Access to clean water is so critical for development and survival that the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal number 6 (SDG-6) was to ensure availability and sustained management of water and sanitation. The World Health Organization (WHO) in 2006 estimated that 97 million Indians lacked clean and safe water. Fluoride and total dissolvable solids (TDS) in drinking water were dangerously high at many parts of rural India, with adverse impacts. On the other hand, buying clean drinking water from commercial vendors at market rates was not a realistic alternative, a costly recurring expense that much of India's rural population could not afford. The case tracks the efforts of Huggahalli, head of the technology group of Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations (SSSO), to devise a sustainable solution to the drinking water problem in rural India that is low on cost, high on impact. They eventually develop a model that satisfies all these criteria and becomes the basis for a project called Premamrutha Dhaara. Funded by Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust, the project aims to install water purification plants in more than 100 villages spanning six states in India, with the ultimate goal of turning over plant operations to the beneficiary villages and setting up a welfare fund in each village from the revenue generated. Social service projects, particularly in developing countries, have their unique challenges. The case highlights the importance of performing feasibility analysis as part of the project planning in social projects. The case also describes how the financial and operational dimensions of sustainability could lead to a self-sustainable system. The social innovation framework used to deploy the water purification project to achieve broader rural welfare has wider implications for project management, social innovation and change, sustainable operations management, strategic non-profit management, and public policy.

The executive director, human resources, at Hindustan Unilever Ltd., a market leader in the Indian fast moving consumer goods sector and the Indian subsidiary of the major multinational, Unilever Ltd., is concerned that the company may be losing its position as the “dream employer” for graduates from the top Indian business schools from which it recruits its management personnel. The shifting demographic profile of employees and their changing expectations have already resulted in changes in the company’s employment model. These include on-the-job training and classroom and e-learning program facilities at all levels of the organization and at all stages of one’s career; mentoring by senior management; communication of vision and goals throughout the company, especially through regular meetings with the CEO; a focus on corporate social responsibility; and an emphasis on work-life balance, such as offering sabbaticals and providing health and recreation facilities at the new headquarters. While the company has changed its traditional employment value proposition, in a highly competitive and talent-scarce job market, can it continue to be relevant in order to attract and retain the best talent in the country?

The executive director, human resources, at Hindustan Unilever Ltd., a market leader in the Indian fast moving consumer goods sector and the Indian subsidiary of the major multinational, Unilever Ltd., is concerned that the company may be losing its position as the "dream employer" for graduates from the top Indian business schools from which it recruits its management personnel. The shifting demographic profile of employees and their changing expectations have already resulted in changes in the company's employment model. These include on-the-job training and classroom and e-learning program facilities at all levels of the organization and at all stages of one's career; mentoring by senior management; communication of vision and goals throughout the company, especially through regular meetings with the CEO; a focus on corporate social responsibility; and an emphasis on work-life balance, such as offering sabbaticals and providing health and recreation facilities at the new headquarters. While the company has changed its traditional employment value proposition, in a highly competitive and talent-scarce job market, can it continue to be relevant in order to attract and retain the best talent in the country?