The Times Of Profitable Altruism

CIRCA 2018: OF INDIA’S 18,452 villages, only 1,417 have 100 percent household electric connectivity — that’s a little over seven percent only, which means that more than 31 million homes are still in the dark.

- Apurva Purohit

Circa 1995: Do we really need to go there?

But yes, we do.

This dismal state of affairs is what gave birth to SELCO India — a company that made solar revolution a reality for over half a million people, taking them out of the dark and into the light (no pun intended). Harish Hande, the man behind SELCO was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2011 — and for good reason; he helped obviate the many losses suffered by villagers due to lack of electrical connectivity — the need to travel long distances for basic healthcare, education, and invest more time to work appliances that could be efficiently power run. And that’s not all. SELCO has grown from a meager Rs 15,000 investment to a Rs 12 crore entity (2009). That’s also why SELCO is extra special — it’s a for-profit enterprise, but it only makes profit by ments made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention of generating a measurable, beneficial social or environmental impact alongside a financial return — has now become a global movement, as more consumers become environmentally, socially and ecologically conscious, and as funds that focus on sustainable change become popular. Since the Companies Act has made it mandatory for Indian companies to set aside two percent of their net profit on CSR (corporate social responsibility), bringing about a positive social change. Who said you can’t bake your cake and eat it too?