Amrtha Kasturi Rangan

Amrtha Kasturi Rangan
One water, one data
Enabling a culture of data sharing between programs and reuse of data Posted on 25 May, 2022 02:58 PM

Any large-scale water security program by the government needs two things: [i] continuous data - given the dynamic nature of water - its annual replenishment depends on how much rainfall occurs and what farmers decide to grow in that agricultural cycle; and [ii] people who understand this data and continue to maintain the implementation post-intervention.

Participatory programs such as JJM require a large amount of village-level information on water (Image: Arpit Deomurar, FES)
Learning about safe water practices and solutions
Safe water learning cards being used to train a wide spectrum of stakeholders Posted on 03 Sep, 2021 09:21 AM

If you are a practitioner, working in the areas of water and sanitation, it is likely that you are building capacities of different people. What if you had a simple but versatile tool that can help build awareness and capacities; that can surface questions and answers and do this for communities, government officials and CSOs?

Different combinations of safe water learning cards can be customised for a session based on the target audience (Image: INREM)
Data, data everywhere, but where?
Involving the community in a data framework with the right incentives will have the second-order benefit of the community becoming decision makers with respect to water use. Posted on 16 Oct, 2020 09:21 AM

A few of us did an exercise where we closed our eyes and thought of the first four words that came to our minds when we thought of water data in India. Here is what we came up with:

The seamless flow of data from one program to another can be enabled if a few principles are kept in mind (Image: José Manuel Suárez, Wikimedia Commons)
Data, a reusable asset
Can we design capabilities to ingest, protect and use water data in ways that amplify value for its users? Posted on 29 Sep, 2020 03:48 PM

A quick search for the word data on India Water Portal results in a flood of queries - people are looking for water data - for specific villages, cities or for the entire country. 

Water data needs to be liberated from the custody of one set of users and a single programme making it a reusable asset that each programme and actor builds on. (Image: Needpix)
Technology to build knowledge and capacities beyond COVID
The time has come to utilize technology to build resilience of communities by training them to strive for better livelihood opportunities where they want to. Posted on 22 May, 2020 09:14 AM

The COVID-19 crisis has brought the world to a standstill. Government, civil society and volunteers are rallying to ensure that social and economic inequalities do not dictate how this crisis draws lines between the “haves” and “have-nots”. Nonetheless, the crisis seems to have deepened the existing divide.

Bringing the digital revolution to the hands of real India (Image: CXOToday.com)
Collective action against Coronavirus
More than fifty organisations in Maharashtra have come together to tackle the coronavirus pandemic with a special focus on WASH, shelter, migration and social sector recovery
Posted on 18 May, 2020 02:09 PM

Providing community toilet managers with safety equipmentEven as I sat down to write this the Jeevan Raths have rolled out and are serving migrants essentials - food, water and sanitary

PC: The Jeevan Rath Collaborative
In conversation with Rohini Nilekani: Water, societal platform thinking and COVID-19 response
We are in conversation with Ms. Rohini Nilekani, a committed philanthropist, author and social activist. She founded Arghyam almost two decades ago and has been a key ideator in the water sector. Posted on 06 May, 2020 03:28 PM

Listen to the interview here:

Rohini Nilekani, Chairperson, Arghyam
WASH in the times of COVID-19
Government of Maharashtra and UNICEF Mumbai are training frontline workers to tackle the spread of COVID-19. Posted on 17 Apr, 2020 10:08 PM

Maharashtra has the highest COVID-19 cases in the country and the government is taking a slew of measures to flatten the curve. We speak to Mr.

Students handwashing with soap (Image: World Bank, Flickr Commons; CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Spreading awareness on COVID-19
The Tata Trusts are reaching out to 1.2 million rural households across 21 states through a twelve-day campaign to spread awareness on COVID-19. Posted on 14 Apr, 2020 12:34 PM

Sharing the right information with rural communities is emerging as an important need in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. The unavailability of content in local dialects and regional languages is posing a big challenge to NGOs that are working in rural areas to spread awareness.

Spreading awareness on covid crucial to tackle the pandemic (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Doing good, well
The inspiring story of Gazala Paul, founder of Samerth, a non profit organisation that works towards accelerating a humane, sustainable and equitable society.
Posted on 25 Oct, 2016 03:10 PM

Gazala Paul spent her 50th birthday among the Baiga people of Chhattisgarh. On the eve of her 25th wedding anniversary, she was in Rapar, a block near the Little Rann of Kutch, in a celebratory mood. The MLA of the region had come to a meeting organised with villagers from his constituency and promised to deliver them safe water based on sound scientific principles.

Gazala Paul, founder of Samerth with a Baiga tribal woman - at Machamoha village, Mungeli district
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