Our Causes
In 2016, CRISIL RE launched a social impact incubator, CRISIL RE Change the Scene. The objective ─ design solutions to resolve problems rooted in communities. The campaign entails a rigorous selection of projects conceptualized by employees in partnership with local NGOs catering to specific needs and problems, with defined community outreach and impact goals. The 2016 edition of the programme saw 16 projects across three cities focusing on women’s empowerment, environment conservation, education and integrated rural development selected for funding and implementation.
Change The Scene 2017
The second edition of Change the Scene saw innovative themes including the development of a crowd funding platform to sponsor disadvantaged students, awareness about the need to segregate plastic waste, financial inclusion of domestic helpers and small-time shopkeepers, soil testing with recommendations for soil management to farmers. A total of 21 projects were implemented across Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Pune.
Financial Inclusion
Cashless Mandi
Digital financial literacy for street vendors and small shopkeepers
Cashless Mandi stepped into communities sensitising small street vendors and shopkeepers about cashless transactions. The project facilitated the installation of payment wallets for financial transactions. Of the 300 vendors covered, 60% installed BHIM, and the remaining installed PayTM.
Flame
Financial literacy for the urban poor
Project Flame reached out to adolescent girls from low income families in Mumbai, through financial literacy sessions.
Pehla Padhaav
Enabling access to financial services among low income groups
Pehla Padhaav raised financial awareness among domestic staff, auto and taxi drivers, security guards, delivery boys, and corporate support staff in Mumbai. The project reached out to more than 600 domestic helpers, more than 120 of whom opened bank accounts and signed up for Jan Dhan insurance schemes.
Prakarsh
Financial literacy and livelihood
Prakarsh identified underprivileged women in Kolkata with basic tailoring skills, consequently donating sewing machines, and training them to set up their own small enterprise. The beneficiaries have also been encouraged to empower their fellow community members with these advanced skills.
I Am Empowered
Financial literacy and gender sensitisation for urban youth
The project reached out to disadvantaged youth in Mumbai, imparting skill-based training to manage personal finance, fulfill goals. I am Empowered also raised consciousness about gender disparities to sensitise youth as role models for chang
Community Development
Jaagriti
Sustainable living in urban slums
With a focus on integrated community development, Jaagriti set up two water filters, and disseminated good practices for sustainable health and hygiene across 200 households in Gurugram
Education
Udaan
Remedial and holistic education for marginalised children
The project enabled volunteers to remotely record audiobooks using Daisy, an audio-recording freeware. During incubation, the project set up one studio in Bengaluru, and produced two books.
Technabling the Disabled
Scaling up the digital library for the visually impaired, initiated in Change the Scene 2016
The project set up a second recording studio in Bengaluru, enhancing the digital library to empower the visually challenged, and has produced 10 additional audiobooks this season.
GyanUday
Education and welfare
Set up computers, water filtration unit and tank to ensure basic facilities for students, and encourage attendance
Shiksha Samartan
Education for the visually impaired
Creating tactile maps, light refraction & dispersion models for The Blind People’s Association, in Ahmedabad
Cycle Library Mumbai
Increasing attendance at a rural primary school
Accessibility for students from Rajguru Vidhyalaya in Shahapur Taluka (Maharashtra). The 5 kilometer commute on foot between the students’ residences and the school, has been made easier with bi-cycles donated to their school. The children can now focus all their energy on studies, and extra-curricular activities.
Sabka Saath Sabki Shiksha
Crowdfunding education
Create and promote a crowd-funding website for students in need of financial support.
Financial Literacy For Women
Enabling financial linkages
Opened postal accounts for more than 250 women in Kannagi Nagar, Chennai, to include them in the formal financial system.
Health
Sukanya
Affordable and reusable sanitary pads, to follow good practices for menstrual hygiene
Sukanya, stepped into Dharavi, Mumbai, setting up a self-sustainable business model to promote affordable, hygienic, and reusable sanitary pads.
Red Is The New Green
Menstrual hygiene
Scale up from Change the Scene 2016 to reach out to additional schools and raise awarneess about good practices for menstrual hygiene. 5 Schools, 6 sanitary dispensing machines & incinerators set up
Environment Conservation and Waste Management
Plastic Awareness for Environment & Society (PAES)
Awareness about plastic segragation during disposal, and converting plastic waste into fuel
PAES reached out to more than 10,000 residents in Pune, with outreach to 9 societies, 1 school and 2 corporate offices including CRISIL; each of these communities have begun segregating plastic.
Aniruddha’s Academy of Disaster Management (A.A.D.M.)
Converting bio-degradable waste into granular vermi-compost, and its by-product, vermi-washAADM encouraged vermi-culture in a remote district in Maharashtra for home composting solutions.
Project outcomes include:
- Outreach to 62 farmers, raising awareness about vermicomposting, and its benefits
- Construction of two vermicomposting pits with shades at Kothimbe Village, Karjat
- Harvest 260 kilos of vermicompost
- Generation of 55 litres of Vermiwash
- Awareness session for employees at CRISIL House, Mumbai
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Recyclers
Sustainable waste management
Scale-up from CTS 2016 to set-up a bio gas plant, enable rag-pickers to monetise segregated waste, and public awareness about Solid Waste Management
Maati
Soil health management for small and marginalized farmers
Maati addresses the need for soil health management in rural Maharashtra. The project set up a laboratory to test soil in five villages; the tests generate realtime soil health reports based on nutrients, and recommend fertilisers for use in subsequent crop cycles. Awareness sessions have also been conducted to encourage adoption of soil health management practices.
Skill Building
Disha
Health awareness and financial literacy for traffic police officers and their families
Disha, has scaled-up its intervention from Change the Scene 2016, to expand outreach to the traffic police force in the second edition. The project focussed on health awareness and financial literacy for traffic police officers in Navi Mumbai, along with their families, reaching out to 455 members of the force.
Ummeed
Empowering youth
Project Ummeed collaborated with Future Retail Limited for a pilot to place young marginalized adults with higher secondary education as Front Office Counter Sales Trainees at outlets across Mumbai. Zonal Delivery and HR executives of Future Retail addressed participants aspiring to work in the retail sector; and proposed an "On the Job Training Experience" for 10 days to a few participants.