Issue: #7 | October 2014

In this issue:

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The Socrates Award Winner Tech Mahindra – Rising for

Good

Fiinobserva�on of

Interna�onal Days

The Journey of

Fiinova�on

th6 Anniversary Special Edition

Global Alliance For Climate

Smart Agriculture – The

Ac�on Plan

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

FoundedStarted with a team of 4 members

1st research consultancy specialized in CSR

Whistle blower for CSR in India

Asia's first proposal research lab

Sector specific innovation in thedevelopment sector

Knowledge partners for NGOBOX Mobile site launched for instant update

Integrated solution enabler in the CSR Domain

Web portal for instant project updates

8th International Conference on CSR

Best Innovation-Product or Service at Social Innovation Award

Fiinovation & Institute of Directors path breaking partnership

Fiinovation & FKCCI at the Face of the Companies Act 2013

Fiinovation at 24th World Congress on Total Quality and Leadership

Fiinovation & IOD conference on Environment Management

Socrates Award for the Best Enterprise – Oxford, UK

Fiinovation & IOD London Global Convention, UK

Celebrating 6 years of Excellence Over the past six years Innovative Financial Advisors Pvt. Ltd. (Fiinovation) has

emerged as multidisciplinary research consultancy that operates in the domain of

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability. It has grown from the time

when people used to consider CSR & Sustainability to be the auxiliary components of

functionality to the times now when both of these verticals are the stage setter for

Corporations & Society at large. Today, it is considered by its partners as a resource

for all solutions related to CSR and Sustainability.

It works with a motive to promote and create awareness, inspire innovative thinking

and action that leads to sustainable development to business houses and the

communities, which are interlinked. Fiinovation has been conferred with “Best

Innovation: Product or Service” Award at the Social Innovation Awards 2014 at the

World CSR Day Mumbai, India & “The Socrates Award for the Best Enterprise in the

field of health, education, environment and livelihood with a focus on CSR &

Sustainability at the Leaders Summit in Oxford, U.K. 2014.

On the occasion of 6th Foundation Day, Fiinovation organized its 2nd Annual Blood

Donation camp in association with Lions Blood Bank. The event drew 143

participants from various offices in Okhla and 83 donations were done making it a

successful one.

“This journey won't have been possible without the great

substantial support that each member of this organization

has provided both organically & otherwise.”

The Socrates Award Winner

03

The Europe Business Assembly has honored Fiinovation with the Best

Enterprise Award in the field of Health, Education, Environment and

Livelihood with a focus on CSR & Sustainability. The Leaders Summit & the

Socrates Award Ceremony is an ongoing promotion of the world elite, who

through their hard work and exceptional business sense support an

exchange of ideas and experiences amongst the international community in

the areas of economics, politics, education and culture. The selection

process is thorough which honours the most deserving nominees.

The Socrates Award Ceremony was held in the Main Hall of the Oxford Town

Hall, UK on 14th October, 2014.

The grand international event is an annual forum for investors, scientists and

university chancellors from over 30 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the

Americas. This year’s summit theme was, Innovative Models of Development

which highlighted the latest trends in higher education and the promotion

of modern educational programmes and methodologies.

Mr Soumitro Chakraborty with his interesting professional history which

started from being an aviator to a social entrepreneur has also been

nominated as the ‘Leader of the Week’. His diverse work which includes

project management, investment management, finance and commerce,

client advisory services, donor mapping and development has ensured him

of a place as a board member for several organizations. His leadership has

enabled Fiinovation to establish itself for the partners as a resource for all

solutions related to CSR and sustainability.

“India is not a poor country. It is poorly managed.

India does not need to look for funding outside for

its internal affairs…. Policies can be put in place to

pay for climate resilience.”

‐ Kar�keya Singh,Founder, Indian Youth Climate Network

"There is no Plan B, because we do not have a

Planet B"

‐ Ban Ki‐moon, Secretary‐General, United Na�ons

“Emerging economies are likely to produce more

and more carbon emissions in years to come. So

nobody can stand on the sidelines of this issue, we

have to set aside the old divides”

‐ Barack Obama, President , United States of America

“A doctor should feel if he saves a poor man's life he

will serve the na�on and in turn the doctors is doing

the act of Desh Bhak�, same way a cleaner should

feel proud that he is making his country clean, a

teacher should feel proud he/she is educa�ng the

na�on….I am confident that I can mo�vate this

ins�nct of Desh Bhak� in every job”

‐Narendra Modi, Prime Minister, India

Food For Thought...

What the Influencers Said…

73 Na�onal Governments , 11 Regional Governments and more than 1,000 business houses and investors have showed their support for pricing of carbon.

Food produc�on will need to increase by at least 60% over the next 35 years to provide food security for the 9 billion people expected to be living on the planet by 2050.

Out of the 1.3 billion people now living without electricity, approximately 40% of them are Indians.

Approximately 13 million hectares of forests con�nue to be lost each year, contribu�ng up to 20% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions.

Kerosene and diesel lamps generate air pollu�on, which kills 4.3 million people each year, almost twice the figures of malaria, tuberculosis and HIV AIDS combined.

04

Tech Mahindra – Rising for Good

The Indian IT-enabled service provider Tech Mahindra which

is part of the Mahindra Group has been working for the

upliftment of society through its initiatives in Skill

development and Education. They aspire to see youth that is

constructively employed, children who are purposefully

engaged and a society that provides equal opportunities to

people with different abilities.

In 2007, Tech Mahindra Limited set up Tech Mahindra

Foundation (TMF), a Section 25 company of dedicated

professionals to carry out its CSR activities. The Foundation

works with more than 100 partners across ten locations in

India - Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi

& National Capital Region (NCR), Hyderabad, Kolkata,

Mumbai, Pune, and Vishakhapatnam helping more than

200,00 lives. For the FY 2014-15, Tech Mahindra has

allocated Rs. 50 crores to be spent on CSR initiatives, of

which Rs. 35 crores will be spent through programmes

undertaken by TMF and Rs. 15 crores through Mahindra

Educational Institutions (MEI) that focuses on higher

technical education.

The Foundation runs to flagship vocational training

programmes SMART and YUVA. SMART, a model vocational

training program for socio-economically disadvantaged

youth, enabling them to actualize their potential in a career

of their choice. The youth undergo the training programmes

at SMART Centers where they have to follow the mentioned

below curriculum:

Foundational Soft Skills (Any one of these) 30 HRS.

HospitalityEnabled Services

Customer Relationship & Sales

Foundational Soft Skills (270 HRS.)

YUVA English(120 HRS.*)

WorkReadiness(60 HRS.)

Basic IT &Typing Skills(90 HRS.)

The distinguishing features of the Tech Mahindra SMART Programme are:

Complete focus on skills and attitude required for a

successful career in a new economy

Strong set of well-defined processes for each component

of the program

Up to date and thorough Curriculum prepared by experts

Network of centers across all major cities of India

TTech Mahindra understands the efforts that is put in at

individual level whether from a child who has improved her

grades at school or the NGO partner who labours in the

night school with a small class of five young men or the

women who want to learn or a single mother who sends her

girl to school against all odds or a blind student who wants

to have the title of a doctor before his name.

The road to development is not that easy, however, Tech

Mahindra Foundation has been making a phenomenal

impact on the ground. They want to travel the last mile and

help India overcome its challenges. All they need is

everyone's support.

“Manisha worked on a computer for the

first time when she came to the ANK- Tech

Mahindra SMART centre at Hasanpur,

Delhi. She went on to learn the basic

softwares, and after her training got

selected to work at the Max Healthcare

Hospital in Patparganj, earning a salary

of Rs 7500 per month. Her parents are now

proud of her, realising that even a girl can

shoulder the responsibilities of the family

so well. And Manisha wants to excel in

her career, and is looking forward to a

promotion within the department.”

‐ Rahul Choudhury

GLOBAL ALLIANCE FOR CLIMATE SMART AGRICULTURE – THE ACTION PLAN

05

Food security for all is one of most widely discussed issues of the recent times, despite the world having enough food to feed its people. One person in every eight suffers from chronic hunger and the world population is expected to reach 9 billion by 2050 furthered by the current consumptions patterns which ensure the road ahead is challenging. India has been fighting their case with the WTO regarding subsidies to counter its food security challenge. Despite significant increase in productivity through the green revolution, hunger deaths are quite common in India. India has all the potential of not only being a food secure nation but also a major exporter of essential grains.

The Indo-Gangetic Plains are the grain bowl of India, occupying 40% of the area and contributing more than 50% to cereal productions. It also accommodates nearly one billion people thereby making it one of the most populous areas on earth. It is challenging yet continues to have potential. This actually means that India need to be at par with global agricultural practices to be able to restore the food balance. Productivity of Indian agriculture is low. Estimates of yield of rice as of April 2011 in India was 3.2 tonnes per hectare as against 7.5 tonnes per hectare in the United States, 6.7 tonnes per hectare in China and an average of 4.3 tonnes per hectare for the world. Similar contrast in yields have also been observed in case of wheat and coarse cereals though yield gaps as regard oilseeds were lesser i.e., 1.0 tonne per hectare, 2.7 tonnes per hectare and 2.1 tonnes per hectare for India, United States and China respectively. Even the most productive States in the country fall short of world standards in terms of yields of major crops. Agriculture in India contributes 17% of the total green house emissions. The way forward must develop, adopt and implement a climate smart agriculture action plan.

Indian farmers are more vulnerable to climate change since the country depends on rain-fed subsistence agriculture. I believe, climate smart agriculture is the need of the hour for sustainable increase in agricultural productivity; for reducing food losses and waste; for all food systems to be more resilient and able to adapt to climate change; and for enabling agriculture to contribute to the reduction and removal of greenhouse gas emissions, where ever feasible. India needs to manage its resources, reduce emissions and land and forest degradations. Roadmaps should be laid out for policy reforms, especially rural development schemes which will be aligned to India's priorities based on social, economic and environmental conditions, including the diversity in type and scale of agricultural activity, as well as evaluating the potential synergies and tradeoffs and net benefits.

There is a need to use of methods for measuring the impact of its participants' collective actions, particularly in terms of improved food security, nutrition, and resilience that are relevant to farmers. The agenda is of incorporating climate smart agriculture within the policy frameworks, and the focus should shift towards development of enabling environments that encourage people to adopt climate-smart agriculture approaches.

I understand it is a huge task which cannot be completed with one man's efforts. It requires engagement from all shareholders especially business houses, foundations, civil society organizations among others. I strongly believe that these partnerships will assist in development and dissemination of innovative, evidence-based options for climate-smart agriculture. There should be voluntary sharing of information and experience, technologies, knowledge and practices, pursuing actions to transform agriculture and empower farmers, particularly women and youth, by involving a broad range of stakeholders. India need to ensure it takes into account the synergies and trade-offs relating to agriculture, climate change and food security.

(a) Appropriate national or international expertise,

(b) Taking lessons from pilot studies

(c) Resources needed to establish the necessary operating principles, extension services and farmer support schemes.

‐ Rahul Choudhury

Fiinobservation of International Days

Fiinovation, a research based organization, is an integrated solution enabler in the CSR and sustainability domain. It is focused

towards enhancing quality across organizational value chain through meaningful innovation thereby ensuring sustainability. It is

Asia's first proposal research laboratory wherein research is focused primarily on four sectors, which include health, education,

livelihood and environment. The practices: CSR-CSO Partnership, CSR Policy Design & Development, Programme Management,

Impact Assessment and Sustainability Reporting help provide simple solutions to their partners.

Fiinovation

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Phone: 011-42332200 | Fax : 011-42332205

To know more please visit our website: www.fiinovation.co.in | Email: media@fiinovation.co.in

About Fiinovation

World Food Day

16�� October

International Day for Eradication

of Poverty 17�� October

The International Day of the

Girl Child

11�� October

The observance of the international day

of the girl child started after Plan

International's campaign 'Because I am

a girl'. The campaign was designed to

raise awareness on the importance of

nurturing girls well. Global observance

of the day started from 11th October,

2012 and has continued since. The

observation of the day supports

opportunities for girls and increases

awareness on gender inequality. This

inequality which is manifested through

access to education, nutrition, legal

rights, medical care, violence and

unfree child marriages. Although, there

has been significant improvement

towards education for girls, still many,

especially in the developing countries

are deprived of this basic right.

This year, the theme is "Empowering

adolescent girls: Ending the cycle of

violence". Girl's education is a powerful

tool for transforming the society and

improves quality of living on the whole.

Redefining gender norms are crucial

towards ending violence against girls

across the world.

Food insecurity has been a threat to

human civilization. Despite significant

efforts in increasing agricultural

productivity, we have still not become a

food secure world. FAO celebrates

World Food Day each year on 16

October. The theme for this year is

Family Farming: “Feeding the world,

caring for the earth” . It focuses world

attention on the significant role of

family farming in eradicating hunger

and poverty, providing food security

and nutrition, improving livelihoods,

managing natural resources, protecting

the environment, and achieving

sustainable development, especially in

rural areas. The UNGA has designated

2014 as the “International Year of Family

Farming.” This is a strong signal that the

international community recognizes

the significant contribution of family

farmers to world food security.

The importance of family farming and

the role Corporate Social Responsibility

in creating awareness and ski l l

d e v e l o p m e n t f o r s u s t a i n a b l e

development through improved

agricultural practices should be

focused upon.

The International Day for Eradication of

Poverty is being observed since 17th

October, 1993. The day is designed to

raise awareness on the need to eradicate

global poverty and destitution. However,

the first event took place in Paris, France

in 1987 when 100,000 gathered on the

Human Rights and Liberties Plaza at the

Trocadéro to honour victims of poverty,

hunger, violence and fear.

Eradication of poverty was the first

objective of the Millennium Development

Goals and it should also be part of the

post 2015 development agenda. This

year the theme is 'leave no one behind:

think, decide and act together against

extreme poverty.' It explains the need to

r e c o g n i z e a n d u n d e r s c o r e t h e

demanding challenges that hinder the

progress of eradication of extreme

hunger and poverty. It also points to

leaving no one behind, aiming to

eliminate discrimination of anyone on the

basis of poverty, ethnic origin, gender,

age, disability, economic and social

status. There is an urgent need to bring

toge the r eve r yone fo r a be t te r

understanding of more sustainable

models of development.

04

The Journey is 6 years old,

However we all feel it’s just getting

started...