Political

The Global Sanitation Fund (GSF) has selected India as part of the country programmes portfolio to implement a US$ 5 million fund aimed towards promoting sustainable sanitation in rural India, with special focus in the states of Assam and Jharkhand. The programme seeks to respond to fundamental challenges in the Indian Rural Sanitation Sector. In this respect it is consistent with the core principles espoused by the Government of India (GoI), the GSF and the institutional and funding arrangements prevalent in the sector and, aims at influencing long-term, sustainable change.

Organizer: Gripel

Venue: Mumbai

Topics:

• Opportunities in tapping India's rural market, exploring the growth Potentials & government initiatives effectively for a win-win situation between urban sellers and rural buyers
• Getting connected with the rural ‘mindset’ & sentiments of rural consumer

Organizer: Tamil Nadu Science Forum

Venue: Hosur, Tamil Nadu

Description:

Southern Regional Workshop on Climate Change, is being organised by the Tamil Nadu Science Forum on behalf of the All India Peoples Science Network, New Delhi, with support from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and the Shakthi Foundation, New Delhi. 

The Workshop is part of a series of regional workshops aimed at motivating and training activists to create social movements aimed at mitigating and adapting to the galloping climate change. A total of around 50 scientists, resource persons and social activists from the states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry are expected to attend this event.

Venue: Thamukkam Ground, Madurai, Tamil Nadu

Topics:

• Impact of warming the globe–Scientific and social background
• Politics of global warming 
• Interconnection between present development model and warming the globe/deteriorating climate 
• Towards alternative development, initiating nature-friendly and human-friendly measures

Author: S. Vishwanath
Video courtesy: Zenrainman

When a city adds nearly 3 million people in a span of a decade ensuring water supply to its citizens seems a huge challenge. One critical thing to realize is that the mind-set of ‘providing’ water has to change and become one of ensuring that citizens can access water of requisite quality.

Ever since Schumacher wrote his now very, very famous book small is there has in my mind been a question of the appropriateness of the solutions we urban educated types posit for rural ‘problems’.

In Kokkarapati village (TN), dilapidated public toilets cause difficulty, disease and humiliation.

Organizer: The Oceanic Group

Venue: IIT Patna

Description:

The event, a part of Bihar Vision 2030 and is being organised by ‘The Oceanic Group’ in collaboration with Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. Bihar and Jharkhand, NHRD, Patna and HHF.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) recognises the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all human beings. There are certain basic needs that are essential for a dignified life. Water and sanitation are two of these essential human needs and a clean environment is also increasingly recognised as a fundamental human right.

The paper also discusses  their future potential and possible impact on national food security of diversification into non-PDS, fruits, vegetables and other commercial crops. This kind of analysis is likely to help planners and policy makers in choosing appropriate policy framework in evolving the strategies for enacting and operationalization of Food Security Act.

With increase in population, income and urbanization, the demand for food grains has also increased and diversified. Although there has been more than four-fold increase in food grain production from 1950-51 (50.82 mt) to 2008-09 (233.88 mt), a large section of our population continues to suffer from malnutrition and inadequacy of food grains. On the other hand degradation of land, water and other natural resources have started impacting production through increased biotic and abiotic stresses.