Poonam Bir Kasturi Honours as India’s Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2015

By 121 News

Chandigarh 04^th November:- The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, a sister organization of the World Economic Forum, in partnership with the Jubilant Bhartia Foundation announcedPoonam BirKasturi of Daily Dump, as the winner of the Social Entrepreneur of the Year- India 2015 Awards. The awards were conferred in New Delhi at a high-level celebration, in the presence of Piyush Goyal, Minister of State for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy, Government of India, and over 250 participants.

According to government estimates, homes generate 75% of all organic waste produced in urban India. Daily Dump targets to manage this waste right where it is generated – within families. Daily Dump, has brought together design thinking, traditional pottery and the science of composting to develop more than 50 aesthetic products and services that enable urban Indians to compost their waste at home and be part of the solution to the country's waste management.

Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy Government of India complimented the winner, Poonam Kasturi and other finalists-Ashraf Patel, Prema Gopalan and Suparna Gupta, for their outstanding contribution to the society. They deserve the highest accolades for the work they are doing and are the true women of substance. He also appreciated Schwab Foundation and Jubilant Bhartia Foundation for their efforts in recognizing social entrepreneurs in India.

Over 150 applicants entered the eleventh annual Social Entrepreneur of the Year selection process for India, and four finalists emerged after several stages of rigorous assessment. An independent panel of pre-eminent judges met on 3 November to select the winner. This year's judges included Sunil Kant Munjal, Joint Managing Director of Hero Moto Corp; Ms Shobhana Bhartia, Chairperson & Editorial Director of The Hindustan Times; Ms RohiniNilekani, Chairperson of Arghyam Foundation, Ms Hilde Schwab, Co-founder & Chairperson of Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship; Anshu Gupta, Founder Director, Goonj; Ms Sudha Pillai, Board Member Jubilant Life Sciences Ltd and Former Member Secretary of Planning Commission, Government of India; Dr H Sudarshan, Winner SEOY 2014 and Founder, Karuna Trust and Ajit Mahadevan, Country Director, Acumen India.

Commenting on the finalists, Hilde Schwab, Chairperson and Co-Founder of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, said that we are delighted that we have four women finalists for the Social Entrepreneur of the Year India 2015 Awards – all four entrepreneurs are working on social priorities high on India's policy agenda including skilling, entrepreneurship promotion, and sanitation.

Congratulating the winner, Shyam S Bhartia, Chairman & Founder and Hari S Bhartia, Co-Chairman & Founder, Jubilant Bhartia Group and Founder Directors of Jubilant Bhartia Foundation, said that SEOY India award acknowledges contributions of social entrepreneurs in addressing social problems and bringing about transformational change. In the last six years of organising SEOY in India, we have received and evaluated over 1000 applications from across India. We are delighted to see an increase in number of applications and the passion that these entrepreneurs bring to the fore.