Courses, Toolkits, Manuals, Guides and Handbooks

The documents titled 'Guidelines for water quality management' and 'Guidelines for water quality monitoring' are published by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in 2008, under the guidance of the Water Quality Assessment Authority formed under the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).

A comprehensive FAQ Manual on Groundwater authored by Dr Mihir Kumar Maitra narrows down the existing knowledge gaps amongst the common groundwater users.

The most popular FAQs are listed below. Please click on a topic to view more detailed information:

 Basic information on groundwater

This handbook for Gram Panchayats has been prepared by the Water and Sanitation Program (World Bank) for the Department of Drinking Water Supply, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India.

The Department of Drinking Water Supply (DDWS) launched the National Rural Drinking Water Program (NRDWP) in April, 2009. The NRDWP builds on experiences gained through past efforts by many stakeholders and brings all existing rural drinking water initiatives under a single program. The focus of the NRDWP is to ensure drinking water security for all rural citizens in India. Drinking water security means providing every rural person with enough safe water for drinking, cooking and other domestic needs at all times and in all situations, including periods of drought and flood and for livestock.

He said the beginning of industrialization marked the transition from merchant charity to industrial philanthropy in India which was more secular, more inclusive in terms of caste, creed and community and more oriented to bringing progress to society through western style modern institutions.

Apart from making political donations for the freedom struggle, business fraternity also contributed towards many of the social and cultural causes. Mahatma Gandhi expounded the theory of trusteeship of wealth. Influenced by his teachings, many businessmen contributed for the cause of removal of untouchability, women’s emancipation and rural reconstruction.

It examines the impediments to better governance of groundwater, and explores opportunities for using groundwater to help developing countries adapt to climate change. It attempts to understand the practical issues that arise in establishing robust national governance frameworks for groundwater and in implementing these frameworks at the aquifer level.

The case study focused on the national, state and local levels. At the national and state levels, it analyzed the policy, legal, and institutional arrangements to identify the demand and supply management and incentive structures that have been established for groundwater management. At the local level, it assessed the operations, successes, and constraints facing local institutions in the governance of a number of aquifers within peninsula India, on the coast and on the plain of the Ganges river valley.

This integrates the third edition, which was published in 2004, with both the first addendum to the third edition, published in 2006, and the second addendum to the third edition, published in 2008. It supersedes previous editions of the Guidelines and previous International Standards. 

This edition of the Guidelines further develops concepts, approaches and information introduced in previous editions, including the comprehensive preventive risk management approach for ensuring drinking-water quality.

In spite of its natural wealth, the Alappuzha district has a high proportion of population living in poverty. 

Recognizing that the process of preparation of a mitigation plan report is as important as the product, the MSSRF team held wide ranging consultations with all concerned with the economy, ecological security and livelihood security of Kuttanad wetlands. Information on the consultations held and visits made are given in the report. It contains a malady-remedy analysis of the problems and potential solutions.

The greatest challenge in dealing with multidimensional problems in our country is our inability to generate the necessary synergy and convergence among the numerous government, non-government, civil society and other agencies involved in the implementation of the programmes such as those outlined in this report. This is why the team has suggested both high-level policy guidance and monitoring committee as well as a task implementation mechanism.

Some policy measures implied by various options have also been indicated. The main sectors examined in the report are power, transport, industry, buildings and forestry.

Increased concentrations of Green House Gases (GHGs) and the overall warming of the atmosphere has resulted in changing rainfall patterns, disruption in hydrological cycles, melting of ice caps and glaciers, rise in sea levels, and increase in frequency and intensity of extreme events such as heavy precipitation and cyclonic activities.

These have in turn had serious impact on sustainability of water resources, agriculture, forests and ecosystems, affecting the well being of billions of people on earth. Widespread melting of glaciers and snow cover will reduce melt water from major mountain ranges (e.g. Hindu Kush, Himalaya, Andes) where more than one billion people currently live.

It is intended primarily for programme implementers to help them understand the critical need for Community Sanitary Complexes and inform them of the guiding principles to be adopted while planning for these.

India remains one of the countries wherein concerted efforts are still required to eliminate the practice of open defecation. The lack of priority given to safe confinement and disposal of human excreta poses significant health risks manifest in the sanitation challenge facing the nation today. 

The provision of sanitation facilities through public toilet complexes is the most suitable option for those who cannot afford individual toilets for monetary reasons or due to lack of space, and opt for open defecation. Such complexes are a useful and valuable option at public places, markets, taxi stands, etc., where a large congregation of people takes place. The Community Sanitary Complex (CSC) fosters the cognitive development of healthy sanitation practices in the community.

The paper also discusses  their future potential and possible impact on national food security of diversification into non-PDS, fruits, vegetables and other commercial crops. This kind of analysis is likely to help planners and policy makers in choosing appropriate policy framework in evolving the strategies for enacting and operationalization of Food Security Act.

With increase in population, income and urbanization, the demand for food grains has also increased and diversified. Although there has been more than four-fold increase in food grain production from 1950-51 (50.82 mt) to 2008-09 (233.88 mt), a large section of our population continues to suffer from malnutrition and inadequacy of food grains. On the other hand degradation of land, water and other natural resources have started impacting production through increased biotic and abiotic stresses.