Voluntary Citizen or Civil Society Sector

 The Union Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment Shri Mukul Wasnik recently inaugurated the two-day Consultation Meeting on Eradication of Manual Scavenging and Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers.Speaking on the occasion, he called upon the States to work towards eradicating the shameful practice of manual scavenging by the end of the 11th plan. He regretted that despite various efforts made by the Central Government and the States, the practice of manual scavenging still exist in some parts of the country. The meeting was organized by the Ministries of Social Justice & Empowerment, Urban Poverty Alleviation and Urban Development.

Shri Wasnik said that we must address rehabilitation of manual scavengers to our utmost capacity.

Forwarded to the portal by: Sujoy Majumdar, DDWS through the

During her yearlong stay, Tara trained at least twenty people into video production some of whom have succeeded in finding work in the local market as photographers, cameramen and wedding video makers. In this blog she gives a vivid account of the CVU, its producers and their work.

A civil society consultation was held on “Regenerating natural resources and rural livelihoods in rainfed areas of India” by WASSAN at Hyderabad in December 2010 to discuss priorities for the twelfth five year plan. The Planning Commission, Government of India has been steering the process of development in India by conceptualizing five year plans and had sought inputs from civil society organizations, activists groups, networks of CBOs / NGOs, donors and others for preparing an approach paper for twelfth plan.

The objective of the consultation workshop was to contribute to the process of defining broad contours of twelfth plan with a focus on rural livelihoods the thrust area being policy framework, funding support, institutional arrangements etc., by -

• Consolidating the lessons from good practices in promoting and protecting rural livelihoods in the country, that could be integrated in twelfth five year plan.
• Systematically articulating issues and concerns (bottlenecks) in promoting and protecting rural livelihoods, which could be addressed in the twelfth five year plan.

Terms of Reference for Communications Officer

1. Title: Communications Officer
2. Organization: Arghyam
3. Duration: This is a full-time position
4. Place of Work: Bangalore ( non-negotiable)
5. Travel: This position would require some local and national travel
6. Deadline for Applications: 15th February 2011
7. Interview Schedule: 20th February 2011 to 15th March, 2011
8. Expected Joining Date: 1st April 2011
9. Salary Range: Competitive depending on experience and ability

Guest Post by: Parineeta Dandekar

At the first sight, Daarche Paani (‘water at the doors’) appears unreal.. on a small flat plateau called ‘Sadaa’ in konkan, an elegant cobbled walkway leads a puzzled visitor to stairs carved in stone, which go down to an ancient grove, and here is an intricate system of tanks, channels and falls which supplies water to the Panderi village and goes down as a free flowing stream, to irrigate a plantation of arecanut, pepper and mangoes in a village called Gudaghe. When I visited the place, I could see three eminent visitors, a silent lady washing her load of clothes, a fairy bluebird splashing at a tank and a huge moonmoth in one of the trees.

Stone walkway and ancient mango trees leading to Daarche Paani.
Photo: Parineeta Dandekar

The scarcity value of natural resources has risen due to rising pressure of human population and demands made by modern economics progress. As such managing these resources has become very important.

Forwarded to the portal by: Chandra Ganapathy, WaterAid

Based in: New Delhi

Salary: The package for the position will be around Rs.6.5 lakh Gross per annum

WaterAid is an international nongovernmental organisation focused exclusively on improving poor people’s access to safe water, improved hygiene and sanitation in developing countries. WaterAid is an equal opportunities employer.

Forwarded to the portal by: Chandra Ganapathy, WaterAid

Based in: Lucknow

Salary: The package for the position will be around Rs. 8.65 lakh Gross per annum.

WaterAid is an international nongovernmental organisation focused exclusively on improving poor people’s access to safe water, improved hygiene and sanitation in developing countries. WaterAid is an equal opportunities employer.