Raji Ajwani
* Raji Ajwani-Ramchandani is an Indian researcher
Bio
(2021) My current research interests lie at the intersection of policy, technology and circular economy. I have spent the past three years studying the processes involved in municipal solid waste collection by spending a lot of time speaking with and understanding the challenges faced by generators, waste pickers (in India there are nearly 5 million waste pickers who are mostly women and young children – the Ted Talk covers this issue), policy makers, brand owners. By connecting the existing policy guidelines with theory, we have tried to present some approaches that can:
- generate data (missing at the moment),
- allow the implementation of extended producer responsibility and
- make brand owners accountable for the waste generated by their brands, incentivize good practices
Since April-May 2020, I am working on a Project called " Mission IBPs" (IBPs= Industrial By-Products). These are huge pollutants and are generated in millions of tonnes . Currently there is no policy in place to direct their disposal and management in India.
Selected Publications
Peer-reviewed articles, books and chapters
- Enhancing the circular and modified linear economy: The importance of blockchain for developing economies Journal: Resources, Conservation & Recycling. Volume 168, May 2021.
This discusses the issue of soiled sanitary napkins / pads and the issues and challenges involved in disposing this type of bio waste. In India nearly 1 billion soiled sanitary pads are discarded every month. Each pad takes nearly 500-800 years ( approx) to break down into microplastics which pollute common pool resources. Each sanitary pad contains equivalent of 3-4 plastic bags worth of plastic. Waste pickers routinely come in contact with soiled sanitary pads and diapers ( which contain human discharge and body fluids). These women have no access to medical care, no minimum income, benefits and Covid has made this situation worse. - Towards a circular economy for packaging waste by using new technologies: The case of large multinationals in emerging economies Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 281, 25 January 2021.
- Catch-up as a Survival Strategy in the Solar Power Industry Journal of International Management, Volume 24, Issue 2, June 2018, Pages 179-194
- The Role of Microfinance in Women's Empowerment: A Comparative Study of Rural & Urban Groups in India ISBN: 9781787144262 Published: 17 Oct 2017 Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited
- Connecting the Base of the Pyramid to Global Markets Through E-commerce: A Case Study of BAIF (India). International Business Strategy pp 441-465 (2016)
- Sustainable Rural Livelihood Security in the Backward Districts of Maharashtra Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, Volume 133, 15 May 2014, Pages 265-278.
- Revisiting the Base of the Pyramid: An Inclusive Model Based on Gandhi's Ideology. Prajnan . Jul-Sep 2013, Vol. 42 Issue 2, p131-161. 31p.
Other publications
- Meet Padma Bombale an onion farmer from Maharashtra, fighting the odds 08 October 2020
- Covid Crisis could worsen until Waste workers get PPE and Insurance 01 Jun 2020
- Disposable Sanitary Napkins: A Case of Single Use Plastic? January 20, 2020
- The Government's new proposal on extended producer's responsibility... December 16, 2020
- Buds of Hope : Organic Jasmine cultivation by tribals in Maharashtra December 11, 2012
- Banking on Themselves: Self-Help Groups Empower Poor Rural Women September 10, 2012.
- Fruits of our Labour : Organic mango cultivation by tribals (adivasis) in Gujarat (India) March 13, 2012
Videos
- TedX Talk : Making it up to Mother Nature 20 Jan 2021
- Interview with Ragpickers in Pune (Part 1 of 2) 9 Aug 2015 (language: Marathi)
- Meeting Proceedings of a self help group in Maharashtra (India) 14 Apr 2013
More Information
- https://www.linkedin.com/mwlite/in/raji-ajwani-ramchandani-20b07715
- https://www.carnegiecouncil.org/people/raji-ajwani
- https://www.cps.iitb.ac.in/people/raji-ajwani-ramchandani/ ( I completed my Post Doc on Jan 11 2021)