Dnote-Xpress,Issue#15,June-2015

Issue: #15 | June 2015
LEAD ME FROM
DARKNESS TO LIGHT
STOP CHILD LABOUR
In this issue:
Fiinovation Joins Hands
with CII for Webinar on
CSR
Stand up & look around
Forms of Child Labour
in India
Aviva - Street To
School
Fiinobservation of National
Days
www.fiinova on.co.in
From the
CEO’s Desk
With over 13 million children working as labourers, India has its work cut out for bringing a change in a deep-rooted,
socially accepted and widespread evil called child labour. The rehabilitation and education of children involved in
labour in India is something that cannot be ignored anymore. There is an urgent need to address this challenge,
whether in terms of income generation for their sustenance or their education and skill development. India is a
young country with 35.3% of the population below the age of 15, and the future of India is in the hands of these
children. Apart from directing efforts towards addressing the needs of the street children we also need to make
agriculture child labour free.
As part of the social development sector, we understand that it is our duty to help the government bring stringent
laws which not only help curb the problem of child labour but also takes care of the rights of the children. There are
millions of child labours in India who are working under hazardous conditions with low wages. Not only are they
expected to work hard at the tender age, but are also devoid of education and basic facilities that could ensure they
reach their full potential. Lack of monitoring has also led to some children being victims of trafficking and other
crimes.
Therefore, I urge governments, corporations and civil societies to uphold the rights of children and promote
education for them. Through education, the children will not only secure a bright future for themselves but become
a driving force in India's growth story. India is developing rapidly but along with the economy our human
development rankings should also improve.
The theme of "Child Labour - Lead Me From Darkness to Light" is our attempt to bring awareness among people
about child labour, keeping in mind the potential that these children possesses in ensuring that the future of India is
bright. We, at Fiinovation, are firm on our stand that the only work that a child should do is home work, asserting that
these 13 million child labours in India should be studying. Only education and not work will ensure they overcome
the vicious cycle of poverty.
This month, let us all take the pledge towards ending child labour in India.
Mr. Soumitro Chakraborty
CEO, Fiinovation (Innovative Financial Advisors Pvt. Ltd.)
01
fiinovation Joins Hands with CII
for Webinar on CSR
fiinovation
New Delhi, 18th June, 2015: With the view to deliberate on CSR & Affirmative Action, CII and Fiinovation came together on 18th
June, 2015 for a webinar on 'Corporate Social Responsibility the new understanding and how to promote Affirmative Action'. The
session was mentored by Mr. Soumitro Chakraborty, CEO, Fiinovation who shared insights on the nitty gritties of CSR. Apart from
CII members, many industry heads, civil society organizations, senior dignitaries and CSR professionals, including overseas
dignitaries attended and engaged in the webinar.
The webinar focused on understanding the concept of CSR in the global and India scenario along with providing clarifications of
different synonyms of CSR. It also highlighted the Section 135 of The Companies Act, 2013 in detail with clarifications of what will
comprise of CSR and what will happen if we do not comply. Apart from this, the webinar provided basic understanding of what
affirmative action meant globally and how it is being implemented in India.
While mentoring Mr. Chakraborty clarified the linkage between affirmative action and CSR to the audience, where he suggested
that while we implement our CSR activities we can target the SC/ST communities who account for majority of the poor in India.
Finally, the webinar also showed a way forward to the audience, where incorporating affirmative action through CSR and within
the business strategy would benefit the corporations in the long run.
The astounding success of the event could be gauged from the enthusiastic response received from the attendees who posed
numerous questions on CSR to the presenter.
02
&
Stand up
look around
They say, “The future lies in the hands of the young ones”, but what if those hands are serving food in the restaurants,
picking up rags from the garbage, breaking stones in the mines or mopping your house? Our leaders preach about a
better future, while that future sells tea somewhere in the crowd. It is a fact that India is the youngest country in the world
and it is also a fact that India has the largest number of child labourers.
The census of 2001 revealed that India had 13 million children working under the age of 14. Ever wonder what those 13
million must be doing in 2015? The Census survey 2011 said that India had only 4.98 million child labourers, we hope that
these numbers decreased because of improvement in their condition and not by the fact that most of the child labourers in
2001 became adults in 2011, hence they can't be categorized as child workers.
Not every chai wala can become the Prime Minister and not every slumdog can become a millionaire in a country where
the resources are so centered. Poverty drives children out of schools, the age of learning becomes the age of
hardships and labour. Tender palms become stone-like after hours of breaking rocks. It all happens in front of our
eyes, we know the law, but we rarely take action to enforce it.
We cannot start blaming the Government here (even though they can do much better with the surveillance
system). Let's talk about us. What do we do? Why do we turn blind eye when a kid serves us food in the
restaurant, cleans our table, pulls rickshaw in the blazing heat. As citizens of India we also fail to fulfill our
social responsibilities. We feel proud when Kailash Satyarthi wins the Nobel Prize for fighting for child
rights, but when the time comes to be a part of the same cause we withdraw ourselves. Those
children on the streets need help, however more than them we need help to rise over the culture
which is making us so cold hearted that we don't even bother to look at their miseries and the
busy life which has left us with less empathy for the victims of such evil. Instead of lifting them
up we treat these children like scum of the society. Let's be more sensitive towards the
victims of child labour and help them get out of the adverse situation, to set their childhood
free for laughter and joy. We have to be the protector of our future generation.
If you are reading this article then congratulations you belong to a niche percent of
the population, who can actually read and write, and one which has access to a
computer and internet. We have the resources to access the aids which can help
these children. The power of knowledge is immense and as they say "With
great powers comes great responsibilities". We should take little time out of
our busy lives and do something to improve the conditions of these
underprivileged children. There is a lot we can do to help these children.
We can start it from our own houses; never employ a child as servant
and make sure that the society or locality you live in also does the
same. Report the cases of child labour as much as you can
(remember it is a crime so don't hesitate to take action). You
can also contact a number of NGOs and government officials
to help these children get out of the adverse condition.
These are little steps which can play a big role in
eradicating child labour from India. Let's take actions
now so that the evil of child labour can be eliminated
completely.
-Karan Pundir
03
Forms of Child Labour in India
The total number of child labour in India, aged 5–14, to be at 4.35 million, out of the total child population of 259.64 million
(Census, 2011). According to the statistics provided by Child Rights and You (CRY), in India, there are around 10 million child
labourers. Children continue to engage in child labour in agriculture and in the worst forms of child labour in the manufacturing
of a number of products in the informal economy.
Child Labour sector wise
Ÿ
Farming, including producing rice and
hybrid cottonseeds, picking cotton, and
harvesting sugarcane
Ÿ
Ÿ
Quarrying and breaking stones
Manufacturing matches, bricks, locks,
glass bangles, fireworks, footwear,
garments, hand-loomed silk fabric, silk
thread, leather, embellished textiles, and
brassware
Polishing gems, diamonds
Weaving carpets
Rolling cigarettes (bidis) and incense
sticks
Spinning thread/yarn, embroidering,
sewing beads to fabric
stiching soccer balls
Mining Mica, Coal
AGRICULTURE
INDUSTRY
Ÿ
Ÿ
Ÿ
Ÿ
Ÿ
Ÿ
Working Children Aged 5-14
18%
13%
70%
Working in hotels, food servce, and certain tourism-related occupations
Working on the street selling fgood and other goods, repairing vehicles and tires, scavenging
and rag picking
Ÿ Construction, actyivities unknown
Ÿ Domestic Service
Ÿ
Ÿ
SERVICES
Child Labour sector wise
> 4,50,000
> 2,54,000
> 75,000
> 29,000
> 4,500
> 50
J&K
H.P.
Punjab
Chandigarh
Uttarakhand
Haryana
Delhi
Arunachal Pradesh
Sikkim
Rajasthan
Uttar Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Nagaland
Meghalaya
Manipur
Tripura
Jharkhand
Gujarat
Madhya Pradesh
W.B.
Mizoram
Chhattisgarh
Orissa
Maharashtra
Telangana
Goa
Andhra Pradesh
Karnataka
Lakshadweep
Tamil
Nadu
Andamans & Nicobar Islands
Kerala
Child Labour sector wise
(Work Participation Ratio)
Census 1991
Census 2001
5.7% WPR
5.1% WPR
5.1% WPR
4.9% WPR
5.4% WPR
5% WPR
Census 2011
4.8% WPR
4.2% WPR
4.5% WPR
India remains a source, transit, and destination country for minors trafficked for commercial
sexual exploitation and forced labour in domestic service, agriculture, and activities such as
begging, brick making and to serve as soldiers by extralegal armed groups in conflict zones.
Sources:
Census of India 1961, 1971, 1981, 1991, 2001, and 2011.
Data from 2008, published by UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2014.
Understanding Children's Work Project's analysis of statistics from NSS Survey, 2009-2010.
04
AVIVA - STREET TO SCHOOL
Aviva India is a joint venture of Dabur Group of India and Aviva plc of United
Kingdom. The former has a 74% stake while Aviva plc has 26% stake in the joint
venture. Aviva's Street to School is an initiative to help those who are mostly
excluded in our society, i.e. the street children. The original goal of the British
multinational was to help 5,00,000 children by 2015, however, they have already
achieved more than that.
With the belief that every child has the right to basic education, in India, the global
insurer has partnered with NGOs such as CRY (Child Right and You) and 'Save the
Children' to facilitate education for underpriviledged children.
India is believed to have the largest number of street children in the world, with Delhi
and Kolkata being their hubs. They have set up nine educational activity centres for
the street children in these two cities providing education for one year before they
are mainstreamed into government schools. The children are facilitated with food,
alternative education, arts and crafts, music and dance, recreational activities,
medical care, life-skill workshops and counseling. Mobile learning buses were
developed in India as children were not able to get to a fixed school.
Save the Children's survey suggested there are about 51,000 street children in Delhi
with some 500 in and around Nehru Place where it's corporate office is situated.
The target was to help 700 children have access to age-appropriate formal
education and vocational opportunities. By August 2011, they have covered 90% of
their set target. The Rang Birange Sitare, an education and activity centre came into
existence in 2010 under Aviva's S2S programme. It carries out the following
activities:
Providing life skills education to children through sessions and workshops
Providing remedial education prior to linking age-appropriate schooling
Providing counselling support for trauma and drugs/substance abuse
Providing services e.g. food, water, clothes, toilet and facilities for bathing etc
Working with target schools and teachers, and equipping them with inclusive
learner-friendly teaching-learning skills through regular training
Ÿ Carrying out regular health check-ups and linking children to medical support
Ÿ Forming and strengthening an advocacy group on the rights of street children
Ÿ
Ÿ
Ÿ
Ÿ
Ÿ
'Street to Children' has also supported CRY's and Jago Foundation's work since
January 2011, covering 45 villages in Jharkhand's Koderma and Giridih districts.
The programme identifies specific issues affecting children belonging to Dalit
community. The initiative raises awareness about child rights, encourages
provisions of new government services and facilitates access to existing ones. It is
working directly with 228 children in 45 villages and also touches 9,630 children in
51 other villages.
Apart from this, the Aviva Great Wall of Education generates publicity and creates a
mass participation experience for the public. It has collected over 10,00,000 books
for underprivileged children and charities since launch, and entered into the Limca
Book of Records 2011.
05
Tweets of The Month
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Food for Thought...
Hear the Influencers Speak...
Ÿ According to the ILO, 168 million children worldwide
Ÿ
are engaged in child labour as of 2013.
Ÿ Agriculture accounts for 60 percent of child labour
according to the ILO.
Ÿ
Ÿ
Ÿ The sub-Saharan African region has the second
highest number of child labourers in the world; about
59 million in 2012.
Ÿ Child labour among girls fell by 40% since 2000,
compared to 25% for boys.
Ÿ
Ÿ
Ÿ
Ÿ
Ÿ Asia and the Pacific still have the largest numbers
(almost 78 million or 9.3% of child population), but
Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be the region with
the highest incidence of child labour (59 million, over
21%).
Ÿ
Ÿ
"Child slavery is a crime against humanity. Humanity itself is at
stake here. A lot of work still remains, but I will see the end of child
labour in my lifetime.”
-Kailash Satyarthi
"Some girls cannot go to school because of the child labour and
child trafficking.”
-Malala Yousafzai
"There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way
in which it treats its children." -Nelson Mandela
"All the problems of the world - Child Labour, Corruption - are
symptoms of a spiritual disease: Lack of Compassion."
- Tenzin Gyatso
(14th Dalai Lama)
“Few human rights abuses are so widely condemned, yet so widely
practised. Let us make (child labour) a priority. Because a child in
danger is a child that cannot wait.”
-Kofi Annan,
Former UN Secretary-General
06
Fiinobservation of International Days
World Environment Day
World Day Against Child Labour
World Desertification Day
5 June
12 June
17 June
The environment provides essential
material assets and an economic base
for human pursuit. Almost half the jobs
worldwide depend on fisheries, forests
or agriculture. The non-sustainable use
of natural resources, including land,
water, forests and fisheries, can
threaten individuals as well as local
livelihood along with national and
international economies.
Chhotu – “Chai Dena”, Gudiya- “Paani
Pila”, how often do we come across
these instances in our daily lives.
Chances are – everyday. Of course
living in cities we are inundated with
everyday images of child labour, from
the street side acrobat trying to draw
our attention, to the scrawny hands
trying to separate the tyre from the
wheel of our vehicle in a puncture kiosk,
or the little boy putting the glasses in
front of us in a dhaba, they are all there.
The emerging environmental issues of
dead zones in coastal waters, resulting
from excess nitrogen seeping into the
water, presence of plastic debris in the
mid ocean or the polar regions,
chemicals entering our food system
should definitely be an eye opener.
However, restricting development is not
a solution; rather, it is important to
ensure that it proceeds in the right
direction causing minimal impacts on
the environment. Moreover there has
been a current trend of businesses that
have adopted green technologies or
people looking for simple ways to save
the earth and do their bit for the planet.
On May 13, 2015 the Cabinet approved
a ban on employment of children below
14 years, with a caveat that children can
pursue family businesses,
entertainment and sports activities
after school or in vacations. To put it
bluntly, children who work, fail to get
necessary education. They do not get
the opportunity to develop physically,
e m o t i o n a l l y a n d i n t e l l e c t u a l l y,
ultimately limiting their ability to
contribute to their own well-being as
well as to the community they live in.
Desertification combined with climatic
changes i s one of t he great es t
environmental risks today. Increasing
risk due to desertification in vulnerable
part of the world is making the situation
even more miserable. Activities of the
past decades, mainly human
interventions and unsustainable
practices have led to desertification at
an alarming rate, resulting in reduction
of land productivity and threatening
livelihoods of immediate stakeholders.
Rural households which are dependent
on dry land agriculture are most
vulnerable to drought because of low
adaptive capacity, higher sensitivity
and exposure to climatic stresses.
Desertification phenomenon is not just
confined to the desert areas. Since a
large part of the country is undergoing
the process of degradation and
desertification, there is an urgent need
to check and combat these challenges.
If we do not manage our land in a
sustainable manner in the next few
decades, there will be a billion or more
people with little choice to sustain their
livelihoods.
About Fiinovation
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 Portfolio Management (CPM), CSR-CSO Partnership, Initiative Design, Initiative
Management, Monitoring and Evaluation, Impact Assessment and Sustainability Reporting help provide simple solutions to their
partners.
Fiinovation
24/30, Ground Floor, Okhla Industrial Estate, Phase III
New Delhi - 110020
Phone: 011-42332200 | Fax : 011-42332205
website: www.fiinovation.co.in | Email: media@fiinovation.co.in