Standing Rock and how to save the environment: Learning it from indigenous peoples

Standing Rock and how to save the environment: Learning it from indigenous peoples

Dec 15, 2016

With the world facing impending environmental doom (doesn’t help that the world’s second highest carbon emitter has a climate-change denier for President) in the not-so-distant future, one would be wise to turn to Noam Chomsky for his views: ‘The only communities standing between

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Environment and climate change – why Indians don’t care and why they should

Nov 19, 2016

Earlier this year, a lot of Indians heaved a sigh of relief when Delhi was downgraded by WHO from the top spot to the 11th position in the world’s most polluted cities list. It was one of those rare times when the word

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CSR of hospitals: A few free heart surgeries and some mobile clinics. What else?

Nov 17, 2016

It would not be incorrect to state that healthcare and social responsibility go hand in hand. After all, few things are as important, essential and literally a matter of life and death as right and timely healthcare. The morally hazardous bit comes in

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Financial inclusion: Of opt-out options, RBI diktats, and banks’ own foot-dragging

Financial inclusion: Of opt-out options, RBI diktats, and banks’ own foot-dragging

Sep 12, 2016

A policy cornerstone of every government in modern India, financial inclusion is the delivery of financial services in the ruraI areas and to the poor and marginalised sections at affordable costs – in other words, segments that banks would not normally serve had

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Where is this useless, meandering talk on sustainability taking us?

Aug 22, 2016

‘Why worry about minor little details like  clean air, clean water, safe ports and the safety net when Jesus is going to  give the world an “Extreme Makeover: Planet Edition” right after he finishes putting Satan in his place once and for all?’

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Things NGOs do for the sake of religion, in the name of religion

Things NGOs do for the sake of religion, in the name of religion

Jun 15, 2016

Think of NGOs and the mental image is usually of hard-at-work, dedicated people doing all they can to alleviate the suffering of others – animals, plants, environment and fellow humans. One usually doesn’t associate NGOs with divisive concepts such as religion. Secularism is

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CSR and sustainability in India: Conversations, interactions, ideas, points of view, and challenges from Silver Circle Meet, Mumbai

CSR and sustainability in India: Conversations, interactions, ideas, points of view, and challenges from Silver Circle Meet, Mumbai

May 16, 2016

It happens often. We talk, tell ideas, tinker with thoughts, meet people and pursue some, believing that we can make some difference together. And then we move on. We move on into the routine, the regular work”home life, the to-do-list life, consuming, observing,

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CSR: Four and a half ways companies (mis)use funds

CSR: Four and a half ways companies (mis)use funds

May 16, 2016

As is wont with Indian laws, with good intentions come expected transgressions. The 2013 CSR ruling is generally considered to be a right step towards a more equal society (with the occasional grumblings of some senior corporate officials and   self-styled pundits) but

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Interlinking of rivers, or the fallacy of development agendas

Interlinking of rivers, or the fallacy of development agendas

Apr 12, 2016

Governments in India may be known for their deep-seated corruption, megalomaniac leaders, and a tendency to divide and rule, but there’s no shortage of big, pompous projects. The Delhi” Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), part of the current government’s flagship programme Make in India,

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Delhi”Mumbai Industrial Corridor: Development dilemmas

Delhi”Mumbai Industrial Corridor: Development dilemmas

Mar 7, 2016

Forget about chasing unicorns (of the other kind). The  real action in India is in the manufacturing and   construction sector. The former is slated to receive a huge fillip in terms of investment with the government throwing its significant weight behind it

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