Policy Room

In the third and final part of SPRF’s Policy Room Podcast Sustainability series, we speak with Neha Simlai who peels back the layers from the world of policy and governance that shapes sustainable consumption.

Today, in part 2 of our ‘Sustainability’ series, we focus on the role producers play within the world of sustainable market behaviour. From greenwashing, offset projects, to fair trade practices - tune in to our discussion about the responsibility producers have towards supporting sustainable consumption. 

In this first episode of our three-part series on Sustainability, we explore what 'sustainable consumption' means for consumers, how buyer behaviours and patterns change over time, and how we can consume mindfully in our daily lives.

In PolicyRoom's first episode we discuss the topic of industry growth and investment in post-COVID India, and the journey towards Atmanirbhar Bharat. 

2.21% of the Indian population has a disability; that is almost 3 crore people. However, according to the World Bank, this number is anywhere between 4-8 crores. These disputed numbers highlight a larger issue of disability which is complex, dynamic, multidimensional and contested. India has the highest number of people with disabilities in the world, and people between the ages of 10-19 make up a majority of this demographic. This first podcast in a series on Disability in India engages with this complexity as Anhad Hundal speaks to Shorya Sood about his experiences navigating the city of Delhi. Shorya was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at an early age and uses a wheelchair. He is currently a student at Delhi University.

This second series on disability highlights the issue of inclusive education in India. Anhad Hundal speaks to Sushmita Mitra, an inclusive educator in a private school in New Delhi, who has worked in the field for over two decades, Ms. Mitra shares her experiences working with children with disabilities and their parents and provides insights into the future of imparting quality education.

In 2016, the Rights to Persons with Disabilities Act was passed by the Government of India to replace the earlier PWD Act of 1995. The Act increased reservations for persons with disabilities from 3% to 4% in government jobs and from 3% to 5% in higher education institutions. The Act also expanded the list of recognised disabilities from 7 to 21, including many previously ignored conditions. The last decade also saw several new schemes to support PWDs, including scholarships, GST concessions, and the Unique Disability ID or UDID. And yet, despite these shifts in policy, persons with disabilities face considerable discrimination and inequality of opportunities in India. In this podcast, the third in SPRF’s series on disability, Kausumi Saha speaks to Nipun Malhotra about his life with arthrogryposis, his activism, and his thoughts on disability policies in India.

Although studies have suggested that prison education in any form significantly reduces recidivism rates across the world, the issue remains a neglected conversation in India. In this podcast, Kausumi Saha speaks to Ms Eleena George and Dr Gauri Sharma about the curriculum that they are now teaching in Tihar Jail. This innovative and inclusive 90-day curriculum was designed using everyday items like comic books, alphabet charts, board games, and playing cards. Gauri and Eleena talk about their teaching experience, the state of prison education in India, issues faced by ex-convicts, and more. Tune in now.

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