Agriculture & Rural Development

As part of our #LetsTalkCSR series doing a deep dive into social initiatives by top corporates, let's explore the CSR of ITC. The Group headquartered in Kolkata sits proudly on our list of top companies for CSR in 2020. Another report by Goodera ranked ITC Limited as the 7th largest spender on Corporate Social Responsibility...

Corteva Agriscience, the global agriculture company is working towards establishing an ecosystem of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPO) in multiple states across India including Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Bihar. The company is focused on promoting agri-entrepreneurship, especially for women, by supporting seven FPOs in the districts of MP. This includes training on agricultural methods, providing...

FMC Corporation announced that it will launch a multi-year scholarship programme in major agricultural schools across eight states in India in April 2021. The FMC Science Leaders Scholarship Programme is aimed at creating greater opportunities for aspiring scientists to develop their aptitude in agricultural research. Every year, 20 scholarships will be awarded to 10 students...

Integrating smart technologies into agriculture is transforming how the world produces, processes, and delivers food. With the world seeking more sustainable and efficient means of food production, smart technologies in agriculture are growing in demand, with global VC investment in the sector touching $4 billion in just the last two years. AI will play...

On one of my recent visits to Raigad, I interacted with Shiva, a small farmer whose family has been practising agriculture for generations. Walking across his field, he was navigating between three apps. He subscribed to one of the apps through Swades; for monitoring his farm inputs and cultivation data, while the other two...

On World Water Day, Astral Foundation - the CSR wing of the Astral Group completed the social initiative to lay a 2.7 km water pipeline to make water accessible in Hiwali, a remote village in Maharashtra prone to acute drought, every summer. On 19 February 2021, Astral Foundation along with the local tribal villagers, Social...

The Akhil Bhartiya Gramin Uthan Samiti (ABGUS) abiding by all COVID-19 regulations conducted a workshop-cum-community consultation on the theme “valuing water” on World Water Day, 22nd March 2021. The workshop was organized  at the Tapukara sub-tehsil of block Tijara district Alwar, Rajasthan. The Chief Medical & Health Officer of CHC Tapukara Dr. Vinod Vijay was the...

The world is currently in the midst of a water crisis as we observe World Water Day 2021. One in 10 people lack access to safe drinking water and up to 700 million people are projected to be displaced by intense water insecurity as early as 2030. By 2030, India's water demand is projected...

Water is one of the most valuable and scarce resources in India. Our country is home to a population of 1.4 billion, accommodates nearly 18% of the world's population. Unfortunately, it has only 4% of the world's freshwater resources and pumps out of almost 25% of its groundwater. The 2018 Composite Water Management Index (CWMI)...

Merely 4% of the houses that the Modi government promised under the rural housing scheme are complete. The Central government’s flagship programme called PMAY-G (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna-Grameen) is a rural welfare programme. What is PMAY-G? The objective is to construct concrete homes with basic amenities for homeless citizens living in the villages who can’t afford...

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in partnership with Samhita-Collective Good Foundation’s (CGF) REVIVE Alliance, has committed to supporting and restoring the livelihoods of informal workers, nano and micro-entrepreneurs, artisans and women collectives who have been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. What is the REVIVE Alliance? REVIVE is a recently launched $6.85 million multi-stakeholder blended finance...

Chandrapur district of Maharashtra is known for its coal mines. The district has 27 mines, which explains the moniker Black Gold City. Full of mineral and forest wealth, it is a tribal-dominated area where life is hard because of Naxalite insurgency. Health, education and employment were amiss. However, Chandrapur has been transformed in recent...