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By:

Kaustubh Kale

10 September 2024 at 6:07:15 pm

Five Action Points for July

With the first half of 2026 now behind us, July becomes an important checkpoint in the financial calendar. The beginning of July is the right time to move from reflection to action. Here are five important financial action points to focus on. 1. Inflation-Beating Assets One of the most important principles of long-term investing is to ensure that your portfolio is designed to beat inflation. Inflation silently reduces the real value of your money over time. This is why your long-term...

Five Action Points for July

With the first half of 2026 now behind us, July becomes an important checkpoint in the financial calendar. The beginning of July is the right time to move from reflection to action. Here are five important financial action points to focus on. 1. Inflation-Beating Assets One of the most important principles of long-term investing is to ensure that your portfolio is designed to beat inflation. Inflation silently reduces the real value of your money over time. This is why your long-term investments must be in assets that have the potential to deliver inflation-adjusted returns. For long-term financial goals, investors should consider assets such as equity mutual funds, direct stocks and gold. For short-term financial goals, especially those required within the next three years, options such as bank fixed deposits, recurring deposits or suitable debt mutual funds can be considered. If a large portion of your money is lying in low-return instruments, July is a good time to review and reshuffle your portfolio. 2. Increase Your SIPs Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) remain one of the most disciplined ways to build wealth. SIPs help you invest regularly, avoid timing the market and benefit from long-term compounding. However, simply having SIPs is not enough. Your SIP amount must also be sufficient. Ideally, investors should aim to invest at least 30 percent of their in-hand monthly income. A common mistake is not increasing SIPs even when income goes up. Whenever your income goes up, your SIPs should also increase. An annual SIP increase can make a significant difference to your long-term wealth creation. 3. Make Lumpsum Investments While SIPs provide discipline, they should not be your only investment strategy. Besides SIPs, it is important to do extra lumpsum investments voluntarily, every few months. Also, if you have received a bonus, incentive or any unexpected inflow, consider investing it as a lumpsum. The idea is simple: do not let surplus money remain idle for too long. Staying invested gives your money the opportunity to grow. 4. Secure Insurance Cover Health insurance and term life insurance are essential pillars of financial planning. A single hospitalization can disturb your finances if you are not adequately covered. Do not depend only on your employer’s health insurance. Buy a sufficient personal health insurance policy with the right features. Similarly, term life insurance protects your family’s financial security in case of an unfortunate event. Your cover should be based on your income, loans, dependents and future responsibilities. 5. Consult a Financial Advisor If you have not yet made a proper financial plan, July is a good time to do so. Even if you already have a plan, it should ideally be reviewed every year. Consult a well-educated, full-time financial advisor for your financial goal planning and execution. It takes years of education, experience, expertise and wisdom to write a prescription. Please do not self-medicate when it comes to your wealth. The first half of 2026 is over, but the second half still gives you the opportunity to realign your finances. Take action, stay disciplined and move steadily towards your financial goals. (The author is a Chartered Accountant and CFA (USA). Financial Advisor. Views personal. He could be reached on 9833133605.)

From Waste to Worth: Lessons from India's Waste Pickers

Waste pickers are not a burden on cities—they are among their most valuable environmental service providers.

Last week's article examined how exclusionary policies continue to undermine the livelihoods of waste pickers despite their indispensable contribution to urban waste management. However, exclusion is not the only story. Across India, waste pickers have shown that when they organise, they can secure recognition, protect their rights, and become valued partners in building cleaner, more sustainable cities.


This week, we look at one of the country's earliest and most influential examples—the Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat (KKPKP), a pioneering movement that transformed both the lives of waste pickers and public perceptions of their work.


Today, KKPKP has more than 9,000 members, nearly 80 per cent of whom are women. Members receive identity cards endorsed by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and can access benefits such as educational support for their children.


In 2005, KKPKP launched a pilot project in collaboration with the Pune Municipal Corporation to integrate waste pickers into door-to-door waste collection. The success of this initiative paved the way for SWaCH, a workers' cooperative operating as a pro-poor public-private partnership. The pilot was implemented in collaboration with the Department of Adult Education at SNDT Women's University between 2006 and 2008. It enabled 1,500 waste pickers to become recognised service providers, delivering door-to-door waste collection to 125,000 households across Pune.


The initiative significantly improved working conditions and livelihoods while effectively bridging the gap between households and the municipal waste collection system. KKPKP's experience demonstrates that when waste pickers are recognised, organised and supported, they become not only beneficiaries of inclusive policies but also key partners in building cleaner cities and advancing a circular economy.


This significantly improved their working conditions and livelihoods, while effectively bridging the gap between households and the municipal waste collection system. A case study by KKPKP revealed that the recovery of recyclable materials by waste pickers saved the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporations several crores of rupees in waste handling costs.


These success stories demonstrate what is possible when communities, waste pickers, and urban local bodies work together with a shared sense of purpose. Similar cooperative initiatives are operating across many parts of India, improving livelihoods while recovering valuable recyclable materials. However, despite these inspiring efforts, the collection, segregation, and management of waste—particularly plastic waste—remain far from satisfactory.


As I conclude this series, I would like to emphasise the role of the most important stakeholder: ordinary citizens like you and me. Plastic waste management is not the responsibility of governments and industries alone. The success of any waste management system ultimately depends on the active participation of every household.


The first and most important responsibility is to segregate waste at source and hand over recyclable plastics to authorised waste collectors or waste pickers, rather than discarding them indiscriminately. Every piece of plastic carelessly thrown away has the potential to pollute the environment for decades, while every piece that is properly segregated and recycled becomes a valuable resource.


Simple practices such as carrying reusable shopping bags, refusing unnecessary plastic packaging, using refillable water bottles, and choosing products with minimal packaging can significantly reduce plastic consumption.


Equally important is responsible disposal. Plastic waste should never be thrown onto roadsides or into drains, rivers, lakes, or open spaces, where it can clog drainage systems, contribute to flooding, harm wildlife, and eventually find its way to the oceans.


Recent heavy rains and the flooding they caused served as a timely reminder of how plastic waste can obstruct drains and worsen urban flooding. Open burning of plastic is equally dangerous, releasing toxic gases that pollute the air and endanger public health.


If every citizen embraces the principles of Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, India can move significantly closer to a cleaner environment and a truly circular economy. Plastic itself is not the problem; the real challenge lies in how we use it and how we dispose of it. Thank you for joining me on this journey through India's plastic waste management landscape. Have a great weekend!


(The author is an environmentalist. Views personal.)

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