The significance of Earth Day

Every year on April 22, citizens around the world come together to promote sustainability and climate action as part of Earth Day. Individual transformation is required in our world. When individual acts are combined with those of others throughout the world, we create the conditions for a genuinely global movement that cannot be ignored.

When we invest in our world, we pledge to protect and nurture it, and our colleagues Surendar Sharma and Yash are doing just that. Let's have a look at how their actions are making a difference and promoting environmental stewardship.

Surendar Sharma

Surendar Sharma has been at Swaraj, Mohali's heat treatment department in the gear and shaft assembly section since February of 2019. He hails from a farming family and owns a small plot of land where he practises organic farming, producing enough food for his family. On this plot of land, he grows wheat, sugarcane, and a variety of vegetables and fruits, including guava and jamun. Rainwater harvesting is done to water his farm.

Surendar is a true environmentalist who is vehemently opposed to the continued use of hazardous pesticides, which are currently wreaking havoc on the earth and crops alike.  “The earth gives us so much, what do we give back?” asks Surendar.

On his farm, Surendar does not use pesticides. “The value of our (country’s) farming output is going down because of these harmful pesticides. This is the time to switch to organic farming for better output. The future is organic!”

And this is Surendar’s plan for the coming future – taking steps to reduce the excessive use of chemical pesticides on an even larger scale.

Surendar's sons (ages five and three, respectively) are showing a keen interest in their father's job, much like his father's deep belief in organic farming.

We salute Surendar’s efforts in taking a stance against harmful pesticides and spreading the word around.

Yash Raj Sharma

Yash Sharma, Rental Manager at Farming as a Service (FAAS), Haridwar, is also an advocate of chemical free, organic farming. Yash can be seen in the photo above at a strawberry field, which he oversaw from start to finish! He guided the farmers through the necessary farming processes, such as underground water harvesting, organically sourced medicines for the plants, and more.

Despite having a mechanical engineering background, Yash has been in charge of farming and agriculture since joining Mahindra. He practises kitchen farming and grows papaya, tomatoes, and tamarind. He makes organic pesticides using aloe vera and neem! His mother also takes an active part in the farm work!

We are proud of the work our Mahindraites do to strive towards an environmentally responsible future!