Voluntary Citizen or Civil Society Sector

Featured Articles
October 11, 2022
Visualizing the Vrishabhavathi river to keep it alive
In an effort to inform the general public, especially citizen activists, policymakers, researchers, and students, about the current status of the Vrishabhavathi river, Paani.Earth has created the necessary maps, data, analysis, and information to drive conservation awareness and action around the river.
Vrishabhavathi river (Image Source: Paani.Earth)
October 1, 2021
Community videos: By the community, for the community
Community videos as a tool to influence behaviour change and adoption in rural communities
Community videos are produced by farmers themselves and feature local participants and agents from the rural communities themselves (Image: Digital Green)
September 17, 2021
Villagers’ shramdaan revives canal, enhances area under cultivation
Benefits of well-managed commons on livelihoods
Collective efforts revived the canal structure of Bichhiya dam bringing water to the village (Image: Foundation for Ecological Security)
September 4, 2021
How Paani Foundation harnesses the power of communication for social transformation
Committed to use the power of all forms of communication to bring about behavioral change and transformation at scale
Villagers participating in shramdaan for making watershed structures (Image: Paani Foundation)
September 3, 2021
Learning about safe water practices and solutions
Safe water learning cards being used to train a wide spectrum of stakeholders
Different combinations of safe water learning cards can be customised for a session based on the target audience (Image: INREM)
June 4, 2021
Not all heroes wear capes, some fight amongst us
Meet these real-life heroes, who with their consistent and tireless efforts created an impact and turned their local areas into examples to follow.
Meet the water warriors who made a significant change in their own unique way (Image Source: Environment Club)
Is the draft EIA notification 2020 anti-environment?
The draft notification is alleged to dilute the process and standards for environmental clearances for industries.
Arjun Kumar
Posted on 30 Aug, 2020 04:48 PM

Economic development and creation of jobs have been India’s most critical challenges, and continue to be an overriding priority for the government. India’s rise in the World Bank’s global ranking on the ease of doing business is complemented with a successive downturn in its position on the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) from 2014 to 2019.
Villager looking at mining devastated areas in Goa (Image: Frederik Noronha; Wikimedia Commons; CC A-S A 4.0 International)
Decentralised governance key to handling Covid-19
There is a positive correlation between the panchayat raj system and effective handling of Covid-19, says Mani Shankar Aiyar.
Impact and Policy Research Institute
Posted on 22 Aug, 2020 07:38 PM

Panchayats have been the core of India's rural governance even before they received the constitutional mandate through the 73rd constitutional amendment in 1992, forming the basis of decentralization in the country. There are 2.5 lakh gram panchayats; over 6 lakhs villages; around 4500 urban local bodies and 4000 census towns in the country.
A first time Sarpanch of Lahora Gram Panchayat in Rajasthan’s Tonk District, stands committed, guiding the community with her political acumen. (Image: UN Women;CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Banking on rainwater harvesting
National Water Mission’s campaign aims at creating rainwater harvesting structures in various parts of India.
Qazi Syed Wamiq Ali
National Water Mission
Posted on 11 Aug, 2020 10:27 AM

National Water Mission’s (NWM) has launched a campaign ‘Catch the rain’ on a pan India basis to nudge the states and stakeholders to create appropriate rainwater harvesting structures (RWHS) suitable to the climatic conditions and sub-soil strata before the onset of monsoon.
As a part of the campaign, work is being done on various interventions such as water for productive use, improving irrigation practices, creating water recharge structures (Image: Pikist)
Migration and the state amid the Covid-19 pandemic
The Covid-19 prompted migration crisis brought India’s inequalities into sharp relief.
Impact and Policy Research Institute
Posted on 06 Aug, 2020 06:05 PM

Through no fault of their own, migrants were forced to leave the cities after the government imposed a Covid-19 induced national lockdown in late March. After losing their work, fearing they would run out of cash and food they trudged back along with their families to the villages in search of humanity, food, and a place to live.
Migrants contribute enormously to urban society and economy (Image: Pexels)
Market linkage could ensure higher returns for farm produce
A study finds out gaps in the way farmer producer organisations are handling their operations and the available infrastructure.
ARYA
Tata Trusts
Posted on 03 Aug, 2020 06:49 PM

A recent national study on farmer producer’s organisations (FPOs) supported by Tata Trusts investigates gaps looming in business transactions between FPOs and market players and recommends interventions to bridge these.
Red chilli wholesale market at Karnataka (Image: Pxhere, CC0 Public Domain)
NREGA tracker looks at the schemes’ performance
NREGA should move towards becoming an open-ended entitlement that allows every individual to work for at least 200 days, as per PAEG.
People’s Action for Employment Guarantee
Posted on 26 Jul, 2020 08:46 PM

As per the findings of an NREGA tracker launched by the People’s Action for Employment Guarantee (PAEG) the lockdown saw a record spike in jobs under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
Women working on an NREGA site building a pond to assist in farming and water storage. Gopalpura, Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh (Image: UN Women/Gaganjit Singh)
Kamla, Kosi and Bagmati rivers in rage, disrupt life
Incessant rains in Terai region of Bihar and Nepal causes floods in North Bihar as many rivers rise above the danger mark.
Umesh Kumar Ray
Posted on 15 Jul, 2020 07:58 PM

Due to intermittent rains in the Terai region of Bihar and Nepal, the water level of Mahananda, Kosi, Kamla and Bagmati rivers of North Bihar is continuously increasing and flood conditions have started to build in the region.
Locals provide aid to people hit by floods in Bihar
Floods in Bihar: Government prepares to shift people to safer places
As flood situation hits the state, the government is working towards taking people to safer places and preparing itself for the rescue efforts.
Umesh Kumar Ray
Posted on 15 Jul, 2020 07:51 PM

Due to incessant rains, many rivers in Bihar are in spate and there is a situation of floods in the state. Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department has forecasted heavy rains for the next two-three days, which may worsen the situation.

Heavy rains predicted
Children drinking milk at a flood relief centre in Bihar (Source: Bhartiya Jan Utthan Parishad)
Bringing springs to life: Ensuring water security for Baigas in Madhya Pradesh
To ensure year-round availability of drinking water for the Baigas, an initiative bring back springs to life in the region through community participation.
Amar Prakash
Posted on 12 Jul, 2020 07:41 PM

Nested amongst the Satprura hills lies Kapoti, a village in the Dindori district of Madhya Pradesh. This region is known as Baiga Chak and is inhabited by Baigas, a vulnerable tribal group.
Children wash hands at a stand post installed in a Primary school at Kapoti Village in Karanjiya, Dhindori, Madhya Pradesh, India (Source: WaterAid India)
Drone to help monitor embankments and save people trapped in floods
This year, along with working at the grass root level to deal with floods, the Bihar government is also focussing on the full use of state-of-the-art technologies.
Umesh Kumar Ray
Posted on 12 Jul, 2020 05:50 PM

#HelloWRD: A social media campaign
Completed flood protection in Naruar, Bihar (Image Source: Water Resources Department, Government of Bihar, Twitter handle)
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