Opinion

Sustainability Drive : Mr. Subhasis Basu, Sr.General Manager, RSWM (LNJ Denim Unit)

"Sustainability is nowadays a way of life which creates a vibrant economy and a high quality of life while respecting the need to sustain natural resources and protect the environment based on the principle that future generation should live in a world that the present generation has enjoyed, but not diminished”.

The basic principles of Sustainable business are 3 Ps

i) Profit i.e. Economic

ii) People i.e. Social

iii)  Planet i.e. Environment.

The purpose of the Sustainability drive is

i) Proper management of Sustainable aspects i.e. environment, social and economic.

ii)   To find a coherent and long-lasting balance between these three aspects

iii)  Respect the environment

iv) Prevention of exhaustion of natural resources.

v) To improve quality of life in both internal and external surroundings.

vi) Promotion and extensive use of Renewable energy sources i.e. Solar, Wind.

Activities under Sustainability can be in various forms as below.

i) Energy management which involves reduction of air, steam, and power consumption, use of energy-efficient latest technology, and introduction of renewable energy sources.

ii)   Water management which necessarily means reducing, reusing, and recycling. An effluent treatment plant (ETP) is one of the major steps towards water management. And having ZLD (zero liquid discharge) facility in a plant fulfills this requirement.

iii) Chemical management which involves the use of RSL and MRSL-compliant chemical, registration on the Clean Chain portal, screened chemistry, proper segregation of hazardous and non-hazardous chemicals in the working area and storage area as well, and proper training to all concerned.

iv) Occupational Health and Safety compliances i.e. management system, emergency preparedness & fire safety, First aid, Aisles and Exits, Ventilation, and temperature, lighting, Personal protective equipment (PPE), Structural, mechanical and electrical integrity, Sanitation and Hygiene, Toilets, drinking water, kitchens.

v) Social accountability compliances i.e. working hours, overtime hours, different policies (anti-discrimination, sexual harassment, recruitment), no child labour, no forced labour, freedom of association & collective bargaining, non-discrimination, harassment & disciplinary practices, minimum wages, dormitories (If applicable)

vi)  Waste management (reduce, reuse, and recycle) i.e. solid waste, e-waste

vii) Set up of different plants as below:

a. Effluent treatment plant (ETP) fitted with RO and MEE with a purpose of reduction in water consumption

b. Sewage treatment plant

c. Caustic recovery plant

d. Indigo recovery plant (for the Denim industry)

e. Sludge recovery plant

f. Green Building concept

g.Plantation in plant and surrounding areas.

h. Environmental protection measures

i. Awareness among all stakeholders via training and visual poster

j. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities

k.Customer satisfaction i.e. customer feedback form

l. Employee satisfaction i.e. employee satisfaction form, attrition ratio.

m. Innovation, development, and manufacturing of products with recycled materials, Post-consumer waste (PCW), and Pre Industrial waste (PIW).

n.Formation of special purpose cells as ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) which will look after exclusively these aspects.

There are several measures that can improve the Sustainability score of a factory.

i) Timely leak detention, preventive maintenance, and improved cleaning.

ii) Reuse of non-contact cooling water.

iii) It is high in quality and temperature and can easily be reused for other processes.

iv) Installing a heat exchanger system can help make use of this water. 

v) Reuse of steam condensate, This water can serve as a water supply for washing or de-sizing. The reuse of condensate can help save a substantial amount of energy and water.

vi) Recover heat from hot rinse water and hot gases.The heat from rinse water can be captured and used to preheat the incoming water for the next rinse. A plate heat exchanger can transfer wastewater heat energy to incoming cold fresh water.

vii) Maintain steam traps that remove moisture, and prevent condensation thus reducing heat loss and overall fuel consumption. Poorly maintained steam traps will lead to unwanted steam loss into the condensate system and so increase heat loss and fuel consumption. Regular inspection, repair, and replacement of steam traps are required.

viii) Compressed air, Regular checking of threaded connection points, rubber hose connections, valves, regulators, seals and old pneumatic equipment. Use low-pressure air for cleaning purposes. Keep optimum air pressure. Discourage poor practices using compressed air. Use of Centrifugal compressor in place of screw compressor

ix) Insulation of pipes, valves, and flanges. Routine checking of insulation of pipe, valve, and flange throughout the year is a must.

x) Reduction of effluent loading. The cost of effluent treatment is directly related to the volume of effluent and the concentration of chemicals present in that effluent. Water reduction will help in reducing the volume of effluent.

xi) Reduction of chemical usage and increase of dye fixation will help in reducing total effluent loading.

xii) Use of AC drives can reduce electricity power consumption significantly compared to DC drives.

xiii) Use of biomass in the boiler as basic raw material in lieu of fossil fuel coal.

xiv) Installation of LED lighting arrangement.

xv) Use of Green sustainable fuel of high calorific value in place of fossil fuel wherever fuel is used.

The benefits of a Sustainability drive are

i) Enhancement of image, reputation, and brand recognition

ii) Increase in competitive advantage

iii) Increase in business ability to comply with regulation

iv) Attraction of employees and investors

v) Reduction of wasting

vi) Retain top talent and increase in employee satisfaction

vii) Reduction in operating and manufacturing costs leading to improved company’s bottom line.

"Anand" : Ms. Bhavya Taneja,Dy. Manager, RSWM Ltd

उठ तू चल क्यूंकि उस पार जाना है,

अभी तो दिन चढ़ा है बस, तुझे तो रात को चीर दिखाना है.

मगर सुन, तुझे ढालना नहीं है शाम के साथ,

मगर सुन, रुख बदलना नहीं है हवा के साथ,

तुझे तो शाम के आते चाँद की तरह और चमकना है,

तुझे तो हवा को अपना ज़ोर दिखाना है.

चल उठ तू खड़ा हो क्यूंकि उस पार जाना है,

हाथों में रेत और कंकड़ लिए तुझे तो नया मकाम बनाना है,

उठ तू चल क्यूंकि उस पार जाना है,

अभी तो दिन चढ़ा है बस, तुझे तो रात को चीर दिखाना है.

मगर जो धंस जाये तेरे कदम तो डरना नहीं है,

मगर जो लड़खड़ाएं तेरी सांसें तो हांफना नहीं है,

तुझे तो बंजर ज़मीं पे बाग़ उगना है,

पदछाप छोड़कर औरों को राह दिखाना है.

चल उठ तू क्यूंकि तुझे आशंका को हराना है,

आगे बढ़ निश्चय से कुछ दलीलों को पाठ सीखना है,

अभी तो दिन चढ़ा है बस, तुझे तो रात को चीर दिखाना है.

मगर सुन, लक्ष्य जो न मिले तो हताश होना नहीं है,

ठीक उसी तरह तुझे फिर अपना लक्ष्य बनाना है,

भूल न तू अंश है प्रकृति का,

भूल न तू अंश है प्रकर्ति का,

तुझे तो मनुष्य जीवन का आनंद उठाना है..

उठ तू चल क्यूंकि उस पार जाना है,

अभी तो दिन चढ़ा है बस, तुझे तो रात को चीर दिखाना है..

"Transient World" : Mr. R.C Dugar, GM. Corporate Commercial, RSWM Kharigram

Come summer, the earth is incinerator,

Fountains are geysers and vitality cinders,

With bewildered demeanor, all creatures loiter.

Unable to persevere this gory theatre,

Against its nature, the earth whimpers,

Offers prayers and implore for succor.

Come rains, the barren land stains,

Flora fauna enliven, each space is heaven,

Gambol with passion, each mortal insane.

Its oblation answered, the earth is in spirit,

With variated attire and bliss surfeit,

Softly it whispers with guise sapient,

Only change is permanent and everything transient,

You only be elegant, valiant and patient.

"Everybody has a story" : Mr. Naresh Kashyap, AGM Quality Control, RSWM Limited, Mandpam

As the train halted at a station, an old woman entered the coach along with a young boy

matured around 15-16 years. The train began, and that young boy sat beside the seat by the

window. Woman assisted him in opening the window, and boy started seeing outside the train.

After a while, he suddenly shouted loudly:

Mom, look, the trees are going behind!

The mother gave a smile, but nothing was said. After a sudden movement unexpectedly, he

again shouted...

Mom, look, the clouds are running with us!

The couple sitting in the same coach is observing the same.

Third time that boy cheered………

Mom, look, the sun is hiding behind the mountains!

Now the couple could not resist and said to the old lady...

How about you take your child to a good doctor?The old lady smiled and said... I did, and we

are just coming from the hospital. My child was visually impaired from birth; he just got his eyes

today.

In daily life, do we also judge people too quickly? Judging is easy and doesn't require much

thinking or reasoning.

Our brains are wired to make automatic judgements about other’s behaviours, without knowing the reason behind the situation or the situation responsible for those behaviours.

Everyone in the world has a story. Try not to pass judgement on individuals before you really know them………..The truth might surprise you.

"Finding roots in science fiction": Ms. Upasana Chatterjee, Sr. Manager- Corp Comm and Branding

What once originated as a figment of the imagination of science fiction authors is now taking root in our everyday lives with a new name i.e. Artificial Intelligence (AI). The concept is not new; it dates back to Greek antiquity. However, the true beginnings of the technological revolution did not occur until artificial intelligence (AI) transitioned from a science-fiction notion to a very real prospect less than a century ago. In many obvious ways, AI has already had a big impact on human life; examples include voice recognition systems such as Apple's Siri, Google's search predictions, email spam filtering, and weather forecasting.

The notion of smart machines with human-like intelligence is not new. It has at least been around since Samuel Butler's 1872 book Erewhon: or, Over the Range, a book of satire on the Victorian era, As a result of Darwin's recently released On the Origin of Species (1859) and the machinery created during the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th to early 19th centuries; the novel is one of the first to explore the concepts of artificial intelligence. It specifically addresses the potential impact of machine consciousness and self-replicating machines in its three-chapter "Book of the Machines".

Artificial intelligence has been a recurrent theme in science fiction, whether utopian, emphasizing the potential benefits, or dystopian, emphasizing the dangers. The effects of developing such intelligence have been depicted in several fictional works, frequently involving robot uprisings. Among the best known of these are Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) with its murderous onboard computer HAL 9000, contrasting with the more benign R2-D2 in George Lucas's Star Wars (1977 ) and the eponymous robot in WALL-E (2008 ).

Starting from there, science fiction familiarized the world with the concept of artificially intelligent robots, in the first part of the 20th century. Both the "heartless" Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz and the humanoid robot who played Maria in Metropolis are great examples of this. By the 1950s, the idea of AI had become ingrained in the minds of a generation of scientists, mathematicians, and philosophers. Although many scientists and engineers have noted the implausibility of various science fiction scenarios, they never hesitated to mention fictional robots many times in artificial intelligence research articles. One such individual was the young British polymath Alan Turing, who investigated the mathematical potential of artificial intelligence. The logical framework of his 1950 paper, Computing Machinery and Intelligence was if people use accessible knowledge along with reason to solve issues and reach choices, why shouldn't machines be able to do the same?

But it really took more decades for the general public to recognize the true power of AI. Two prominent financiers and physicists, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, and Stephen Hawking, are now in continued discussion on the potential of AI technology. There is general agreement that, when employed for good, AI might significantly alter the path of human history, even when the conversation periodically shifts to possible apocalyptic scenarios.

"Migration, Urban Poverty & Crisis of Education in India" :Ms. Richa Bhambi, Sr. Executive,Corp Comm

Ever since the time of independence, India is seen as one of the most developing countries across the globe. But in the present scenario, is the term “Developing” justified? When the other third world countries are close to par excellence in terms of Human Development and our country is far and away from its closest neighbor as well as some rival economies. We are still fighting for some basics. Social challenges like urban poverty, unemployment, gender inequality, growing population, migration, lack of proper education are the few key social issues that the country needs to address and much focus upon.

Migration

In India, large rural-urban wage gaps that lead to higher migration, is one of the alarming issues which needs to be addressed. India is witnessed as one of the highest migrant nation among other countries like China, Indonesia and Nigeria. This 2011 census report suggests that the internal migrants in India are expected to touch 400 million in the 2011 census, over half the global figure of 740 million and almost twice as many as China's estimated 221 million.

Migration as the name suggests is a very complex phenomenon, so the need of an hour is tolargely emphasis on “Labour Migration”. However, this puts a pressure on the entire economy when it comes to apportioning. Besides, policy makers also face challenges as because of the lack of data, they often ignore the complex and serious labour migration issue. Labour as being one of the serious key problems needs to be understood firstly. Why do people migrate from rural to urban places? the question highlights various issues like low financial inclusion, pathetic condition of agriculture etc. in rural areas. These issues particularly compel labourers to migrate to cities for earning bread and butter. But leaving the native place doesn’t fulfill their financial goals as in an urban atmosphere they have to face new kind of challenges. The labourers face discrimination on various grounds in an urban area. Low wages, long working hours, poor working conditions, poor access to basic amenities of life, actually turned the rural migrants into an urban poor.

Urban Poverty

Once Gandhiji said “poverty is the worst form of violence” and today it is one of the most rigid and stark social reality of the India. Particularly urban poverty showcases one of the harsh reality and strong gaps between the haves and have nots. Challenges of urban poverty in India have its roots in villages. Urban poor are no others but the rural peasants who have been marginalized and turned into a poor.

The negligence and irresponsive governance are one of the leading factors that cause the marginalization of the urban poor who are mostly migrant labourers. The urban poor are deprived of basic amenities, housing, fair wages and most importantly the political rights. They occupy a good number in population but are denied to voting rights. The surveys in some of the big cities confirm that slum dwellers or urban poor are far away from being a registered voter. Since they are not voters in many cases, political parties do not consider them as decisive vote bank and finally they suffer.

Education Crisis In India

Education is the fundamental right for all the citizens of India. But unfortunately millions of young students are still far from the reach of basic education. This is such a depressed and saddened state of our country. In the lower income groups, comprising nearly 40% of children who have been to schools, perhaps never completed primary education. In the recent years, saw the enormous growing disparity between the “Quantity v/s Quality of the Indian Education. According to the recent report published by Annual State Education Report (ASER) have given importance to quality rather than quantity of education in the country because even among those who do go to schools, in order to complete their primary education are mostly equipped with poorly qualified teachers, very high student teacher ratios, inadequate teaching materials which further result in a low quality of education.

Now the question arises who is to be blamed for declining of quality of schools and education in our country. Another question that needs to be addressed is that “what sort of a New Education Policy we want?

As India, today in the 21st century has a vision for education, which cannot be achieved through short term goals, in fact it requires foundation of our systems to be strengthened, fixed and upgraded by overhauling the current state and rendering a new education policy.