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Political
Democratization of data through use of GIS technology
Posted on 26 Mar, 2020 11:55 AMDevelopments in geographical information systems (GIS) in India, both in policy and law, have thus far empowered to a greater extent government and business at national and regional level. The real challenge in this sector is to extend this technology to local communities for self-governance and to enable them to participate on an equal footing in regional and national development.
![A view of a village in Almora district of Uttarakhand (Image: Raja Harjai, Flickr Commons)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/almora-village.jpg?itok=3-hqvYFO)
Vulnerability in the times of Corona
Posted on 25 Mar, 2020 10:54 AMDisasters have the ability to disrupt everyday life. However, it is not often that we probe about what constitutes a disaster? How do we define it? Well, a disaster varies in definition for different agencies.
![Image: Muffinn, Flickr Commons](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/covid-radio.jpg?itok=tEP1gV9X)
Using music to build water positive villages
Posted on 24 Mar, 2020 10:19 AMAn 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)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/agrarian_distress-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_kumbharwad.jpg?itok=58FLYm4r)
One in every two individuals will be living in water-stressed regions by 2050: Report
Posted on 23 Mar, 2020 12:27 PMWorld Water Development Report 2020: Tropical countries to be worst hit by water stress
![Banks of the Ramganga river (Source: IWP Flickr photos)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/14337026206_d0ce3f3579_c.jpg?itok=drshny4m)
A national action plan to ensure sustainable and responsible business on the anvil
Posted on 23 Mar, 2020 12:19 PMCentre to finalise National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights
![An industrial area in Chhattisgarh (Source: IWP Flickr photos)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/23242374375_229a4cd22e_c.jpg?itok=YAsKvrqZ)
Virtual water and water footprint
Posted on 22 Mar, 2020 10:32 PMClimate change and water scarcity in India
![Food wastage also implies wastage of water (Image Source: WOTR)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/virtual_water.jpg?itok=SQAqV0In)
In deep water
Posted on 22 Mar, 2020 08:05 PMIn 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)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/ac4.jpg?itok=zwxsRD5O)
Water, the first line of defence against climate change
Posted on 22 Mar, 2020 09:50 AMWater 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)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/wateraid_anindito_mukherjee_600_px.jpg?itok=mpEmficC)
Remembering Mahad Satyagraha: Untouchability and water
Posted on 21 Mar, 2020 10:28 PMThe worst and most inhumane form of discrimination and untouchability is seen when it comes to water. Even today, many villages have a different source of water allotted for Dalits. Many a times, upper caste men and women forbid Dalit women from touching the public source of water fearing the source will be “polluted".
![Can the simple act of drinking water be revolutionary? (Illustration by Chetan Toliya)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/mahad_satyagraha_0.jpg?itok=zuURwtZ2)
Clean water, a crucial weapon to combat COVID -19
Posted on 21 Mar, 2020 04:32 PMThis 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)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/cmi_0.jpg?itok=1JwzzJ8n)