Governance

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November 6, 2022 In 2020, 559 million children were affected by four to five heatwaves a year; numbers could increase four-fold by 2050, as per a report by UNICEF
Heat-related mortality is four times higher among children under 1 year of age than in persons aged 1–44 years (Image: Taqver, Wikimedia Commons)
October 22, 2022 Role of MGNREGA in the year after the 2020 lockdown: Survey findings from Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh
MGNREGA provided income support or security to vulnerable households during the pandemic (Image: UN Women)
October 14, 2022 Arthan organizes a fireside chat to highlight the need for more data talent for social impact
There is a need to integrate data science into the existing education system (Image: Mohamed Mahmoud Hassan, Public Domain Pictures)
September 9, 2022 Highlights from a new report released by iFOREST
An old coal-fired power plant has been dumping vast quantities of ash out in the open for many years. (Image: Lundrim Aliu/ World Bank; CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
July 14, 2022 The river is faced with the dual problem of flood plain encroachment and growing levels of water pollution
Illegal transverse check dams (Badhals) built on Ichamati near a village in Basirhat (Image: Prithviraj Nath @ TheWaterChronicles)
July 10, 2022 People in India fleeing disasters like drought more likely to have experienced trafficking or modern slavery than those fleeing floods or cyclones
The country's climate change assessment suggests things are only going to get worse (Image: Saurav Karmakar, India Water Portal Flickr)
Using music to build water positive villages
A campaign tries to make watershed development work a citizens movement. Posted on 24 Mar, 2020 10:19 AM

An inspiration called Kumbharwadi in the rain-shadow region of Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra is one of the many successful stories of water stressed villages that were transformed by Paani Ka Teeka’s knowledge partner – Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR), a Pune based non-profit.

Kumbharwadi in 1998 - A bleak scenario

Women drawing water from a village well. Prior to watershed development and integrated water management, scarcity of water was a way of life for the people of Kumbharwadi (Image: WOTR)
One in every two individuals will be living in water-stressed regions by 2050: Report
News this week Posted on 23 Mar, 2020 12:27 PM

World Water Development Report 2020: Tropical countries to be worst hit by water stress

Banks of the Ramganga river (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
A national action plan to ensure sustainable and responsible business on the anvil
Policy matters this week Posted on 23 Mar, 2020 12:19 PM

Centre to finalise National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights

An industrial area in Chhattisgarh (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
In deep water
Will the World Bank honor its commitments to the poor in an Indian water project? Posted on 22 Mar, 2020 08:05 PM

In the wake of a scandal revealing that the World Bank may have suppressed knowledge of money for the poor being siphoned off by elites, all eyes are on the Bank to see whether its commitments to the poor hold water.

A water scheme violates Adivasi rights, threatens community water access and sacred spaces (Image: Anirudha Nagar, Accountability Counsel)
Water, the first line of defence against climate change
A report by WaterAid calls for a tenfold increase in current levels of climate finance that goes to WASH services. Posted on 22 Mar, 2020 09:50 AM

Water insufficiency is a challenging problem globally with 1 in 10 people lacking a basic water pump or covered well close to home.

Shantilata uses a cloth to filter out the high iron content in the salty water, filled from a hand pump, in the village Sitapur on the outskirts of Bhadrak, Bhuvaneshwar, Odisha (Image: WaterAid/ Anindito Mukherjee)
Clean water, a crucial weapon to combat COVID -19
The recent COVID -19 pandemic highlights the important role that access to clean water can play in dealing with such diseases in the future. Posted on 21 Mar, 2020 04:32 PM

This month has been seeing a different kind of a scare world over, that of the deadly corona virus pandemic that has been spreading rapidly, infecting people and leading to a rising number of deaths in numerous countries.

Is our tap water really safe? (Image Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
Tap water to all
What can be learnt from past experiences on scaling up coverage of piped water supply? Posted on 20 Mar, 2020 01:47 PM

Efforts are underway by both state and central governments to improve access to safe and adequate drinking water to people, and nationally, as on 31 December 2018, 79% of rural habitations had been covered at 40 litres per capita per day (lpcd) but only 47% at 55 lpcd.

Child drinks water from a tap (Image: Imal Hashemi/Taimani Films/World Bank, Flickr Commons, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Outreach of current disaster-related apps in India poor
Technology and crowdsourced data need to play a greater role in disaster management in India. Posted on 17 Mar, 2020 11:17 AM

With the rise in frequency and intensity of unexpected disasters, the need for effective communication technologies such as the use of social and mobile tools seems to be growing for responding to disaster situations in emergency, rescue and relief efforts.

Floods in Uttarakhand in 2013 severely damaged hundreds of villages across Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Chamoli and Tehri regions (Image: Oxfam International, Flickr Commons, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Jal Jeevan Mission: Will piped water to every household no longer be a pipe dream?
There is a need to focus on the “first mile” i.e. communities across rural India to be able to ensure sustainability and scalability for piped water supply. Posted on 14 Mar, 2020 04:26 PM

Millions of Indian women can take up to six trips a day to gather and transport water, which takes up a major part of their day. During scorching summers when many sources dry up, their drudgery gets even worse.

A school boy from Tilonia in semi-arid region of Rajasthan drinks from a tap from a rainwater harvesting tank that provides clean drinking water. (Image: Barefoot photographers of Tilonia)
Under Har Ghar Nal Se Jal, states to open water testing labs
Policy matters this week Posted on 12 Mar, 2020 02:39 PM

DDWS orders states to open up water testing laboratories to the public

Residents of a village testing their water (Source: Arghyam)
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