Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy gave away Social Entrepreneur of the Year ( SEOY) –India 2015 award to Ms. Poonam Bir Kasturi of ‘Daily Dump, Bangalore for her outstanding contribution towards society. While speaking on the occasion, Shri Piyush Goyal said that in the New Tariff Policy the Government will make it compulsory for the power plants located within the radius of 100 kms of the city to use processed waste water and release clean water for drinking purpose in the vicinity. He added that the new policy will also make it compulsory for the local power distribution companies to buy electricity generated from the waste. He said that these measures will give a push to Government’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. The Minister also gave certificates to all finalists namely Ashraf Patel of ‘Pravah and Commutiny- the Youth Collective (CYC)’, Prema Gopalan of ‘Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP) Group of Ventures and Suparna Gupta of ‘Aangan Trust for their positive contribution towards the society.
Ms. Poonam Bir (winner) is symbol of extraordinary power of ordinary citizens to build catalytic and change-making communities across India. The SEOY India 2015 awards received 154 application this year, out of which four finalists were chosen by the jury for their work in the fields of youth development, urban waste management, rural livelihoods and child protection. All four ventures are building large-scale movements, through behavior change and collaborations with unusual allies.
The India Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award celebrates leading social entrepreneurs and their ventures that implement innovative, practical and sustainable solutions to address poverty and the lack of basic services and resources in ‘Bottom of the Pyramid’ and ultra-poor communities (i.e. health, education, job creation, water, clean energy and access to information and technology). Whether they are set up as for-profit entities, hybrid social ventures or not-for-profit organizations, their primary focus is transformational social change. Social entrepreneurs develop a revenue stream through the sale of products, services, fees or develop key partnerships to achieve sustainability. The award promotes social entrepreneurs in India by recognizing organizations that work to promote inclusive growth and contribute to bring change to society through their entrepreneurial vision.