Rohini Nilekani

“It is not easy to calculate the cost of land to build individual or community toilet systems. But we need to account for it when we total up the true cost of sanitation.”

“Being near a water source can determine lives, livelihoods and prosperity.”

“I believe that any society that allows the creation of legitimate wealth expects that the wealth be used for its benefit.”

“No single institution or effort can effectively create solutions for societal problems.”

“India is a groundwater civilization. Almost all Indians use groundwater, directly or indirectly, each day.”

“Climate change is already upon us, and its effects are being felt with increasing intensity.”

“Is water the next oil? Motives behind the question vary, depending on who asks the question. Those who see water as a future core commodity - therefore as profitable a prospect as oil - pose the question to create the right market conditions for water trade.”

“We must overcome our cultural barriers that giving should be a private and silent activity.”

“Work from home will relieve the pressure on urban infrastructure and land, which can be released for mass housing or public transport, and critical lung space.”

“With India going digital, we have a massive and dangerous e-waste problem.”

“We all want and need the rule of law to be upheld.”

“I felt very uncomfortable when I became wealthy. One of my ways of dealing with it was to give it forward right away.”

“When 9/11 happened, it changed things overnight, giving the biggest shock treatment to individual agency. People in the U.S., the absolute stronghold of individualism and libertarianism, had to give up many cherished freedoms and privacies in exchange for the promise of public safety.”

“For the lakhs living along its banks, the Aghanashini has given people life and livelihoods.”

“Personal philanthropy must be separated from corporate philanthropy. Personal philanthropy is more about giving back to society, or giving forward, as it is now referred to.”

“Most disciplines invite us to more mindfulness, and more contentment. Not by consuming more externally, but by harvesting more from within, and by sharing more without. Neurosciences and behavioural sciences increasingly corroborate this ancient wisdom - joy can come from giving, and unlimited happiness from bonhomie.”

“If the privileged in society can use that privilege to privilege others, then the consequences can be tremendous.”

“I was always clear that I didn't want to just do pure charity. My thinking was definitely about looking at the levers in society that will change the system of inequity, not one person's misfortune.”

“Luckily, water, though finite, is infinitely renewable.”

“Rich or poor, we all need organizations that can represent us; we all need modes of collective action when individual action does not yield justice.”