Political

Under its responsive role the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) has an elaborate programme of supporting research to individual scholars by offering them fellowships at different levels in social science disciplines.

ICSSR has granted a research project at National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) on 'Vulnerability Assessment and Mitigation Analysis for Drought Risk in Bundelkhand' for 15 months period. Fellow will be advised/promoted to register for Ph.D. in a University.

The Department for International Development (DFID) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) are partnering in a new programme on economic growth in developing countries. The DFID/ESRC Growth Programme (DEGP) will fund world class scientific research on issues relating to inclusive economic growth in Low Income Countries (LICs), with high potential for impact on policy and practice. 

T N Khoshoo Ecology and Environment award for schools has been instituted to recognize schools that enable innovative, creative activity that promotes environmental consciousness and thoughtful action. This award is a joint initiative by The Khoshoo Endowment Fund and ATREE, along with the Teacher Foundation, Wipro, IAIM-FRLHT and Pravah. The award was launched in Bengaluru and Delhi earlier in the year 2010.

Nominations/applications are invited for four “National Awards for Excellence in Forestry by ICFRE“ for the period 2008-2010 on biannual basis. These awards shall be given for original and outstanding notable work/research contribution in the fields of (a) Forest Education (b) Forest Research (c) Forest Extension.

One of the four awards called “Young Scientists Award in Forestry” shall be given only to the scientist with 40 years or less of age, with work preferably linked to the project(s) of ICFRE.

This report by the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) of the World Bank presents the findings of the baseline and community survey conducted in two districts of Madhya Pradesh (MP) - Dhar and Khargone. The goal of the program is to reduce the risk of diarrhea and therefore increase household productivity by stimulating demand for sanitation in the lives of people. The program also seeks to stimulate the supply of appropriate sanitation program and services by conducting market research and training local artisans to build the relevant facilities.

In India, the program is supporting the Government of India’s (GoI) Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) in two States: Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The main components of the intervention include: Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS), Social Marketing of Sanitation, Strengthening the Enabling Environment and Nirmal Gram Puraskar (NGP) Awards.

This paper in the Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge aims to describe indigenous pest management (IPM) practices being followed by farmers of Bageshwar district of Uttarakhand and their belief behind following them.With those practices, farmers would manage pests effectively without deteriorating environment. These practices could be very important if incorporated into integrated pest management research to enrich the research process and make it more relevant for the farmers. 

This  brings together the results of formal research on SRI in a number of countries (Part I) and also reports on initiatives by government agencies, NGOs, universities, or the private sector, bringing knowledge of SRI to farmers in a wide range of agroecological circumstances (Part II). It has six articles and nine technical reports from Afghanistan, China, the Gambia, Kenya, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Mali,  Pakistan, Panama, and Thailand as well as several review articles.

The System of Rice Intensification (SRI), developed in Madagascar almost 30 years ago, modifies certain practices for managing plants, soil, water, and nutrients with the effect of raising the productivity of the land, labor, and capital devoted to rice production. Certain production inputs are reduced—seeds, inorganic fertilizer, water, and fuel where water is pumped—with increased yield as a result.

This Operation and Maintenance (O&M) manual for rural water supplies by the Department of Drinking Water And Sanitation and Water and Sanitation Program of the World Bank complements their Gram Panchayat Handbook released in 2010 . It takes into account the current aspirations and challenges facing the sector, and builds on the framework already set out in the National Rajiv Gandhi Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) and Strategic Plan 2011-2022. 

To
Shri Salman Khurshid,
Union Minister of Water Resources,
Shramshakti Bhawan,
Rafi Marg,
New Delhi - 110001

2. Secretary, Union Ministry of Water Resources
3. Chairman, Central Water Commission
4. Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission
5. Member (Water), Planning Commission
6. Ms Aruna Roy, Chairperson, Working Group on Transparency, Accountability, Governance at National Advisory Council

Flooding forced millions of Pakistanis to flee their homes in July and August 2010.

The summer of 2010 was different. In July and August, rain fell over most of Pakistan and persisted in some places for weeks.