Special Correspondent

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) have announced their decision to partner with the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves that would help improve health of Indian women and combating indoor air pollution.

Participating at an event organised by the Working Women's Forum, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday congratulated the associations for acting as 'Champions'. An official release from these associations described the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves as a new Public-Private Partnership initiative. Led by the United Nations Foundation, it endeavoured to save lives, improve livelihoods, empower women and combat climate change by creating a thriving global market for clean and efficient household cooking solutions. The Alliance's'100 by '20' goal calls for 100 million homes to adopt clean and efficient stoves and fuels by 2020.

Pledging the support for the initiative, CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee, said in a press release, that CII was deeply committed to catalysing a strong industry response for a significant cause. Mr. Banerjee said CII envisages bringing about widespread awareness on this initiative through its outreach and connects at the grass roots level with industry, government and civil society organisations. Through this partnership CII also aims to integrate this cause with many CSR, sustainability, community development, public health projects that its members are undertaking in many parts of the country.

CII-Southern Region Chairman, T.T. Ashok and CII-Tamil Nadu State Council Chairman, N.K. Ranganath were present at the meeting held at Working Women's Forum.

FICCI's Director and Head & Environment, Climate Change, Renewable Energy, Rita Roy Choudhury and FICCI's Deputy Secretary General & Head-International, Ambika Sharma, also took part. FICCI's vice-president Naina Lal Kidwai, said “this initiative will help support rural livelihoods, improve women's health and provide a cleaner environment.