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Worldwide consumption and production — a driving force of the global economy — rest on the use of the natural environment and resources in a way that continues to have destructive impacts on the planet.
Economic and social progress over the last century has been accompanied by environmental degradation that is endangering the very systems on which our future development and very survival depends. Should the global population reach 9.6 billion by 2050, the equivalent of almost three planets could be required to provide the natural resources needed to sustain current lifestyles.
UN’s 12th SDG, Sustainable consumption and production is about doing more and better with less. It is also about decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation, increasing resource efficiency and promoting sustainable lifestyles.
In this paper, we have focused on 4 aspects of this issue –
Water
Energy
Food
Waste (plastic)
12.1 Water
12.1.1 Definition
As defined by UN SDG 12, “Sustainable consumption and production is about doing more and better with less. It is also about decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation, increasing resource efficiency and promoting sustainable lifestyles.
Sustainable consumption and production can also contribute substantially to poverty alleviation and the transition towards low-carbon and green economies.”
Sustainable growth and development requires minimizing the natural resources and toxic materials used, and the waste and pollutants generated, throughout the entire production and consumption process.
This section of the paper reviews the current status of responsible water consumption and water pollution in India and suggests solutions to fix the problems in different sectors, such as agriculture, industries and households.
Water consumption is divided into three major categories w.r.t global consumption -
Agriculture (including irrigation, livestock and aquaculture) is by far the largest water consumer, accounting for 69 % of annual water withdrawals globally. Industry (including power generation) accounts for 19% and households for 12%.
12.1.2 Agriculture
Agriculture (including irrigation, livestock and aquaculture) is by far the largest water consumer, accounting for 69 % of annual water withdrawals globally Irrigation efficiency is very low - at around 40 percent - in the country, effectively meaning 60 percent of all water used for irrigation is lost.
Agricultural run-offs affect groundwater and surface water sources as they contain pesticide and fertilizer residues. Fertilizers have an indirect adverse impact on water resources. Indeed, by increasing the nutritional content of watercourses, fertilizers allow organisms to proliferate.
The introduction of new crop varieties and the more intensive use of agrochemicals and agrotechnology has caused over usage of water and degradation of water
Agriculture plays a key role in water degradation and over consumption, Commercial cropping and unsustainable farming methods have caused major issues.
Due to infrastructure failures, we can see the loss of water while transporting water from a reservoir to farmland
Due to lack of knowledge overconsumption of water in irrigation is being practiced.
12.1.2.1 Issues and Solutions
1. Water loss while transporting water from dams to agricultural fields.
The canals are not completely plastered with cement so the water will be absorbed into the ground
The canals are open to the sun so most of the water will be evaporated
These losses are not quantifiable hence there are no measures
Solution
The problem is not quantifiable in terms of losses, hence there have been no current measures by the government. To cover the whole Chanel system requires a lot of heavy investments which is not feasible.
Instead, the government can specifically focus on regulating water on timely measures, can come up with smart initiatives where they can regulate the water from reservoirs to Chanel looking at the need and weather conditions, etc.
2. Water losses in the agricultural ground
The irrigation methods that we follow are very outdated which accounts for 40% of the water losses.
Lack of scientific methods in agricultural practices accounts for the loss of water
Plowing removes the top layer of the soil which loses its firmness to hold the water which leads to water losses.
Solutions
Our agriculture system is based on good old methods, where we had a lot of resources, now it is not the same we have to be smart in utilizing all these resources.
We have to bring in the science of new ways of agricultural practices which have proved to save plenty of water, We want to have the government and private partnership, it has to happen at the grassroots levels.
The government in ties with the local body system needs to step in sharing the knowledge of new methods and scientific approaches, we have to consider India is very diverse in nature and a single agricultural practice across India doesn’t make an impact.
Starting at the grassroots levels with the support of local bodies, the same idea, the same approach can be implemented in different ways across the sub-continent
12.1.3.1 Issues
The major reasons for water shortage are due to inadequate and irresponsible consumption by households in urban and rural areas.
On an average one person wastes about 0-45 litres of water per day. To understand it better, it is 30% of the water requirement per person per day. 125 million litres of water wasted daily.
First and the foremost problem is definitely lack of awareness among individuals about shortage of water.
Running water during routine activities such as brushing teeth, bathing, washing utensils and clothes, etc wastes more than 100-140 litres of water per household.
Approximately, a leaking faucet can waste around 4,000 drops of water, which is equal to a litre of water. A flush of the toilet uses six and a half gallons of water.
The RO purification system has raised serious concern for water wastage as for one litre of drinking water from a reversed osmosis-based water purifier, four litres of water is required to pass through it.
Another major reason for the water shortage is due to water pollution done by households:
Household borne effluents contribute a substantial proportion of water pollution in India. Untreated effluents from households pollute surface and groundwater sources. About 70% of the effluents are not treated and disposed of into the environmental media untreated.
Dumping of solid waste, trash, litter in water bodies.
Lack of adequate sanitation leads to open defecation, which directly pollutes water bodies. Dumping of untreated sewage is an additional problem to this.
12.1.3.2 Suggestions
12.2 Energy
If people worldwide switched to energy efficient light bulbs the world would save US$120 billion annually. For energy, the aim of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all global citizens in the upcoming decade.
The inefficient management of energy will result in the following:
Increase in resources needed to generate electricity/other forms of energy
Emission of air pollutants, greenhouse gases, and
toxic waste misallocation
To achieve responsible consumption and production of energy, we must change the way we produce and consume energy. The biophysical boundaries of the planet should be kept at the heart of every action; we need more efficient energy and resource management. This will help us balance the global demand and supply along with the preservation of natural resources.
We look at this problem in 3 parts: Production, Storage and transmission and consumption.
12.2.1: Production
A. Problems
A1: Conventional Sources: About 2/3rd of global greenhouse gas emissions are linked to burning fossil fuels for energy to be used for heating, electricity, transport, and industry.
Environment Impact:
In India, the main source of fuel for power generation is coal, at 70% of electricity production. Hence, the environmental impact of coal-based electricity becomes particularly serious. India is hugely threatened by climate change - Ranked 7th in the last United Nations global climate risk index in 2019. Similarly, flooding land for a hydroelectric reservoir destroys the forest, wildlife habitat, agricultural land and scenic lands.
Health Impact
Most of the existing coal-fired thermal power plants (TPPs) are based on conventional pulverized coal or fluidized bed combustion technology which comes with significant costs to human health. The combustion of coal releases emissions of SO2, NOx, PM, CO, VOCs, and various trace metals like mercury, into the air. These toxic gases and substances cause adverse health conditions -
115,000 people die in India each year from coal-fired power plant pollution which costs the country about USD 4.6 billion.
1 GW increase in coal-fired capacity from coal-fired power plants corresponds to a 14% increase in infant mortality rates in districts near versus far from the plant site.
Only 41.4% of the Indian population have access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, the rest relies on biomass which is harmful to health
A2: Renewable Sources
While switching to renewable energy sources is the most obvious solution to the above, there are many barriers affecting this switch.
Infrastructure: Infrastructure is expensive, and a lot of land is required to set up plants which aren’t possible everywhere. Availing labour which is skilled enough to setup these power generation plants is an ordeal and not possible in most parts of the country
Cost Efficiency: There usually is a mismatch between the location of natural resources and the availability of technology to leverage on the same. This occurs because skilled labour is concentrated in the metropolitan cities of the country whereas natural resources such as solar power are available in abundance majorly in rural areas. This increases the cost of all renewable projects.
Ground-level issues:
1) Wind: Noise pollution and wildlife harm, High transmission loss as large chunks of land are available in the outskirts only.
2) Solar: Not reliable, dependent on externalities, Skilled labour unavailable.
B. Solutions
B1. Promote investment in renewable energy:
Investment Promotion: Tax exemption for energy businesses, low-interest loans, and grants for companies adopting renewable technologies, research and development funding, and ease of regulation
Feed-in tariff: long-term contracts to renewable energy producers, providing price certainty that helps finance renewable energy investments
Technological investment: Investing in technology can improve the efficiency of renewable sources of energy
B2. Develop infrastructure to leverage renewable sources of energy
Make technology scalable and develop skilled labour to establish infrastructure in different parts of the country
Support government-funded infrastructure or plants in hot areas such as dams, oceans for hydroelectricity and tropical areas for solar energy
B3. Decentralize the energy production
Smart grid: Enabling real-time, two-way communication between suppliers and consumers, creating more dynamic interaction on energy flow, which will help deliver electricity more efficiently and sustainably.
Provide regulatory incentives for innovative grid investment
Set standards and ensuring data protection & privacy
Support Smart-grid technologies: electric power substations, electric power generators, distribution and transmission lines
B4. A new dimension to rural energy production
In rural areas, people generally tend to use non-commercial sources of energy such as firewood. In the larger scheme of things, they are a good substitute for coal and natural gas as the pollutants emitted are substantially lesser in quantity
However, they lead to a lot of indoor pollution, producing particulate emissions such as PM2, PM2.5, PM10 and CO which. PMs with smaller size are cancerous and cause respiratory issues whereas CO poisoning is lethal
Hence, awareness can be spread and usage of these sources of energy can be promoted by starting state-funded biomass stations to cater to the energy requirements, particularly because they are low
12.2.2 Storage and Transmission
A. Problems
India’s energy policy framework does not emphasize energy storage which could solve the energy loss problem. Furthermore, current regulations that do not facilitate storage from providing services or earning revenue are also another barrier.
India lacks adequate transmission and distribution infrastructure which is a key to unlock the true potential of energy generation.
Without storage, the mismatch between the timing of power generation and actual power consumption becomes a major opportunity loss.
Firm capacity outages vary by season as well as region. Renewable energy is growing at a fast pace in India, but in the long run without storage, it plays a very small role.
By increasing the system’s overall flexibility, it can improve power quality, reduce peak demand, enhance the capacity of distribution/transmission grids and avoid/reduce deviation penalties.
Gap between demand and supply is explained by grid-level losses, infirm capacity, and outages.
India’s peak electricity demand usually occurs in the evening. Meeting excess demand requires additional supply which cannot be achieved by variable renewable energy in the absence of storage.
Firms report almost one outage every other day, with an average duration of 2 hours
53% of households in rural areas experience outages a few times a day
Coal stockpiles in India plunged to the lowest in nearly three years, putting more than half the country’s coal-fired generation capacity at risk of outages
Lack of adequate transmission and distribution infrastructure is the key challenge for a shift to cleaner energy. India’s capacity has quadrupled in the last 20 years whereas transmission lines have only doubled during the same period.
Demand for energy storage in India
B. Solutions
Storage can reduce opportunity losses from the mismatch between the timing of power generation and actual consumption. Yet, India’s energy policy framework does not emphasize on energy storage. Furthermore, current regulations present a barrier to storage investments. Investment in the energy storage could be promoted by:
Energy storage policy: India needs to include energy storage to its key energy policy frameworks
Eliminating barriers to entry: Redesigning market rules to ensure participation of energy storage systems
Domestic industrial policy support: cash rebates/grants, state tax incentive, on-bill credit
12.2.3 Consumption
A. Problems
Conventional Sources:
Fuel woods have remained the principal component of rural domestic energy, especially for cooking. Collecting fuel woods from forests causes forest degradation.
The annual fuelwood consumption in India is 216.4 million tons per year. Around 27% of fuelwood has been collected from Government-owned forests
The fuel woods used in rural and semi-urban areas contribute to more than 93% of GHG emissions from the forestry sector
Indoor wood burners contribute significantly to air pollution. Even government-certified solid fuel stoves impair local outdoor air quality
Rise in population and income as well as improvement in standards of living causes India to be the world’s third-largest energy consuming country and the fastest growing rate of energy consumption globally through 2050.
Renewable Sources
Limited access to cleaner energy is one of the main causes of inefficient consumption in India.
Only 44% of the Indian population having access to clean fuels or technologies for cooking such as cookstoves in 2016.
Clean fuels can reduce indoor air pollution which has been a leading cause of death in low-income households. Clean technologies also save both time and energy.
However, the high costs of alternative technological options cause many households not able to afford. They use less efficient fuels such as charcoal, crop waste, and dung for living. Industries abstain from the usage of renewable sources of energy because they are very costly and reduce profits as well.
B. Solutions
1. The high costs of alternative technologies, underdevelopment of infrastructure and lack of policy intervention hinder more efficient and cleaner energy consumption. There are rooms for efficiency improvement in energy uses in household, transport, building, and industrial sectors.
2. Decrease energy consumption, especially the consumption of conventional energy sources. However, there are insufficient policies/regulations and broad understanding of the complex causes and solutions for such issue.
12.3 Food
12.3.1 Definition
Food, for our purpose is defined as any substance – whether processed, semi-processed, or raw – that is intended for human consumption.
Food Loss Vs Food Waste
Food Loss refers to food that gets spilled, spoilt, or otherwise lost, or incurs reduction of quality and value during its process in the food supply chain before it reaches its final product stage. (In other words, the supply side)
Food waste refers to food that completes the food supply chain up to a final product, of good quality and fit for consumption, but still doesn't get consumed because it is discarded, whether or not after it is left to spoil or expire. (In other words, the demand side).
12.3.2 Why is this a problem?
Direct effect
Each year, an estimated 30% of all food produced – equivalent to 1.3 billion tons worth around $1 trillion – ends up rotten in bins or spoilt due to poor transportation and harvesting practices.
Up to 40 percent of the food produced in India is wasted (~67 million tonnes), according to the United Nations Development Programme. India wastes as much food as the whole United Kingdom eats!
This excess food waste usually ends up in landfills, creating potent greenhouse gases which have dire environmental implications.
Effect on other Resources
Land degradation, declining soil fertility, unsustainable water use, overfishing, and marine environment degradation are all lessening the ability of the natural resource base to supply food
25% of the freshwater used to produce food is ultimately wasted, even as millions of people still don’t have access to drinking water.
300 million barrels of oil are used to produce food that is ultimately wasted.
6%-8% of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced if we stop wasting food.
12.3.3 Food Supply Chain
We focus on the supply side, because Demand side wastage is comparatively low.
12.3.4 Food Loss at Supply Level
Food loss across categories (approx.)
We prioritize food Grains and Fruits & vegetables for the purpose of this paper
Food Grains
Wastage of food grains across the supply chain:
The primary issue is in the ‘Production & harvest’ stage.
Fruits & Vegetables
Wastage of fruits & vegetables across the supply chain:
The major issue is in Storage and Transportation.
12.3.5 Prioritization Matrix
12.3.6 Solutions
Developing Cold Storage Facilities in Farms
The major issue for the farmers is the unavailability of cold storage. To sell at a desired price, the produce is stored in sub-par facilities leading to food loss.
BENEFITS-
This will help in reducing Supply-Demand mismatch
It will help farmers to track the price of horticulture without food loss.
It would tightly integrate the supply chain for further processing
How can be done in 5 Steps-
Identify top 5 fruits and vegetables to be targeted (basis food loss)
Identify the top 10 regions where these are grown
Identify 50 villages per region where the cold storage facilities can be developed.
Make farmers aware about the benefits of the cold storage and shelf life of different products grown
Give incentives for farmers to store the produce in the facilities- like free internet to check online prices of mandi.
Total Cold Storage facilities in 1st year = 500, to be increased accordingly.
Contract Farming
Contract farming refers to agricultural production being carried out on the basis of an agreement between the buyer and farm producers. Sometimes it involves the buyer specifying the quality required and the price, with the farmer agreeing to deliver at a future date.
BENEFITS-
It is integrated with recent Farm bills
This would help in increasing mechanization and reducing food loss
It would increase the variety of crops grown
It would help in reducing the quantity of farmers and increasing quality
Problem with Contract farming, needs to be addressed by policymakers:
Corporates would be least interested in land and soil- Land erosion becomes an issue due to poor choice of crops and rotation principles.
Corporates might exploit farmers to get the land at low cost- A minimum fixed price has to be associated with agricultural land in different locations.
Corporates might exploit farmers to crops at lower cost- The MSP information has to be made available while the farmers are making a deal with the corporates.
Utilising RAILWAYS Network
India has a vast network of Railways, connecting over 7k stations and is the largest network in India. Utilization of special freight trains with cold storage can help in reducing food loss in horticulture. I will help transform smaller stations into a major farm produce loading hubs.
How it will be done-
Developing special Air-conditioned coaches needed to transport
Identifying Top 5-10 Horticulture crops to consider for transportation
Developing 5 circuits (for each crop) that covers various villages and hubs to Tier 1 cities.
Running trains with daily or biweekly schedule on the circuit
Giving transport subsidy to most exported horticulture to help in exports
Providing tracking for farmers through the Railways network and RFID
Credit System
The major problem for farmers to shift to machines is the absence of capital. Providing easy credit through credit system can help in this.
Government can try to incentivize farmers to focus on quality of produce
If a farmer tries to utilize machines in the farm, he/she can be given certain portion of the cost as credits (20%)
This will be linked through Gram Panchayats for easier facilitation
The different machines used can be rented based on certain credits for small farmers and different cycles
The Credits can also be utilised in buying crops and fertilisers from the Government
12.4 Waste
12.4.1 Definition
Waste consists of everyday items we use and then throw away, such as product packaging, grass clippings, furniture, clothing, bottles, paint, and batteries which comes from our homes, schools, hospitals, and businesses.
Four types of waste:
Hazardous waste - any waste which due to physical, chemical, biological, reactive, toxic, flammable, explosive or corrosive characteristics causes danger to health/environment.
E-waste - electrical and electronic equipment, discarded as waste by the consumer and rejects from manufacturing, refurbishment and repair processes.
Solid waste - solid or semi-solid domestic waste, sanitary waste, commercial waste, institutional waste, catering and market waste and other non-residential wastes.
Plastic waste - any plastic discarded after use or after their intended use is over.
We focus on plastic waste in this paper.
Plastic Waste takes at least 400 years to biodegrade. Most of the plastic ends up in oceans which cover the ocean surface leading to the destruction of habitats and wildlife. The impacts of this persistent waste are severe: At least 267 species ingest or are entangled by plastics, leading to increased morbidity and mortality
There are 6 steps in the plastic disposal cycle
The first step in solving the problem of recycling and waste disposal is segregation at source
12.4.2 Major problems and Solutions:
The biggest hurdle to plastic recycling is non-segregation of waste at source. Usually, segregation is done by waste pickers, which leads to a lot of soiled plastic and paper being left out of the recycling process and ending up in landfills.
India’s solid waste collection efficiency, however, is around 70% at present, while it is almost 100% in many developed countries. For collection, the recycling industry depends heavily on the informal sector such as rag pickers and waste collectors.
Segregation at source has 3 parts:
A. Collection & Transportation
Door to door collection and segregation of waste at source by households and commercial establishments can be operationalized via public-private partnerships.
Implementation of door to door collection in a city
Estimate the amount of waste generated at each ward and population of each ward. On that basis, a detailed route plan to be prepared to cover all areas in a city.
Based on the route plan, vehicle and staff deployment plan to be prepared in order to meet the collection demand in each area.
The collection will be performed using partitioned vehicles having three separate collection bins for wet, dry and domestic hazardous waste in each tipper. Tippers carry the waste from households to a centralized station.
Vehicles will be monitored via GPS. A tracking system will ensure that the vehicles do not deviate from the route.
It would require awareness among citizens - Train volunteers who will visit households and commercial establishments to apprise citizens on the practice on segregation
What are the problems associated with collection of waste by ULB’s?
In India, urban local bodies (ULBs) are responsible for keeping cities and towns clean. However, most ULBs lack adequate infrastructure and face various strategic and institutional weaknesses, such as poor institutional capacity, financial constraints, and a lack of political will. While many Indian ULBs do receive government assistance, almost all of them continue to be financially fragile. India has already exhausted all available landfill sites, and the concerned ULBs do not have resources to acquire new land. Moreover, finding new landfill sites is a difficult task as local officials are averse to setting aside land in their jurisdiction for waste that comes from other areas.
Digitized solution
Integrated real-time monitoring of waste collection, transportation and disposal using automated technologies will provide better quality data on waste. Live tracking of bins & vehicles and automatic flow of communication with the authorities would enable smart collection of waste.
The quantity of waste to be entered in a database at the time of collection.
At centralized station, waste is being weighed in the centralized database to ensure that the waste is not pilfered during transportation.
A recycling plant should be there in every district of the country or every 150 kms to ensure that the waste is either recycled or processed.
Monitoring process
Monitoring of waste segregation: The collection of waste data would help in monitoring the waste segregation. Collectors to be trained on how to segregate waste and enforce compliance.
Level 1 monitoring to be performed by collectors to ensure that the waste is being segregated. For instance, if the waste is not segregated for 2 days in a row then a penalty will be imposed on the waste generator.
Level 2 monitoring would be in terms of the quantity of waste being generated - If the average weight generated per day in a month increases a certain threshold then penalty would be levied. For instance, the average weight generated per day in May is 10 kg and in June it is 20 kg per day. The threshold being 20% of the base month then there would be a penalty @ Rs 100 per kg of excess waste generated.
It will ensure that citizens focus more on recycling and reusing the products instead of throwing it as a waste.
B. Disposal of waste
Recycling
There are currently three options of what can happen to something that is made of plastic.
It can be recycled or reprocessed into a secondary material. In most cases, this ‘secondary’ material is of lower quality or economic value. So, it does not displace the primary product. In this way, recycling delays the final disposal and is not a method of disposal. India recycles 60% of the plastic waste that it generates. Still, the issue is not resolved.
Secondly, plastic can be destroyed using thermal heat — by incineration. But burning plastic in incinerators also produces emissions. So, unless there is expensive pollution control equipment installed and functioning, this option adds to the pollution load.
Thirdly, there is the option of sending it to landfills, or as in India, disposal of plastics in making of roads and burning it in cement plants, which is the majority.
Best plausible solution is to Reuse and conversion of plastic into fuels
Plastic waste has a high calorific value, it can substitute fossil fuels like coal or pet coke in cement kilns, which incinerate at very high temperatures — which implies that there is less emissions of toxins. Plastic waste is also used for road construction; but for that as well, it has to be segregated plastic waste. This use of polymers in road construction is said to improve the life of the roads.
Waste plastic fuel has a higher efficiency than the available fuel in the market and the cost of production is 30% to 40% lower than other fuel production methods.
There are merits to conversion of plastic into fuel. However, the government needs to strengthen the laws regarding this technology and promote it.
The nub of the plastic problem lies in the politics of recycling. Plastic is not a problem because it has a huge recycling potential. India recycles 60% of the plastic waste much more than the global average, which stands at 20%. It implies that if plastic was being recycled, then the plastic waste visible in cities and towns wouldn’t. So, the problem boils down to the fact that plastic is not recycled in the first place.
Collective responsibility mechanism
A collective responsibility mechanism should be introduced in a phased manner once the infrastructure for collection has been set up. The idea is to provide the community with the resources and infrastructure to keep the locality clean and in spite of all these measures, if the waste is being littered in the open then the local administration would impose fines and penalties on the people residing in the area as a whole, say, resident welfare association.
Meet The Thought Leaders
Shatakshi Sharma has been a management consultant with BCG and is Co- Founder of Global Governance Initiative with national facilitation of award- Economic Times The Most Promising Women Leader Award, 2021 and Linkedin Top Voice, 2021.
Prior to graduate school at ISB, she was Strategic Advisor with the Government of India where she drove good governance initiatives. She was also felicitated with a National Young Achiever Award for Nation Building. She is a part time blogger on her famous series-MBA in 2 minutes.
Naman Shrivastava is the Co-Founder of Global Governance Initiative. He has previously worked as a Strategy Consultant in the Government of India and is working at the United Nations - Office of Internal Oversight Services. Naman is also a recipient of the prestigious Harry Ratliffe Memorial Prize - awarded by the Fletcher Alumni of Color Executive Board. He has been part of speaking engagements at International forums such as the World Economic Forum, UN South-South Cooperation etc. His experience has been at the intersection of Management Consulting, Political Consulting, and Social entrepreneurship.
Shreya was a consultant at McKinsey and Company, currently working in a Public health NGO in India, as Chief of Staff to the Founder. She did her honours in Economics from Shri Ram College of Commerce. She is passionate about social impact, especially keen to explore the intersection of business and social good. She is also an avid musician and spends her free time singing and watching watching TV series.
Meet The Authors (GGI Fellows)
Sakshi is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) by profession. She graduated from Jesus and Mary College, Delhi University and started her career with EY in the auditing industry. She is currently handling her family business after her last stint with Deloitte. During her free time she enjoys experimenting new recipes, baking, curating experiences, traveling and exploring off-beat places
Nikita is a Chartered Accountant and is a National Rank holder. She is a CFA Level 2 candidate and a commerce graduate from Calcutta University. She is currently working with Ola with their Business Finance Team. Prior to that, she has worked with EY in their Assurance Team. At EY, she has been part of EY Ripples - corporate social responsibility program which aims to contribute to EY's mission of impacting lives.She is passionate about gender equality, women empowerment and child rights.
Ayush is currently pursuing my MBA from IIFT Delhi after completing engineering in material science from NIT Bhopal. In college, he was part of the literary cum management society as well as Toastmasters International. Currently, he is the Senior Club Coordinator of Consulting club of IIFT and as a pro-bono consultant in Impact Consulting. He has worked in various NGOs over the years - MAD, where he taught shelter home kids; Arushi, where he was involved in the self-development of the special children; and currently CRY, ensuring happier childhood for all children. I'm interested in Social Impact Sphere and would like to contribute in the coming years. In his free time, he likes to read books and watch anime.
Aum is a third-year undergraduate student pursuing a Major in Economics at IIT Bombay. He is an avid sportsperson with a keen interest in Basketball and Chess. He is a huge foodie, always up for trying new cuisines. Singing is peace af adventure is love.
Natthakit is from Thailand, Upon graduation in 2016, he started working in a policy consulting company, where he contributed to more than 10 projects with several government agencies. His work has revolved around understanding the severity of economic issues and devising policy strategies to alleviate them. He discovered interest in environment and digital during his MSc in Economics for Development at the University of Oxford. Currently, he is working on a project with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to assess the economic and social impact of climate mitigation policy.
Shanthan is currently pursuing a master's in International Management and strategy at Vlerick business school in Belgium with a social spirit scholarship. He has a bachelor's in mechanical engineering from National institute of Engineering. Before joining Vlerick Business school he worked as an intern at the Indian railways and BEML | Mos Defense. He also interned at Vidhan Soudha Bangalore in the Planning commission, on current education systems in India. He is a true believer of sustainable future.
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