspiring for social sectors yet face some reservations/limitations may look upto Arun’s life and boldly walk the path of their vision to start a social enterprise. n January 2015 l CSR TIMES 37

CELEBRITY

Milind Soman: a sprinter with a cause

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he media comes up with some hot masala news and the society starts calling celebrities and models as controversy’s favourite children. More so, if not generally, some particular incidences become a trademark for celebrities to associate with, as if their life and identity resonate with that particular incidence. This, most of the times, 38 CSR TIMES

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is only one side of the coin. Overwhelmed by a few incidences, society forgets that these celebrities and public figures are also one amongst us - they are also human beings with most of the aspects being similar as ours. One such celebrity is Milind Soman. This supermodel’s life made headlines for almost two decades (and stayed there even after years) - in fact he’s still associated with that one advertisement for Tuff Shoes, which promoted his career to a new path. The element of Milind Soman appearing nude in the advertisement with Madhu Sapre (exMiss India) became a subject of harsh criticism and public scrutiny. This invited a couple of lawsuits which took 14 years to come to a close. But not many know that Milind Soman’s heart longed for people since his childhood days. He wanted to run a marathon since he was a child. His upbringing and learnings from his life made him more serious towards his childhood dream. During his adulthood, the prominent face of many brands realised that running is one of the most natural ways to stay health and fit. This realisation was accompanied with his childhood dream of running for a marathon and he strengthened his wish. The model turned actor appeared

in some offbeat Hindi flicks like 16 December, Pachaikili Muthucharam, Paiyaa, Agni Varsha, Asoka, Bhram, Say Salaam India, Bheja Fry et al with a couple of international projects, but he couldn’t enjoy success in B-town as he enjoyed in modelling. It was the year 2012 which turned the wheels of fortune in favour of Soman, not bringing glory to his film career, but driving his life into a new direction of social causes. He changed the society’s views towards him when on May 20, 2012 his name appeared in Limca Book of Records as a record holder for running 1500 Kms in 31 days, from Delhi to Mumbai. The model-actor-producer lost 7 kg weight and 5 toe nails in the run. Milind has had his participation for this Greenathon (NDTV) to spread environment awareness. Hence his childhood dream came to fruition. He didn’t stop with this and formulated a design for run, exclusively for women. And the result was Pinkathon. Under Milind’s guidance, India’s largest ‘women only’ running event was initiated – purpose was to promote health, fitness and spread awareness about breast cancer among women. Since 2012, Soman is keeping himself busy supporting this social cause along with some women activists. He has been lending his active support to the movement which has garnered appreciation throughout the country. The movement offers a running distance of 3, 5 and 10 kms to the participants. Pinkathon is a multi city event and Milind Soman’s mother was the main source of inspiration behind the initiative. Having a close look at the causes, one could say – a super model turns a role model for society. n

RNI: DELENG/2013/49640