Mind@work

The enormity of India’s garbage problem goes beyond sweeping streets. We need a sweeping change in each individual and therefore our society; and that includes you and me. Lets take a quick look at the enormity of the problem:   Fact 1 : India generates 100,000 Metric Tonnes (MT) of waste EVERYDAY. (Mumbai – 9000 MT and Delhi – 8300 MT) Fact 2 : The higher the income level, the higher is the consumption and waste generated. (Waste generated by High Income Group + Middle Income Group is double of the waste generated by the Lower Middle income group + Low income group) Fact 3 : Of the 15000 Tonnes of plastic generated in India everyday, 6000 tonnes is uncollected and therefore littered  Fact 4 : The land premium in urban India leads to overburdening of designated landfills by a factor of 3-5 times. Put all of the above together and we have –  1.   Fires in Deonar landfill in Mumbai (twice) and so intense it co...

Third sector refers to organizations that are neither public sector nor private sector. It includes voluntary and community organizations (both registered charities and other organizations such as associations, self-help groups and community groups), social enterprises, mutual and co-operatives. They are not Government and are value driven – which means they are motivated by the desire to achieve social goals. Most importantly they reinvest any surpluses generated in the pursuit of their social goals. While mainly the sector was driven by grant and donation dependent Non-Governmental organizations (NGOs) , the last two decades have seen the emergence of the Social Enterprise – a for profit entity, working towards social goals, not dependent on grants but running a professional business model which is sustainable and durable, the profits of which are reinvested into the business to attain those social goals. While traditionally, the third sector has been viewed as non-governm...