www.ngoconnect.org

Regn. no. MAHENG/2004/15104 Vol 8 Issues 2/3 ● May-June, July-Aug, 2011

CONNECTiNG

A ‘SHAKTI’ PROJECT

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“If you are neutral insituations of injustice, youhave chosen the side of theoppressor. If an elephant hasits foot on the tail of a mouseand you say that you areneutral, the mouse will notappreciate your neutrality.”

– Desmond Tutu

Civil Society shows its Power

I n d i a ’ s F i r s t N G O N e w s ta b l o i d

Volunteers fast for Anna Hazare in support of his anti corruption campaign in Bangalore

The many faces ofCivil Society

It’s a concept that defiesdefinition… the varied forms civilsociety has taken over the

years, and it’s still not clear whoqualifies as a member.

Tune in to the national conversationsince Anna Hazare went on fast forthe Lokpal bill in the first week ofApril, and the impression isinescapable: Civil Society is here.It will take on the Political Class and/or Government on behalf of you andme.

That impression of coherenceacross neatly drawn battle lines ismisleading. It hides the sheernumber of different stories thathave been told about “civil society”in our country from different localesand at different moments in time.

Chequered History

19th century

Not all descriptions of civil societyhave been flattering. The Germanexpression used by both Hegeland, Marx, Burgerlichegesellsc haft,translates not only as “civil society”but also as “bourgeois society”.

1970s

Post-Emergency, the JP movementopens gates of civil society in Indiaas a perceptible presence.PUCL&DR, formed duringEmergency, fights for “lost butworthwhile” causes.

1980s

Lokayan project takes definition ofnon-state actors beyond“voluntary organisations” and“NGOs”, to “non-party politicalformations” or “NPPF”. The Leftfinds NPPF anti-Marxist.

Allies/Rivals

In 1980, Indira Gandhi sets up KudalCommission, allegedly to conducta witch-hunt against NGOs.

Years later, Rajiv Gandhi appointsSanjit (Bunker) Roy of SWRC-Tilonia as adviser to PlanningCommission.

In 1989-1990, L C Jain and RajniKothari, both members of thePlanning Commission, join MedhaPatkar’s protest on the Narmadadam.

1990s

Opposition to “globalisation” bringsnon-state groups in India oncommon political platforms. In theWest, breakdown of USSRencourages funding of many“movement” groups.

NOW

Lines between “civil society” and“polit ical class/government”sharper than ever, with trust inpolitics and government at a low.

Many are uncomfortable with thesolutions bandied by civil society.“Paradoxically, all the solutionssuggested by civil society invokean expansion of governmentbureaucracy. Each bill, the Lokpal

included, envisions a separateauthority.

Today lines between “civilsociety” and “political class/government” are sharper thanever, with trust in politics andgovernment at a new low. (excerpts from http://www.expressindia.com/ latest-news/ The-many-faces-of- Civil-Society/ 812667/ )—Vandita Mishra

Food Security Billinsecure

The Right to Food Campaignappealed to Prime MinisterManmohan Singh to set aside

the government draft of the FoodSecurity Bill which “minimisesgovernment’s obligations, restrictspeople’s entitlements and is devoidof any accountability”. Rejectingthe government’s draft Bill, theCampaign gave a national call foraction.

In an open letter to the PrimeMinister, the Campaign said thedraft Bil l approved by theEmpowered Group of Ministers(EGoM) had no commitmenttowards nutritional security or toseed production, procurement(including local procurement),storage and distribution as anintegrated process to addressissues of food and nutritionalsecurity.

The Campaign, which is aconglomeration of several socialactivist groups, said the Billinterprets food security only asdistribution of cereals and cookedmeals and is completely silent ondistribution of pulses, millets andoil under the public distributionsystem (PDS).

It came down heavily on theproposed cash transfers (in lieu offoodgrains).. Giving cash withoutensuring proper food availabilitywas putting people at the mercy offood retailers and cartels whichcould lead to greater corruptionthan the projected leakages in thePDS, apart from putting the farmersat risk.

Opposing the move to leverageAadhaar — unique identificationnumbers, the Campaignapprehended that this wouldimpinge on the civil liberties of thecitizens and was a means oftracking and surveillance.

Seeking universalisation of the PDSentitlement, the Campaign said the

problems related to identification ofthe below poverty line householdsand exclusion errors were wellknown.

Campaign members regretted thatthe draft Bill gave full powers to theCentre to modify or withdraw mostentitlements.

Among the signatories are ArunaRoy and Nikhil Dey (NationalCampaign for People’s Right toInformation), Kavita Srivastava andBinayak Sen (People’s Union forCivil Liberties), Annie Raja(National Federation for IndianWomen), Jean Dreze, AnuradhaTalwar, Gautam Modi and MadhuriKrishnaswamy (New Trade UnionInitiative), Arun Gupta (BreastFeeding Promotion Network ofIndia) and Arundhati Dhuru(National Alliance of People’sMovements).

The Draft NationalLand Acquisition

and Rehabilitation &Resettlement bill, 2011

“Foreword: Infrastructure across thecountry must expand rapidly.Industrialisation, especially based onmanufacturing has also toaccelerate. Urbanisation isinevitable. Land is an essentialrequirement for all these processes.

Government also needs to acquireland for a variety of publicpurposes.In every case, landacquisition must take place in amanner that fully protects theinterests of land-owners and also ofthose whose livelihoods depend onthe land being acquired.

Under our Constitution, land is aState subject but land acquisition isa Concurrent subject. So far, thebasic law governing the landacquisition process has been theLand Acquisition Act, 1894. Althoughit has been amended from time totime, it is painfully evident that thebasic law has become archaic.

Land markets in India are imperfect.There is asymmetry of power (andinformation) between those wantingto acquire the land and those whoselands are being acquired. That is whythere has to be a role for thegovernment to put in place atransparent and flexible set of rulesand regulations and to ensure itsenforcement.

Land Acquisition and Rehabilitationand Resettlement (R&R) need to be

seen necessarily as two sides ofthe same coin. R&R must always,in each instance, necessarily followupon acquisition of land. Notcombining the two “ R&R and landacquisition “ within one law, risksneglect of R&R.

This has, indeed, been theexperience thus far.

This draft Bill seeks to balance theneed for facilitating land acquisitionfor various public purposesincluding infrastructuredevelopment,industrialisation andurbanisation, while at the same timemeaningfully addressing theconcerns of farmers and thosewhose livelihoods are dependent onthe land being acquired.

The draft bill is being placed in thepublic domain as part of a pre-legislative consultative process.Comments are invited preferablybefore 31st August 2011.Separately, the Ministry of RuralDevelopment has launchedinitiatives to update and digitise landrecords and to move from apresumptive system to a conclusivesystem of land records.

--Jairam Ramesh

Govt. BodiesExempted from

FCRA 2010

Do Government orautonomus bodies suchas Universities etc. need

FCRA permission for acceptingforeign donations? Not anylonger.

With effect from 1-July-11, allGovernment bodies have beenexempted from FCRA provisions.However, two conditions must bemet for this:

1. The body should have beenestablished by a Central or StateAct.

2. Its accounts should becompulsorily audited by the CAG.

References:· Section 50 of FCRA2010, · Order S.O.1492(E), dated1-7-2011.

Section 50 of the foreigncontribution (regulation) act, 2010- power to exempt in certain cases- act not to apply to all bodiesconstituted or established by orunder a central act or a state actrequiring to have their accountscompulsorily audited by thecomptroller and auditor general ofindia

WHEREAS the CentralGovernment is of the opinion thatit is necessary and expedient inthe interests of the general publicto exempt all bodies constitutedor established by or under aCentral Act or a State Actrequiring to have their accountscompulsorily audited by theComptroller and Auditor Generalof India.

NGOs must support IndiaAgainst Corruption

“ A battle we must not lose “ - PritishNandyLet us just look at the issues overwhich the battle between theGovernment and us citizens isbeing fought. And then let’s decidewhere we want to stand, each oneof us, on the issue of corruption.The first question is: do you think acorrupt Government can fightcorruption on its own, and within itsown ranks? If your answer is no tothat, then we need to create anindependent institution to fightcorruption. Right? Well, that’sprecisely what Anna is asking for.He is asking for a Lokpal that theGovernment cannot influence ormanipulate. This is the first battle.

The second battle is over fourthings. One: Should the PrimeMinister come under the purview ofthe Lokpal? Almost everyone Iknow thinks he should. A honestPrime Minister wouldn’t care. Adishonest one must be supervised.Two: Should Members of Parliamentcome under the Lokpal? I have notmet a single person till date whothinks that our MPs are so honestthat they need not be supervised.My guess is if a referendum is evertaken, Anna will get a 100% yes tothis question, given what peoplethink of our politicians and thestandards of probity in public life.The third question is even moreobvious: Do all public servants needto come under the Lokpal? India’sanswer will be yes, yes, yes. Everyday, in every area of our life andwork, we are constantly harassed,intimidated and extorted by corruptGovernment officers. The pooreryou are, the worse is the torture.So yes, every public servant,every Government officer mustcome under the Lokpal. Questionfour: Who should give permissionto file an FIR against a corruptjudge? If the Lokpal can look intocorruption charges against the PM,the MPs and Governmentservants, isn’t it only logical toexpect it to do the same againstjudges?The third and final battle is over aneven simpler thing: The Citizen’sCharter. Should every Governmentoffice have such a Charter whichwill clearly state which officer willdo what work and in how muchtime? And should an officer whorefuses to do his work in time orasks for a bribe to move a file bepunished? Anna believes thatofficers not doing their work in timeamounts to corruption and mustface the same treatment. Isn’t itrather obvious what India thinksabout this?...Every Indian will endorse the ideaof a Jan Lokpal as Anna and histeam have envisioned it, with thehelp of thousands of Indians whohave contributed online to theprocess of drafting the bill.…. And what if there are chargesagainst the Lokpal? Well, there’s aprovision there too. You can gostraight to the Supreme Court andseek justice out there.——. This is possibly the mostcorrupt Government we have everhad. It has good reason to bescared.

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NGO Connect

NGO News○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Forum vs.Sex Selection

Mumbai: The Forum Against SexSelection (FASS) was formed inMay 2011 in Mumbai to renew thecampaign against sex selectiveabortions which is responsible forthe country’s appallingly skewedsex ratio. The group has over 50members who communicate by theyahoo e-group. The membersinclude Stree Mukti Sanghatana,Akshara, CCDT, MAVA,Population First, YWCA, WomenNetworking (an informal networkof 20 NGOs and CBOs working onwomen’s issues), educationalinstitutions and individuals.

FASS has a core group and severalsub-groups for effective functioning.The Forum has init iateddiscussions and conducted jointactions with educational institutionsfor joint actions, e.g. SNDTWomen’s University and theMumbai University. FASS is also indialogue with the Maharashtra stategovernment and the health ministerto ensure the implementation of thePCPNDT Act.

FASS recently conducted aninteractive workshop for 70participants to discuss itsperspective and plan strategies totake the FASS campaign forwardand to understand challenges toimplementing the PCPNDT Act.

Contact: fassindia2011@gmail.com

The draft Nat. Policyon Seniors

New Delhi: Although similar to theearlier 1999 policy drafted but neverimplemented, the new policy hassome new features: A nationalCommission for Senior Citizens atthe Centre with similarCommissions at the State level—each would be a statutory,autonomous body with powers of acivil court. Also mooted is a bureaufor re-employment of seniorcitizens.

The new policy focuses on theneeds of older women; provision forfree healthcare through CGHS- andat least one geriatric ward in eachdistrict. Incentives like tax-exemptions to families who care fortheir elderly; health insurance forsenior citizens- particularly those inrural areas and an increase in oldage pensions – the new amountbeing Rs. 1000/- pm for BPL elderly.

The draft policy uploaded on theHelpage website is open tosuggestions. The plan is to get itpassed within six months!!!The drafthas converged schemes run bydifferent ministries…so that there isone window.

Two men on anorganic ride

Coimbatore: Two classmatesV.Deepan and R.Muthukumar

May-June, July-Aug, 2011

decided to “live” and not “exist” sowhen they got a chance to make adifference, they decided to promotethe cause of organic farming bytravelling around the countrypromoting the cause and gettingfarmers in touch. They left on July25 from Coimbatore with a Delllaptop, a canon 7D, A Sony hi-defhandycam on their 2006 RoyalEnfield. (See pix above).

They plan to cover 40,000 kmswith 100 kgs backpacks throughGujarat, Arunachal, Punjab,Rajasthan and Ladakh. After twoweeks they have already visitedseveral farms around the city andaround Trichy documentingorganic farming. Farmers haveoffered them hospitality. After thetrip they plan to bring out areference manual to link all organicfarmers. Their dream is to set upan organic commune on the linesof the Tibetan settlement nearThimbam Ghats. Email travelong.vd@ gmail.com or call 89036-62071 or 89036-18460.

SHGs to get loansat lower rates

Hyderabad: The Government ofIndia decided to reduce the rate ofinterest for Self-Help Groups(SHGs) from 12 per cent to sevenper cent to bring it on par with croploans, addressing an internationalmeet on microfinance, Environmentand Forests Minister JairamRamesh said. Later the Ministersaid the decision was taken as partof the National Rural LivelihoodMission (NRLM) launched inRajasthan.

He said the subsidy on the loanswould be borne by the centralgovernment. Stressing the need forregulating microfinance institutions(MFIs), the Minister claimed thatthe central government wasworking on an MFI Bill. He hintedthat the process may take 12 to 18months.

Earlier, addressing theinternational summit on“Microfinance and InclusiveDevelopment”, he noted that mostMFIs look upon poverty only as abusiness, looking only at shareprices, balance sheets, bottomlines and foreign institutionalinvestors.

He praised Andhra for being thepioneer of the SHG movement inthe country and assuming theleadership role, accounting for 40per cent of all the bank credit to allSHGs in India. (Andhra Pradeshhas one million SHGs with 10million members). The Minister saidthis achievement was now beingreplicated in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh,Rajasthan and Orissa.

Bihar promotesorganic farming

Patna: After good roads, improvinglaw and order, education and healthservices, Bihar is turning its

attention to popularising andpromoting organic farming in the stateto usher in a new “Green Revolution”in agriculture.

In a bid to spread awareness aboutbenefits of organic farming amongfarmers, hundreds of national andinternational organic farmingscientists and experts gathered herefor a three-day conference beginningJune 22.

“This conference of national andinternational organic farmingscientists and experts will boost thegovernment’s plans of attractingfarmers to adopt organic farming,”Bihar Agricultural Management andExtension Training Institute DirectorRK Sohane said. The effort was partof the preparation of a progressiveagriculture road map for the state forthe next five years.

The government has decided topromote organic farming in at leastone village of all 37 districts.”TheBihar government launched an‘organic farming promotionprogramme’ early this year for thecultivation of organic crops in all thedistricts for which Rs 255 crore hasbeen sanctioned for five years.

Mumbai blastvictims

Mumbai: Three weeks after theMumbai triple blasts, many victimsare still struggling to get back to anormal life. An NGO called BhagwanMahavir Viklang Sahayta Samiti(BMVSS) has come forward to helpthe victims get back on their feet.

The NGO has offered to provide theJaipur foot for victims who haveundergone amputation. “We havespoken to the hospital authorities andexplained to them that the Jaipur footis most effective in terms ofmaintenance. Since many of thesepatients come from poorbackgrounds, we will provide thelimbs free of cost,” said NarayanVyas, a member of BMVSS.

However, it will be a few monthsbefore the patients can utilise thisoffer.As per the number given to theNGO by the hospital authorities, fivepersons in Saifee Hospital and threein Harkisondas Hospital haveundergone amputation. Apart fromthe Jaipur foot, the NGO will alsoprovide callipers, crutches andwheelchairs.

New Rehab CentrePune: After almost a year ofconstruction, the Good ShepherdRecovery Home RehabilitationCentre was inaugurated in Februaryby Bishop Thomas Dabre of Pune.Based in the mountains outside Pune,the new centre was described bysome as reminiscent of a “universitycampus”. With the gym completedand poultry, a vegetable garden,cows and water capturing facilities,the Centre will soon be almost self-sustaining.

The Centre’s approach torehabilitation is a comprehensive 3-4 month programme conducted bySankalp . Check www.goodshepherdrecoveryhome.org

Narcotics Bureauis 25

Mumbai: The Narcotics ControlBureau (NCB) partnered withSankalp Rehabilitation Trust tocelebrate its 25th anniversary onMarch 27. Abhishek Bachchanstarted the day off at Nariman Pointpledging his support to the cause.The participants walked to the PoliceGymkhana at Marine Drive where apanel discussion was held with Mr.Y.Wanage (director NCB), MrVijayKumar ( Deputy Dir. Gen., NCB), Dr.Shashi Menon (Dir. Kripa Foundation)

and Mr. E. Tellis from Sankalpdiscussing issues of drug use.

Crucial victoryfor PLHIV

Mumbai: Sankalp RehabilitationTrust, along with a coalition oforganizations filed an application inthe Supreme Court challenging theconstitutionality of NACOs criteriafor access to Second Line ART. Thepetition stated that second linetreatment should be made availableto all PLHIV who need it irrespectiveof any other criteria. With thepersistence of the HIV/AIDS Unit ofthe Lawyers Collective, the courtruled in favour of PLHIVs right tohealth.

The Supreme Court made it clear tothe government that access toSecond Line must be universalised.As per the order Second Line ARTwill be provided to all PLHIV whoneed it, whether they were in theprivate or public sector or on rational/irrational treatment. In the first phase(3 months) universal access wouldbe started at four Centres ofExcellence across India withimmediate effect. After a study ofthe initial phase, it would be scaledup to more ART centres. ContactSankalp, Mumbai email sankalp.trust@gmail.com; tel: 022-65252685

Himachal making‘green’ roads

Shimla: The government has beenusing waste plastic in road surfacingsince 2010 as part of its ‘removepolythene, save environment’campaign.: Himachal Pradesh plansto surface 150 km of state roadsthis fiscal by adding shredded plasticwaste to tar.

“Molten plastic with liquid tar hasproven to be more resistant to waterpermeation, heat and high pressurethan the normal material,” PublicWorks Department (PWD) MinisterGulab Singh said.

“All PWD divisions are using plasticfor roads. This year the PWD willbuild 150 km of roads surfaced withplastic waste. Last year 42 km ofroads were built using this material,”he said.

The Minister said the roadconstruction cost per km by usingbitumen was around Rs 12 lakh. Butby mixing plastic in the bitumen, thecost came down to Rs 11 lakh perkm.

The government has been usingwaste plastic, including carry bags,disposable cups, and laminatedplastics like pouches of potato chips,pan masala, aluminium foil andpackaging material used for groceryitems, in road surfacing since 2010.

Himachal Pradesh, since October2, 2009, imposed a ban on theproduction, storage, use, sale anddistribution of all types of polythenebags made of non-biodegradablematerials.

After imposing the ban, thegovernment launched a campaign“Polythene Hatao, ParyavaranBachao” (remove polythene, saveenvironment) across the state inthree phases. To maintain regularsupply of plastic waste for thePWD’s road surfacing projects, thegovernment has developed abuyback mechanism. It has askedvillage panchayats and urban localbodies to segregate plastic fromother waste in their areas. Whichthe PWD buys at Rs 4 per kg.(Source IANS)

No noise for theGods

Varanasi:*Probably in a lesson forthe other states of India, the police

& administration of Varanasisucceeded in ensuring completeban on Road D.J. used byKanwariyas in the month of Savan.Satya Foundation, has beencampaigning for reduction in noiselevels since years andcongratulated the administration &police for this historical milestone.

The S.P. City Shri Man SinghChauhan, when contacted,commented that: “Due to theintensive campaigning by SatyaFoundation, our work got easier.Not only the people, they have alsomade the officers aware about theproblem of Noise pollution. Werequested the Kanwarias to switchoff the high-decibel D.J. & theyagreed. This greatly helped thepeople, specially the students &patients “ Contact ChetanUpadhyaya, Satya Foundation, Tel:09212735622

Friends Societyannual report

Baroda: The Public reading Roomand library were instituted topromote healthy readings habitsamongst the neighbouringcommunities. Today the profile ofReaders shows that Sr. Citizens :from lower socio economic classfrom neighboring community; Youth: Students have been using thelibrary for different purposes. TheSeniors like to time-pass in theclean environment; youth come toread the papers before going towork and students come to readthe Jobs section!! 80 % of readerscome from (lower income groups)While 15 % of readers are fromfamilies whose children are at theFriends Society Balwadi. No feesare charged and newspapers inEnglish and Gujarati are available.

Over 4000 Gujarati Books, 1000Hindi Books and 1000 EnglishBooks are available : Gujarati, Hindiand English Magazines are alsoavailable for children, women andothers.

To encourage self-employmentamong women and also promotetheir educational and socialdevelopment 40 women from lowersocio economic class fromneighboring community, aged 15-35 and with some education, enrollfor the embroidery and tailoringclasses.

To understand specific needs andintegrate children belonging to themainstream of society and fosterself confidence in them 40 children(from lower socio economic classaged 2.5 to 5 years enroll for theBalwadi. Daily meals are sponsoredby Jalaram Temple, KarelibaugContact: 0265-2750629, Mob:097243 08364

Swami VivekanandaSchools

Chennai: Established in the year1979, Swami Vivekananda RuralDevelopment Society, has beenfocusing on social empowermentof the rural masses. *One of itsunits, “Single Teacher Schools”,was launched in 2002.

“Our focus has been on ‘Education& Health’ for the poor anddowntrodden in remote villageswhich do not have access toeducational and healthinfrastructures. Even in Education,our thrust is on child literacy .”

Till date the Society has promoted450 single teacher schools inThiruvallur and KanchipuramDistricts, benefiting 15,000 children,who are given value basededucation with General Science,

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NGO Connect

NGO News○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

May-June, July-Aug, 2011

Mathematics, languages and basicsof Yoga as curriculum, along withtraining in nutrition and healththrough local teachers Watch:Contact Haran Bar at haran.br@gmail.com

NGOs expressconcern over illegal

activitiesAssam: Wildlife and environmentNGOs have expressed concernthat poaching of wild animals andillegal tree felling has lead to the rapidshrinking of forest cover in the DibruSaikhowa National Park (DSNP).The Dibru SaikhowaConservation Committee hasclaimed that the forest resources ofthe national park were depletingbecause of encroachment of landand illegal cutting of trees. Salixtetrasperma, for instance, is one ofthe many rare and valuable trees indemand for making furniture andcricket bats for sale in the nationalinternational markets. It is reportedthat more than 1,000 trees, mostlyof this particular species, have beenfelled in May.

Poachers too are reported to haveaccess to interior areas of the park,and animals like wild boar, deer, wildbuffaloes and elephants are beingpoached regularly. In March,elephants were killed by poachersnear the Paulami camp of the park.

(Source Protected Area UpdateAugust 2011) Contact: DFOTinsukia Wildlife Division Dibru-Saikhowa NP, P.O. Tinsukia –786125 Assam. Tel: 0374-331472(O), 333083(R)

The Eureka SuperKidz programme

Chennai: The program started lastyear with adopting 200 villages.More people came forward tosupport and adopt villages and theEureka program was donesuccessfully in 500 villages lastyear. This year they aim to reachchildren in over 1000 villages.

“Implementing projects successfullyhas several elements - planning,raising funds, organizing andtraining people and ensuringeffective execution. But ensuringsuccess in a changing environmenttakes more than just executingplans. It requires constantmonitoring of intermediate resultsand periodic course corrections tomake sure we get the results westarted out to achieve.

Evaluation was done in a randomlyselected set of Eureka programvillages as well as another randomset of Control villages (where theEureka program was not running).

Broadly, the evaluation has foundthat the Eureka program has madea very large impact on the learningoutcomes of children in most subjectskills. There are a few skills wherethe impact is less visible and theseneed more attention.

Going beyond the Eureka program,the evaluation also adds to thegrowing evidence that learninglevels of children in poor villages inTN is very low. Contact ”BalajiSampath balajisampath@gmail. comwww.eurekachild.org

Women AgainstSexual Violence

Bangalore: The “Women againstsexual violence and sexualrepression” group has beenfunctioning since Nov. 2009 to putan end to the violence beingperpetrated on women’s bodies andsocieties. A nationwide network of

women, women’s organisations andgroups have been particularlyactive in the North East andKashmir where the army has beendeployed and where custodial rape,sexual violence etc, have beenallowed to continue. In Chattisgarh,and other states, the adivasiwomen are the target of offensiveslaunched by the State in the nameof curbing “Maoism” and leading tostate-protected violence.

The WSS has been issuing severalFact finding reports including thoseon the Gajapathy gangrape case,and women under the GreenHuntcampaign in Jharkhand. A missionin Orissa could not be completeddue to police harassment. To jointhe movement. Contact againstsexualviolence@gmail.com orcontact UmaChandru@ gmail.comTel: 98440 80227

Chalo EnglishSikhayein

Mumbai: The Chalo EnglishSikhayein Project was inauguratedon July 1 at Indian MerchantChambers. The Project envisagesvolunteers going to schools to helpstudents to better their English skills.Principals of Shakari Vidya Mandir,Janabai &Madhavrao RokadeSchool, Asmita School and SevaSadan spoke about how the projecthad helped their students. Andsubsequently a volunteer and astudent shared their experiences.A Skit was performed by PCGT’sMs. Ankita Pandya & Group. Theinitiative is supported by the DharmaBharathi Mission, BCASFoundation (Bombay CharteredAccountas Society, PCGT (PublicConcern for Governance Trust),Giants International and theKanta K. Varma Smarak Trust.Contact: publicconcern@gmail.com

Citizen RunChennai: A Citizen Run is a Run togain awareness and support forsmall, non-governmentorganizations actively engaged inquality work for the welfare of thesocially, economically andphysically disadvantaged.

A 4 km, Citizen Run was organisedon August 7. from Lady WellingtonCollege, to Kamarajar Salai and wasfollowed by an entertainmentprogramme . Bhumi was one of thefour beneficiaries of the 13thCitizens’ Run.Contact http://citizensrun.doattend.com/

Goal!!!!Chennai: Slum Soccer is a socialdevelopment organization whichuses the medium of football to bringabout Societal Development. Theyare the Indian National Partners tothe Homeless World CupFoundation and are responsiblefor selecting, training and fundingthe Indian National HomelessFootball team’s passage to theprestigious international tournamentevery year. Around 75 nations takepart in this event annually and Indiais ranked 35th in the world. Theyare also a part of the Street footballNetwork convened by theorganization, Street Football World,a strategic alliance partner of FIFA.

This year the world cup kicks off inParis in August and in order to raisefunds Slum Soccer conducted aconcert on July 30 in which someof the finest bands in the cityperformed, including La Pongal,Circuit, Grey Shack, Wolf’s Lair andheadlined by Benny Dayal’s‘Subject to Change’. Contact:prahalathan@bhumi.org.in

National GreenTribunal operationalNew Delhi: The National GreenTribunal (NGT), a judicial bodyaimed at expediting environment-related cases, began functioning onJuly 4, an Environment Ministryofficial said.”The first hearing of theNGT began today. The tribunal,which will deal with environmentalcases, is an independent unit whichhas been launched with an initialsupport of the EnvironmentMinistry,” the official said. Launchedlast October, the tribunal is headedby former Supreme Court Judge LSPanta.

Headquartered in Delhi, the NGTwill have four circuit branches in thefour regions of the country.

“It is an important initiative and Indiais only the third country afterAustralia and New Zealand to havea dedicated (green) court. Anybodyand everybody can approach theNGT for civil damages arising outof non-implementation of variouslaws of the environment,”Environment Minister JairamRamesh said during the launch ofthe NGT.

There are about 5,000environmental cases pending invarious courts of the country.(Source IANS)

Haryana goes hi-tech to curb female

foeticideChandigarh: The Haryana HealthDepartment has developed a‘Mother and Child Tracking’ softwareto curb female foeticide and ensuretimely health check-ups of mothersand children.The Health Depart-ment spokesperson said that thesoftware has already been uploadedin the computers installed in allCommunity Health Centres(CHCs).

Officials and health workers willidentify and register the pregnantwomen in their respective areas.Information collected by the healthworkers would be fed in thecomputers of health centres andinformation would be made availableonline.

“Officers of the department wouldregularly monitor the informationregarding pregnant women andchildren and take effective steps tocheck female foeticide in the state,”he added.

Haryana has the worst sex ratio inthe country, with only 877 femalesper 1,000 males as per estimatesof Census-2011.

Free ̀ ChangeManagement’

StrategiesMumbai: Toolbox India is a not-for-profit organisation which isinterested in exploring opportunitiesto partner with non-profits who areinterested in Change Process andStrategic Management. It will offerNGOs pro bono consultation inchange process management.Check out www.toolboxh2o. inContact: alvin@toolboxh2o. in orVijaya: vijaya@toolboxh2o. in

Losing weight anddonating

Bigloser Community FitnessInitiative on the Social Mediaplatform,Twitter, started in February2011. The First Chapter of theBigloser initiative will run till February2012. Bigloser aims at using thedesire to be fit, for donations to

charity. Under the program, aparticipant who wants to lose weightdonates a fixed amount per weightlost to charity. The total weight lost(say 15 kilos) will be multiplied bythe donation rate (Rs10 per kilo) andthe amount thus arrived at (Rs150)will be donated to charity.

Currently, there are more than 70participants/ sponsors active underthis program. “We hope to generateinterest by engaging more peopleto achieve their fitness goals and inthe process help donate money tocharity as well. For more detailsabout Bigloser (including how toparticipate, sponsor,etc.) visit: http://www.bigloser india.com

Bigloser is looking for suitablecharities to whom to channel themoney raised via the gateway.Proposals from charities dedicatedto the nutrition of children, mentally/physically challenged and elderlyare invited. Please send details ofyour org. in terms of a) Founders/Trustee b) Geographical Areacovered c) Profile/history and d)Amount of people fed every month/year. Please include any otherinformation you think is necessary.Email proposals to contact@bigloserindia.com

CPAA Wellness CampsMumbai: 273 individuals werescreened at an ENT cancerscreening camp conducted on May28 at the Phoenix Mill premises.(Birla Wellness, Cipla and Johnson& Johnson supported CPAA’sactivities). Chief Guests, DesignerShaina N C and actress SharbaniMukherjee launched CPAA’sTobacco Cessation Programme,‘Quit Tobacco For Life’ on thisoccasion.

ENT cancer screening camps werealso organized at Naigaon PoliceSankul (Complex) for policepersonnel and their families on May3; on 8th June at Anuraj Industriesat Goregaon for the workers ofAshirwad Industrial Estate.

Tobacco users who would like helpto quit can contact Dr. Kunal Oswalon 022-24924000 or make anappointment to attend clinics atPrabhadevi on Monday, Tuesdayand Friday.

CPAA and MIG Cricket club co-hosted a drawing competition forchildren on May 30 at their club inBandra. 125 children including somechildhood cancer patients, in theage group of 5 - 15 yearsparticipated.

In Delhi an early detection cancerscreening camp was organized onMay 9 at Siddharth Public School,Govindpuri. Residents of nearbyslums availed of this facility in largenumbers.

Pune: Cancer awareness lectureswere held for Junior Red Crossstudents, Hamal Panchayatconstruction workers of Vascon andfor 300 women of ‘Sasa - MahilaGriha Udyog’, Sanaswadi.Subsequently, 2 early detectioncancer screening camps were heldfor 135 men of the Hamal Panchayatand Nhavare Sugar factory and 3early detection cancer screeningcamps were held for 159 women ofnearby villages.

CPAA in association with PidiliteIndustries, Shaina NC and ManishMalhotra presented ‘Caring withStyle ’ , a fashion show atIntercontinental-The Lalit, in Mumbaion June 19. The glamorous fashionshow saw a lavish mix of celebritiesfrom the film fraternity, prominentindustrialists and achievers fromdifferent walks of life sashayingdown the ramp. Kajol Devgangraced the occasion as Chief Guestwith Nita Ambani as guest of honour

Making RuralLife Easier

Social entrepreneurs have come upwith innovations to address routineproblems of the rural poor and maketheir daily life easier.

Pune-based Ossian AgroAutomation Pvt Ltd invented NanoGanesh, a GSM mobile-basedremote control systemexclusively for use with waterpump sets in agricultural areas.

Ostwal, a graduate in electricalengineering who invented thesystem, says that by simply makinga phone call, a farmer can switchthe motor on or off from whereverhe is. This is the first time that sucha “remote control” that useswireless-link technology has beenmade available to farmers.

Ossian Agro has installed 10,000systems and is now planning to tieup with Jain Irrigation to spreadacross the country and tie up withmobile operators to reach out tothese farmers.

Another example is Chennai-basedVenkat Subramanian, founder andCEO of E-farm, a farm-to-homesupply chain platform forprocuring and delivering fruit andvegetables transparently,economically and efficiently.

The company has ties with farmers,intermediaries, logistics providers,distributors and small-time retailers,all the way up to local roadsidevendors, into a single chain backedby a quality information system todeliver fresh, low-priced farmproduce. Using E-farm’s SMS-based solution, farmers matchbuyer and seller with prices at whichthey want to buy and sell.Transparency is one of the keyfeatures.

Membrane Filters is a Pune-basedstart-up whose product, Jal Doot,uses National Chemical Laboratorytechnology on ultra-fi l trationmembranes to filter out virusesand bacteria from water. Jal Dootis an integrated system that usessurface water from any rural watersource such as a well, lake or river.The entire system is mounted on athree-wheeler and delivers purepotable water directly at thedoorstep at 3 ps per litere.

The product is US-India patentedand 15 such Jal Doots are beingoperated in Maharashtra (and all bywomen), said Sarang Devi, vice-president of Membrane Filters(India) Pvt Ltd.

Nuru Energy, on its part, hasdeveloped an affordable and cleanlighting system for the rural poor.The Nuru Light is a multifunctionallight that can be mounted on a wall,worn around the neck or made tostand freely.It boasts of LED lightsthat do not break or need to bereplaced. The power generatorsfor charging the light includePOWERCycle - a human-powered

Vivek Oberoi inaugurates theQuit Tobacco Programme

4

NGO Connect

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May-June, July-Aug, 2011

cycle - which can recharge portablelights in 120 minutes, enabling thelights to produce 50-60 watts ofpower; POWERGrid (a plug-incharger); and POWERSolar - asolar panel charger. Thesechargers can charge up to five lightsat once.

Founded three years ago, thecompany has invented the world’sfirst pedal generator, for which itholds a patent. According to acompany spokesman, pedalling for20 minutes is enough to generatepower for 30 hours.

Finally, Artoo IT Solutions Pvt Ltdhas come up with a softwaresolution designed formicrofinance field staff, whichtakes over the entire process ofdata collection and loandisbursement online to do away withpaperwork, avoid innumerabledelays and reduce expenses.

PeopleMumbai: July 22 was Chief StateInformation Commissioner VilasPatil’s last day in office.Postretirement, Mr Patil plans to live inMumbai and will be available to guideRTI activists in Mumbai.

”There is great need for mentoringRTI activists as well as PublicInformation Officers (PIOs) andappellate authorities, through books,articles, meetings etc. I would liketo be part of initiatives for thispurpose, taken up in the right spirit,”he said.

Mr Patil expressed eagerness touse his insights for good ofMaharashtra’s people and RTIactivists community in general. Withhis help and cooperation, “We hopeto be make good things happen,especially in our proud State”.Contact Krishnaraj 98215 88114

Text-to-Speechscreen reader

Mumbai:. A visually-impairedstudent from a Marathi-mediumschool, Azharuddin is hoping tobetter his score in college becausehis screen-reader can now readaloud his Marathi notes. Called theText-To-Speech (TTS) synthesissystem, this new software will hitthe market in November.Sponsored by the Centre’sdepartment of InformationTechnology, TTS is a screen-reading software application thatidentifies and interprets Indianlanguage text being displayed on thescreen. TTS can read Marathi,Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam andBengali.

30 visually-impaired students havebeen roped in for a month-longtraining workshop for the softwareby the developers - the Centre forDevelopment of AdvancedComputing (C-DAC) in Juhu.

The TTS system gives instructionsand commands in the students ownlanguage and accent. Moreover,one can type out scripts, notes,stories etc.

“For the last two years we havebeen working on the software toensure maximum comfort to users.From the native accent to the paceof the voice output, we have tried tosteer away from mechanised voicesthat have been in use till now,” saidBirchandra Singh, a linguist andproject coordinator, C-DAC,Mumbai.

“Once the workshop is completed,we will make note of the feedbackfrom the students being trained andsubsequently, refine it.”

Students are being trained byHarshad Jadhav, 28, who is

visually-impaired himself. “Thestudents, who are divided intobatches of 10 each, attend theworkshop for five days in a week.From computer basics to Microsoftoffice by the end of the six-weekworkshop, students will send mailsin Marathi, read Marathi websitesand e-papers,” he said.

The developers are also hoping tocreate a similar software for morethan 22 regional languages by theend of next year. “We are hoping torecord commands for languagessuch as Gujarati, Assamese, Oriya,Manipuri, Kannada and Bodo,” saidPawan Kumar, staff scientist, C-DAC, Mumbai. “We also aim toreach out to tiny pockets of thecountry by creating an android-based mobile software by 2012.”

Celebrating theEnvironment

Kolkata: Kaikhali Jibandishacontinued its awarenesscampaigns among school studentsby commemorating worldenvironment day on July 6 andAranya Saptaha (Forest Week) July16 at Haltu Girls’High School andSucheta nagar Balika Bidyamandirin South Kolkata. These campaignshad active participation throughsong, recitation, dance and drama.Slogans and posters were alsomade by the students and theyplanted a number of saplingskeeping in tune with the aim of WestBengal to plant 4 crores of saplingsin the year. The awarenesscampaigns were conducted withactive support from teachers,Educationists, Social Workers andEnvironmentalists.

Kaikhali Jibandisha also launchedits journal “Jibandisha” with a newlook. Contact” spdatta2003@yahoo.co.in

Masum report onAnti- POSCOMovement

Orissa: Recently MASUM visitedsome villages of Kujong Tehsildistrict where a huge police forcecordoned hundreds of villagersincluding women and children whowere protesting, under the bannerof Posco Pratirodha Sangram Samiti(PPSS), the entry of police anddistrict officials for “forcible” landacquisition”.

They are now preparing the list ofthe criminal cases registered by thepolice of Odisha which were filedagainst the protesting villagers.Contact Kirity Roy,Secretary,Banglar ManabadhikarSuraksha Mancha, (MASUM) “KirityRoy” kirityroy@gmail.com & NationalConvenor (PACTI), ProgrammeAgainst Custodial Torture &Impunity, Hooghly, Phone- +91-33-26220844 / 0845 e.mail :kirityroy@gmail. com Web:www.masum.org. in

Pak-India ForumAgainst Nuclear

policyLucknow Declaration 2011endorsed by the 2nd Uttar PradeshState Convention of Pak-IndiaPeople’s Forum for Peace andDemocracy (PIPFPD) on July 10strongly voiced the need to establisha nuclear bomb-free, visa-free, andclean energy policies in the SouthAsia Association for RegionalCooperation (SAARC) nations. Italso voiced that Democratic valuesand systems of governance mustbecome the prevailing norm for theentire South Asian region;Immediate steps be taken by all thegovernments of the region to haltmilitarization and to graduallyreduce military expenditure in apublicly stated, transparent andpro-active manner.They also asked that steps be takenfor the restoration of rights tonatural resources like water, landand forests, to their rightfulownership by the common peopleof the region; the illegitimate anddestructive appropriation of theserights by the forces of globalization,which we believe are anti-people,be halted.“We therefore pledge our continuingsupport for all pro-peoplemovements in their strugglesagainst the forces of globalizationacting under the direction of whatwe believe to be the illegitimate andself-appropriated power of bodieslike the WTO, World Bank, IMF andADB”.Endorsed by Magsaysay AwardeeDr Sandeep Pandey, seniorAdvocate Ravi Kiran Jain,Pakistan’s noted human rightsactivist Saeeda Diep, senior socialactivist and former inspector-general of police SR Darapuri,Adviser to Right-to-foodCommissioners appointed bySupreme Court Arundhati Dhuru,were among the prominent peoplepresent during its adoption.

Whistleblowerarrested

Mumbai:: RTI Activist KamlakarShenoy who blew the whistle onShivalik Ventures land fraud atGolibar and Wadala, was arrestedon July 16 by Vasai Police.A member of RTI Activists Unionagainst Land Mafia, Shenoy hasbeen blowing the whistle for long onShivalik Ventures. In response tohis complaints, Magistrate Court atBallard Pier Court had ordered thatRamakant Jadhav, the proprietor ofShivalik Ventures, along with 12officers — three IAS officer and 9CIDCO officers — be prosecutedfor land grabbing and variousillegalities in the Slum RehabilitationScheme being carried out byMHADA and other authorities.(However, under pressure of HomeMinister R R Patil, the police haverefrained from taking action.)In retaliation, the proprietor ofShivalik Ventures maliciously filed

a bogus complaint of “Atrocity” (i.e.insulting a member of ScheduledCaste) against Shenoy.Under pressure of the builder andhis henchmen, the police arrestedShenoy on Saturday to minimize hischances of getting bail promptly.

Contact: Senior Police InspectorJadhav Manikpur Police Station inVasai — 0250 2332110, DSPDeepak Devraj 0250 2332614,Kamlakar Shenoy — 98709 87359,Krish 98215 88114

Monsanto Quit India!‘No Corporate control of Indianagriculture!” A Nation-wide Day ofAction was held on Aug. 9,(Quit IndiaDay) & Kisan Swaraj Week Aug. 9-15.

Monsanto has become the world’slargest seed company by employingmany devious strategies and tacticsIt is notorious across the world fora variety of misdeeds and crimes –polluting natural resources, killingand maiming humans with itsproducts, bribing officials forapprovals, falsifying safety reportsto show the most dangerouschemicals like dioxin as safe,colluding with regulators throughrevolving doors between thecompany and government, falseadvertising etc.

‘No food shall be grown that we don’town’ – that is Monsanto’s reportedobjective. Monsanto seeks to ownthat food through patents and IPRs,using hybrids and GeneticallyModified seeds, to preventcompetition and force farmers toreturn to the company perpetuallyfor seeds. Even on its most friendlyturf USA, Monsanto is now facingan anti-trust investigation.

*Monsanto’s Misdeeds in India*

- Mahyco-Monsanto used its Btcotton seed monopoly to setexorbitant prices. The A.P.government had to use the MRTPCommission Essential CommoditiesAct and then a special Act to finallypush its price from Rs.1800 perpacket to Rs.750.- Monsantoactually sued A.P. and Gujarat stategovernments that they have no rightto control seed prices – withCongress leader Abhishek Singhvias its lawyer!

- Monsanto entered into licensingagreements with other seedcompanies

- Monsanto is on the Board of US-India Knowledge Init iative inAgriculture, under which bio-safetyregime for GM crops was sought tobe weakened

- Monsanto entered into hushed-upagreements with several states(Rajasthan, Orissa, Gujarat,Himachal Pradesh, J&K) to spendhundreds of crores of public fundsevery year to purchase HybridMaize seeds from Monsanto anddistributing them free of cost tofarmers, creating a ready market.

- Monsanto is pushing the sales ofits herbicide glyphosate which isknown to cause reproductiveproblems. Recently, grossviolations were exposed in its GMmaize field trials in Karnataka.--Contact: Alliance for Sustainableand Holistic Agriculture (ASHA)

POSCO UpdateThe National Human RightsCommission has taken suo motucognizance of a media reportalleging that the police haveoccupied most of the schoolclassrooms at Badagabapur villagein Orissa and converted theseschools into their fortresses to fightthe anti-land acquisition villagers,who have been opposing the moveof the Government to hand over their

land to the South Korean SteelCompany POSCO.

The Commission observed that thecontents of the media report, if true,raise a serious issue of right toeducation of the children in the Stateof Orissa and in particular inJagatsinghpur District near theproposed POSCO Steel Plant siteand issued notices to the ChiefSecretary and DGP, Governmentof Orissa calling for their reports inthe matter within four weeks.

The students are scared of going toschools because of the armsstocked by the police on thepremises and most of the studentsare not going to schools near theproposed POSCO Plant due topresence of the policemen.

Moreover, the media report alsoalleged Instead of regular teachers,the State Government hasappointed Shiksha Sahayaks(Assistant Teachers) on contractbasis for taking classes.

Waste to wealthBangalore: Companies are investingin technologies to turn organicwaste into natural gas. Leftover foodand kitchen waste are potentialsources of energy. And now thereis a way to harness this potentialthrough “Serigas technology”developed by Scalene EnergyResearch Institute (SERI), theresearch wing of bio- technologyand power engineering firm ScaleneCybernetics.

Serigas technology is a simpleprocess based on the principle ofmulti-stage anaerobic digestion. Ituses a specifically- designed“Microbe Incubated Bio-Reactor”and a natural gas refinery toprocess organic waste, everythingfrom food leftovers, to kitchen andmunicipal waste, oil effluent,agricultural crops, slaughter waste,poultry or fish waste, animal dung,night soil, weeds such as waterhyacinth, water lettuce and so on.Serigas, the “organic” natural gasproduced as a result, is enrichedusing a proprietary technologycalled the “Spiral ProtiumAccelerated Reactor SuperEnrichment”. It can then be used asa fuel, f i l led in cylinders ortransported in pipes for cooking,automobiles and industrial usage.

As much as 300 kg of gas can beproduced from one tonne of organicwaste which, the company claims,is 50-60 per cent more than what isproduced by conventionaltechnologies. Serigas.

Early this year, the companylaunched SERIGASTM organic gasplants in various sizes which canprocess waste ranging from 3 kg to4,000 kg a day. Scalene will supplythe technology to Indian TelephonesIndustries, a public sector unit, forproduction on a large scale. “Thiswill enable organisations andhouseholds to have their ownsource of energy which is carbonneutral, thereby radically changingthe production and usage ofenergy,” says A R Shukla, advisorto the Union Ministry of New andRenewable Energy.

Companies such as the UB Groupand Malankara Plantations havealready signed agreements withScalene for such power plants inNelamangala, Bangalore andKottayam.

Among others setting up the plantinclude Prabha Power Corporation(Hyderabad), House of Khoday’s(Bangalore), Global Green EnergyParks (Bangalore); and Krish Power& Gas( Ghaziabad).

Wipro, has been producing energyfrom the leftover food and kitchenwaste at the cafeterias on its large

Chief SIC Vilas Patil (fourth from left) flanked by Mohd Afzal,G R Vora, Sunil Ahya, Krishnaraj Rao and

Kalpana Gavas (head of Chief SIC’s secretariat)

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NGO News May-June, July-Aug, 2011

campus in the city since the last twoyears. Its green efforts launchedsince 2009-10 have helped to save15 million units of energy and 12,000tonnes of greenhouse gases, Wiproclaims.

Since October 2008, the companyhas been operating a bio-gas plantwhich runs on kitchen water andfood leftovers, and sludge from thesewage treatment plant generateddaily at Wipro’s Electronic CityCampus. The plant is designed toprocess three tonnes of solid wastea day and yields 160-180 cubicmetre of gas.

The manure produced as a by-product is weedless, odourless andis used as a soil conditioner. Thetwo biogas plants in the campusessaves Wipro 50 tonnes of LPG andprevents GHG emissions of 100tonnes,” says Ram Ramakrishna,vice- president, Facil it iesManagement Group, WiproTechnologies.

At Wipro, the waste-to-wealthdictum has now spread to otherareas of operations. A paper-recycling plant processes 20tonnes of waste paper a year; Italso recycles 32 per cent of thewater used in its offices. By 2013,the company’s aim is that “not morethan 5 per cent of the wastegenerated from the company’soperations should end up in landfills”.By 2009-10 about 76 per cent ofthe waste generated was recycledby internal or external partners acompany report stated.

India’s oldestmicrofinance firm onthe verge of closure

Mumbai: The controversial AndhraPradesh microfinance law is set toclaim its first victim. Vijay Mahajan-promoted Bhartiya SamruddhiFinance Ltd (BSFL), India’s oldestmicrofinance institution (MFI), iscollapsing under the burden of badloans. With borrowers in AndhraPradesh refusing to repay, badloans are growing and threateningto wipe out its entire net worth andreserves.

“We are unlikely to survive beyondthe next two to three months if wedon’t get fresh funds,” Mahajan said.

The possible failure of Basix, asBSFL is popularly known, will bemore than just the end of amicrofinance company. Also beingsnuffed out will be the dream of oneof the iconic figures of the Indianmicrofinance movement.

One of Mahajan’s key aims hasbeen to improve financial inclusionand, thereby, better the lot of thepoorer sections of society.

The “Basix mission is to promote alarge number of sustainablelivelihoods, including for the ruralpoor and women, through theprovision of financial services andtechnical assistance in anintegrated manner”, according to amessage on the group’s website.“Basix wil l strive to yield acompetitive rate of return to itsinvestors so as to be able to accessmainstream capital and humanresources on a continuous basis.”

The chances of BSFL’s survival arebleak unless it gets money frombanks, said Mahajan, who foundedthe company in 1996.

BSFL’s stakeholders includeInternational Finance Corporationand Small Industries DevelopmentBank of India. If BSFL shuts, at least5,000 people — most of them fieldworkers — will lose their jobs,Mahajan said.

The group has a total of 10companies, including the parent firm.

All of them fall under two businessverticals-knowledge services andfinancial inclusion.

Meanwhile, the effect of the AndhraPradesh repayment squeeze isspreading, with the level of badassets rising to 3% from 1% in otherparts of the country.

Microlenders are in a criticalstate , Mahajan said. “ Evenperfectly fine MFIs are facing acrisis as banks are not lending,” hesaid.. Lenders to BSFL includeHDFC Bank Ltd and Axis Bank Ltd.

Andhra Pradesh, accounting formore than a quarter of the Rs20,000crore microlending industry,promulgated a law in October tocontrol microlenders, after a spateof reported suicides following allegedcoercive recovery practicesadopted by some of them.

The law, which restricted MFIs fromcollecting money from borrowers ona weekly basis, made it mandatorythat government approval beobtained if a borrower takes morethan one loan. While repayment ratedropped to 5-10% following the statelaw, commercial banks, whichtypically provide 80% of the fundsto the industry, stopped lending.

“BSFL is one of India’s two largestMFIs, Earlier this month, thegovernment unveiled a draft Bill onmicrofinance regulation thataccorded sole regulatory power toRBI. But, according to Mahajan,while the proposed MicrofinanceInstitutions (Development andRegulation) Bill offers a soundframework, the situation will getworse because of the time it will takefor the legislation to be put in place.

The Andhra Pradesh governmentwon’t dilute its stance onmicrolenders.

“It (the proposed federal law) doesn’tchange the fact that MFIs comeunder the purview of moneylendingactivity and, hence, the state law,”Reddy Subramaniam, principalsecretary (rural development) ,Andhra Pradesh said, ‘and a numberof judgements from high courts thatprove this fact.”

But Mahajan says,”I will not give uphope till the very last moment. Thisis not about Basix. This is the deathknell to financial inclusion in India.Today, there are 92 lakhhouseholds in Andhra Pradesh whoare appearing on the defaulters listof the National Credit Bureau. Wecannot just stand by and let thishappen,” he said.

Solar Power canmeet 7% of India’s

power NeedsAs a shortage of coal and saggingpower production targets makeindustry experts look to alternativesources of power, solar energy isemerging as the likely best bet,though not yet in the league forheavy-duty industrial use.

Understanding the potential, manycorporate giants such as Tatagroup, Videocon, IBM, Godrej,Infosys, DLF, iGATE Patni, andpublic sector enterprises includingGail, Bhel and IOC have startedusing solar power. And most of themsave over 10% on electricity bills.

By using solar energy, India cansave around $5.5 billion on its coaland oil imports bill.

“When the number of lights andwater heaters of our manufacturingplants and factories will run on theheat by sunshine on rooftop solarpanels, electricity bills have to takea plunge,” said Anirudh Dhoot,director, Videocon.

IT service firm iGATE Patni is usingsolar water heating in cafeteria alongwith solar lighting for basementparking area. “All these installationsare at very niche level. Afterunderstanding the technology it willbecome the exciting source ofenergy,” said Sanjiv Kapur, globalhead (BPO), iGATE Patni. —. HimaniChandna Gurtoo http://www.hindustantim es.com

Green tribunal stopsHPl hydropower

projectShimla: In a major setback to theconstruction of a hydroelectricproject in Himachal Pradesh that willprovide drinking water to Delhi, theNational Green Tribunal (NGT),stopped construction and landacquisition for the multimillionhydropower project. The 40MWRenuka hydel project in Sirmaurdistrict was being executed by theHimachal Pradesh PowerCorporation violating environmentalnorms

A bench headed by Justice CVRamalu, in its interim order, directedthe Himachal Pradesh PowerCorporation (HPPCL), to stop the40MW Renuka hydel project inSirmaur district dam constructioncompletely. The Rs 2,700 croreRenuka dam, mainly funded by thecentral government, is to be built ona tributary of the Yamuna river.

The tribunal also directed the projectauthorities to stop awarding landcompensation to the affectedvillagers. Petitioner Durga Ramchallenged the environmentalclearances awarded to the projectby the Ministry of Environment andForests in October 2009.He arguedthat the environment impactassessment (EIA) report for the

project was inadequate and therewere several discrepancies in thefigures of the total area to beacquired for the project and the totalnumber of families to be affected.

The tribunal, which is dealing withenvironmental cases, is anindependent unit that was launchedon July 4 with an initial support ofthe Environment Ministry. (SourceIANS).

Indian State and theArt of Fabricating

False Cases

Bangalore: Two spectres hauntcivil society in India – the spectresof communalism and globalisation.As a part of this invasion, minoritiesare attacked and internationalorganisations decide on thepolicies of the Indian Governmenttoday. Land, forests, hills, lakes,rivers and seas are sold tocorporates.

While many groups and people’smovements are resisting boththese tendencies, the Indian Stateis using its executive machinery ina brutal way to suppress dissent.Many innocent people arecriminalised, branded and jailed. Dr.Binayak Sen is the most well knownpersonality in this category of‘fabricated cases’ by the IndianState. Many false cases are nowbeing framed on those who areresisting POSCO. When evidenceis missing for their guilt, efforts arebeing made to create falseevidence.

Over 20 organisations in Bangaloreorganised a one-day Conventionon the ‘Indian State and the Art ofFabricating False Cases’. at NGOHall, Cubbon Park, on July 30.

Among the topics were :1.Falsecharges on people’s movements:Globalisation, Development andPeople’s Movements Speakers:Prafulla Samantarai (Well knownactivist/intellectual from Orissa);Prashant Paikray (OfficialSpokesperson, Anti-PoscoMovement, Orissa) ; SwamiVishua Bhadrananda Shakti Bhodi(Director, Alathoor SiddhaAshramam/Editor, Ethir DishaMagazine)

2.Communalism andBranding.Chairperson: GauriLankesh, Editor, Lankesh PatrikeSpeakers: K.L. Ashok (StateSecretary, Karnataka, CommunalHarmony Forum, Teesta Setalvad(Well known anti-communalactivist, editor of CommunalismCombat); Fr. Ajay Singh (The maininitiative from Kandhamal) ;Dr. K.Muhamed Najeeb (SolidarityYouth Movement)

3. War on Terror or War onPeople? Speakers: Sebastian Paul(Former Member of Parliament)U.S. Kumar (Mangalore HumanRights Forum); Sherif Kottapurath(Former CTO of SunMicrosystems); Bhasurendrababu(Media Critic/Political Observer)

4. Approaches of the Indian State,Media and Civil SocietyResponses: Speakers:S.A.R.Gilani (Professor, Delhi University);Kavita Srivastava (GeneralSecretary, PUCL); Satya Sagar(Journalist/Activist)

The Convention was organisedBy: Environment SupportGroup, PDF, PUCL, PedestrianPictures, SICHREM, KarnatakaVidhyarthi Sangha, SamanathaMahila Vedike, Janasakti,Karnataka Komu SouhardaVedike, Indian Social Institute,Students Christian Movement,New Socialist Alternative,Department of Women’s Studies– UTC, Moving Republic, StreeJagruti Samiti,Solidarity Youth

Movement, Visual Search,Bharatiya Muslim MahilaAndolan, Ambedkar PilosophyFoundation, INSAF, HumanRights Law Network and OpenSpace.

Fund forunorganised workersNew Delhi: The cabinet on July 28approved the establishment of anational social security fund with aninitial allocation of Rs 1,000 crore toprovide social security benefits likeinsurance, pension and healthcareto some 433 million workers in theunorganised sector. (More than 94per cent of India’s workforce is inthe unorganised sector).

The fund, announced by FinanceMinister Pranab Mukherjee duringthe Union Budget for 2010-11, willbenefit weavers, toddy tappers,rickshaw pullers and beedi workers,among others.

“The fund will also facilitate evolutionand funding of schemes by variousdepartments which are currentlyinvolved in the welfare of thesesegments of workers.”

The Ministry of Labour andEmployment will be the nodal ministryfor the operation of the fund,according to an official statementreleased after a cabinet meetinghere. (Source IANS).

TISS to start courseon mental health

Mumbai: With increasing stresslevels and instances of spirallingviolence, the Tata Institute of SocialSciences (TISS) in collaboration withthe University College London,Catholic University of Lunan andBelgium, and some NGOs in Indiawill introduce a course on mentalhealth from the next academic year.

“While there are not enough qualifiedprofessionals to treat mental healthissues, there is almost a non-availability of psychiatrists in non-urban areas,” said Dr SParshuraman, TISS director.“Terrorism and poverty are closelylinked with mental health issues.They are the prime reasons leadingto stress.”

The course will be offered inMumbai, Chennai and Ranchi, andwill prepare nurses to treat stressissues at tehsil levels and seniorprofessionals to work at districtlevels. Trained professionals fromthe course will work closely with thegovernment’s district mental healthprogramme.

The NGOs involved in the projectare Banyan from Chennai whichprovides shelter to mentally illdestitute women and Brothers ofCharity, which serves people in thefield of education and healthcare.

Students from different backgrounds- nursing, medicine, psychology -can apply. Contact: TISS

Funds Available forProjects

Applications are invited from social,medical and educational institutionsby Venkateshwar SomaniCharitable Trust, ShreeniwasHouse, Ground Floor, H. SomaniMarg, Fort,(Behind BombayGymkhana) Mumbai 400001

Please send your formal requestwith supporting brochures and otherdetails by mail.

Mahindra Finance is offering todonate money to NGOs andhospitals to enable them to buyambulances. www.mahindrafinance.com

OBITUARY

Shehla Masood

A Bhopal RTI activist was shotdead on Aug. 16th by anunidentified person in front of herresidence in the posh Koh-e-Fizalocality.

“Shehla Masood was shot deadaround 11 am in her car,” saidSenior Superintendent of Police(SSP) Adarsh Katiyar.

The motive and details of the killingare awaited, he said, adding a hunthad been launched to nab theassailant.

Shehla, who sat on a fast hererecently in support of AnnaHazare’s ‘India AgainstCorruption’ campaign had alsobeen working on a number of otherthings including wildlifeconservation. She was activelyinvolved in raising issues relatedto the deaths of tigers in thevarious sanctuaries of MadhyaPradesh.

Known to be a hard worker, Shehlaalso ran a company called‘Miracles’ which used to do variousthings including eventmanagement.

A CBI probe has been ordered bythe MP Govt. after protests.

6

NGO Connect

Niyamgiri AgainWhy bother complying withregulations if a committee candecide that it didn’t matter much thatthe law was bypassed? MoEF findsitself on the backfoot, after itsexperts look away from the law.

The sacred landscape of NiyamgiriHills in Orissa has in recent yearsbecome synonymous with theproposal to mine for bauxite in theregion. The Niyamgiri Hills aresacred to the Dongria Kondh tribalcommunity. Vedanta, the companyproposing to mine the region, hasnot yet received a go-ahead fromthe government to tap the bauxitedeposits on the hill tops. Since 2005the battle over these hills has beenfought on the streets, in the courts,through executive orders and keypolitical decisions.

The Orissa Mining Corporation(OMC) received environmentclearance (mandatory under theEnvironment Impact Assessment(EIA) Notification, 2006) for itsLanjigarh Bauxite Mining Project on28 April 2009 from the Ministry ofEnvironment and Forests (MoEF).The ore from this project is intendedto supply the alumina refinery plantof Vedanta, which is already up andrunning for the last several years.In fact Niyamgiri’s mining saga hadfirst came to light when SterliteIndustries Limited (a subsidiary ofVedanta) constructed the refinerywithout fully disclosing the miningconnect. While the refinery escapedthe legal glare as a result, thesubsequent focus fell on the mining,and remains so.

No Forest clearance : OMC’sLanjigarh project, involves a totalmining lease area of 721 hectares.Of which, 672 hectares is forestland, and the conversion of requiresseparate permission - which wasstill pending at the time the project

Punjab NotifiesRight to Service

OrdinanceChandigarh: The Punjabgovernment on July 27 notified theRight to Service Ordinance, 2011,which will ensure time-bound actionby government departments andagencies for 67 public-centricservices. , the stipulated time givento government agencies to completeformalities and respond to thepeople ranges from immediate andonline to a maximum of 60 days.

The ordinance notified each servicerendered by the government.”Thislandmark decision would savepeople, especially the commonman, from the harassment due toinordinate delay and cumbersomeprocedures,” a governmentspokesman said.

In cases like giving copy of an FIR(first information report) orverification of foreigners, theagencies concerned have to do itimmediately or send the replyonline.The services relate to severalgovernment departments, includingRevenue, Health, Transport, Foodand Civil Supplies, Police,Personnel, Housing, LocalGovernment And Home.

The Transport Department now hasto give registration certificate of anew vehicle and new driving licencewithin seven days, RevenueDepartment has to register alldocuments like sale deeds, generalpower of attorney and others withinone day.

Copies of birth and deathcertificates have to be given in twodays by the Health Departmentwhile the Home Department has toissue marriage certificate within twodays.

BBMP BudgetCIVIC Bangalore had a publicconsultation on “BBMP’s Budget:Expectations of Citizens whereSri Manjunatha Raju, Chairman,Standing Committee, Taxation andFinance, BBMP presided. ChiefGuests: Sri Narayana RaoPresident, Bangalore City Unit, JDS;Sri J. Alexander,President,Bangalore City Unit, KPCC; Sri K.Prakash, Secretary, Bangalore CityUnit, CPI(M), Sri Ramakanth,President met, Bangalore City Unit,Loksatta on July, 22 at, CentralCollege Campus.

The Karnataka Local FundAuthorities’ Fiscal ResponsibilitiesAct, 2003, requires local bodies tohold at least two meetings withcitizens’ associations in thepreparation of the budget.

However, since no meetings wereconducted by the BBMP whilepreparing its budget. CIVICorganised this meeting to provide aplatform to citizens’ groups to givetheir recommendations on BBMP’sbudget.

This meeting brought together allgroups, namely, Residents’ WelfareAssociations, urban poor groups,SC/ST groups, the disabled,children’s groups, women’sgroups,etc. together to get theirsuggestions on their requirements/demands from the BBMP budget inthis financial year.*Web:www.civicspace. in / Email:**info@civicspace. in KathyayiniChamaraj, Executive Trustee,97318 17177

CONF HELDThe ‘Never-the-less’ conference onJuly 22 in Bangalore was held tounify efforts, investments andinnovation for addressing inclusionof persons with disabilities.The aimof the conference was to set thefive year agenda to make inclusionof persons with disabilities, a reality.Some of the Speakers at theConference: Mr. Harsh Gupta IAS :Director Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Ms.M V Savitri : Director, State Dept forthe Empowerment of DifferentlyAbled & Senior Citizens - Dr. M KSridhar : Knowledge Commissioner,Jnayna Ayoga Mr. Ashwin Mahesh: Adviser to the Office of the ChiefMinister Mr. Raja Shanmugham :President & Chief People Officer -Happiest Minds TechnologiesPvt Ltd Ms. Meenu Bhambhani:Gobal Head CSR, Mphasis Mr.Subramani L : Editor, DeccanHerald Mr. Sanjay Sridhar : UrbanPlanner and Director, EMBARQIndia - Urban Development andAccessibility; Ms. Shanti Raghavan: Founder Enable India Mr. GeorgeAbraham : CEO, SCOREFoundation New Delhi Ms.Vasanthi Srinivasan: Chairperson,Centre for Corporate Governanceand Citizenship, IIMB G Ravi,Head- Disability Programmes,Fourth Wave Foundation,Bangalore http://nevertheless .in/

Population First, an NGO whichworks on the issue of the decliningsex ratio, organized a two-dayWorkshop on Gender and Mediafor journalists on August 3, 4. Thepurpose of the workshop was tosensitize young journalists ongender issues and also to motivatethem. With the objective of ensuringgreater sensitivity and betterportrayal of women, the two-dayresidential training program was formedia persons from the print andelectronic media as well as adagencies.<info@populationfirst.org>

A workshop on ‘ Social audit Roadmap for Effective PublicAccountability’ was held on July

26/27. Social Audit arises from theempowerment of citizens to accesspublic records by RTI Act 2005. Inthe Workshop practical measuresfor channelizing citizens right forimproving the public administration.Lessons gained from successstories of social audit by citizens inMGNREGA, Sarva ShikshaAbhiyan , public distributionsystem, analysis of Governmentbudget and evaluating performanceof MLAs.

Active participation of thebeneficiaries is essential forcorrective actions by authoritiescontrolling the schemes. “SocialAudit enables direct publicaccountability of the instrumen-talities of Government. MGNREGAis the first organized effort topromote legally mandated SocialAudit—

A Society for Social Audit,Accountability and Trans-parency is being funded from thefunds of MGNREGA. Ms SowmyaKidambi, is Director of the Society.Social audit of MNGERA hasbecome mandatory as the vastareas on implementation arebeyond the practical reach of theIndian Audit and AccountsDepartment.

Some of the speakers were: DrAmarjit Chopra, former PresidentInstitute of Chartered Accountant ofIndia to explain professionalchallenge before the auditors; AnjaliBharadwaj of Satark NagarikSangathan which has practicalexperience of social audit of publicdistribution system and has initiatedperformance evaluation of MLAs;Yamini Aiyar from AccountabilityInitiative of the Centre for PolicyResearch to explain findings socialaudit of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan andtheir review of budget. Thesepresentations were followed by openhouse discussion on practicalmeasures to promote social audit.

Consultants wantedfor Villages

Nasik: The Bhujbal Foundationin Nasik has adopted two villageswhich are 99 per cent Adivasi(Tribal) area. It wants to conducttrainings, seminars, workshops forthe villages to develop status ofliving, health and education of thesevillagers.

Please give suggestions on whatneeds to be done and how to goabout it. Contact: Aaditi Morankar,Bhujbal Foundation, Nasik Email 1:admorankar@yahoo. in Email 2:aadisayee@gmail. com

Hiroshima DayRemembered

Mumbai: About 3,152 Students from78 colleges, social activists andcitizens participated in the PeaceRally and took a pledge to work forPeace & Nuclear free World on Aug.6 on the occasion of the Hiroshimabombing. The rally marched fromAzad Maidan to Hutatma Chowk onHiroshima Day. The Peace marchwas jointed organized by BombaySarvodaya Mandal and NSS Unitsof SNDT & Mumbai University tomark the 66th anniversary of thedevastation of Hiroshima &Nagasaki.

The after effects of the bombing andradiation claimed over three lakhlives over the years.

Students wore aprons and Gandhi-caps with slogans like ‘No MoreHiroshima’, ‘Save Mother-Earth’.NSS Volunteers from variouscolleges carrying play-cards andbanners — ‘NO-BOMB, YES-PEACE’, and “We want to grow up,not to blow up”.

May-June, July-Aug, 2011

Lucknow: A Seminar on nuclearradiation health hazards wasorganized on August 6 (HiroshimaDay) by: Dr Ram Manohar LohiaInstitute of Medical Sciences(RMLIMS) in association with IndianMedical Association (IMA)Lucknow, Indian Doctors for Peaceand Development (IDPD), Coalitionfor Nuclear Disarmament andPeace (CNDP) and JahangirabadMedia Institute.

Azim Premji University PublicLecture Series held a talk onFostering Inclusiveness, Pluralityand Equal Opportunity- Challengesfor India’s Imperfect Democracy inBangalore on Aug. 6. Speakers: were Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey &Shankar Singh, Mazdoor KisanShakti SangathanEnquiries: events@apu.edu.inwww.azimpremji university.edu.in/

Civic Bangalore held a PublicHearing on Urban Health Systemin Bangalore and release of booklet”Namma Aspatreyatta…” (“A Lookat our Hospitals…”) on July 7, atS.C.M. House. Thee hearing as ananalysis of suo motu disclosuresunder RTI Act of 4 hospitals.

The meeting envisaged adiscussion on the service provisionby government hospitals in BBMParea, their standards, transparency,accountabil ity, functioning,grievance redressal mechanism,functioning of Arogya RakshaSamithi, accessibility and deliveryof health services. Contact: CIVICBangalore info@civicspace. inwww.civic space.in

A Two Day Workshop on BankLinkages for the benefit of SHGswas held on 28-29 July at Noida.Bank Linkage of SHGs have beena very successful strategy fordelivering financial services to thepoor in a sustainable manner. Underthe SHG-bank linkage program,NGOs and banks interact with thepoor, especially women, to formsmall homogenous groups. SHGsare facing problems related withfinancial sustainability. AmitySchoolof Rural Management conducted amanagement support programme tocapacitate the participants infinancial management of SHGs andInter-linkages with banks, for thebenefit of SHGs.

This two day workshop provided aplatform to various Micro FinanceInstitutions (MFIs), Bankers,Livelihood Promoters, SHGs,Government officials and NGOs tounderstand the importance and thefundamentals of Bank Linkage withrespect to SHGs.

Contact: Dr. P.C.Sabharwal,Director/ Dr. Ritesh DwivediAmitySchool of Rural Management, AmityUniversity Tel: 91-120-4392753,4392553, 4392554, Mobile:08826767147 Website: www.amity.

edu/ asrum, email: pcsabharwal@amity.edu, rdwivedi1@amity. edu

The Human Rights Unit of IndianSocial Institute, Bangalore held atwo-week Course on “LegalResources for Social Action andEmpowerment’ from Aug. 3—16.The purpose of this course was togive a broad legal framework andpractical tips, covering broadlyvarious aspects of law that socialactivists / para-legal workers shouldbe familiar with, in order to helppeople to get their rights. 50 relevantlaws along with Practical tips, werecovered. Contact: sishumanrights@gmail.com

Samvada conducted a certificateTraining Course on Youth Workfor Inclusive and SustainableDevelopment in Kannada fromJuly 12-20, in Bangalore withexposure and class room sessionswith diverse methodologies. Details:Janardhan, SAMVADA BengalooruPh - 080 23468113/114. Email:samvada@gmail. com

A two-day meeting on communitybased conservation of the BiligiriRangaswamy Temple Sanctuarywas held recently in the sanctuary.The meeting was jointly organizedby the Ashoka Trust for Researchin Ecology and the Environment(ATREE), the Vivekananda GirijanaKalyana Kendra (VGKK),Kalpavriksh and the ZillaBudakattu Girijana AbivruddhiSangha – a federation of variousadivasi groups. Nearly 100 Soligaadivasis from over 60 podus (Soligasettlements) in the sanctuaryparticipated. Other NGOs andindividuals were also present.

The three key issues discussedduring the workshop wereconservation priorities, livelihoodsecurity, and governance/management of the sanctuary. Italso noted that the vesting ofcommunity forest rights under FRAwas crucial.

This workshop gains significance forbeing the first of its kind in thecountry and also because the areahas recently been notified a tigerreserve – a development opposedby the Soligas and several civilsociety organisations (PA UpdateVol XVII, No. 2).Contact:Email:ashishkothari@vsnl.com

Various voluntary organizations andaction groups come together toorganize the Conferene AgainstWarming the Globe at Madurai onJuly 22, 23, 24. Thousands ofpeople from various parts of thestate, country and the world areexpected to take part in theconference which includes publicmeetings, seminars and a rally.

There were displays of alternatemodels and modules of developmentalong the conference;stalls sellingbooks and films.

Hiroshima Day Remembered

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AWARDS / CONFERENCESUniversity of New South Wales and the Faculty of Law,University of Technology, Sydney is pleased to announcethe inaugural International Conference on Feminism and theLaw: Revisiting the Past, Rethinking the Present &Thinking the Way Forward.

The Conference aims to bring together academics, lawyers,researchers, students and activists from India and aroundthe world to explore how women’s experiences have beenstructured, impacted, controlled, or ignored by law.

Prospective participants are invited to submit Abstracts ofup to300 words to ilslaw@vsnl.com before August 15, 2011.Registration Fees: Standard INR 1500 Student INR 750 .Contact: ilslaw@vsnl. com; Please mention in the subjectInternational Conference

Training Course on Disability andDevelopment

The XIII International Training Course is a unique opportunityfor Actionaid Unit Co-ordinators/ Programme Managers/Officers and Project Directors who wish to be sensitised,oriented and updated on the issues of persons with disabilities.The training would help them to initiate work on disability /strengthen the existing work Sept 8 to 15, 2011. Contact:The Training Co-ordinator, Actionaid, No. 139, RichmondRoad, Bangalore - 560 025, India. Tel: 0091-80-43650650/647 Email: raghavendra. b@actionaid. org

Basic Research Methodology forAdvocacy & Lobbying

Sept. 13 -18 2011,Indian Social Institute, Bangalore

Methodology for Advocacy and Lobbying for NGOs andCBOs, leaders of peoples’movements, young scholars andPG students. The participant is expected to be at least agraduate with a working knowledge of English. The numberof seats available for thiscourse is 25. The course is in English.

Registration Fee: Rs 500 rupees, Course Fee : Rs 500

The last date for applying is 25th of August 2011.Send yourapplications to The Head of Research Unit, Indian SocialInstitute, 24, Benson Road, Bangalore 560 046 or Email to:siresearchbang@gmail.com. Contact Ms. LakshmiPeriyasamy the Research Associate at +91-9886973770,(080) 23536189, 23536960, 23536364 during office hours.

International Conference onEco-Social Justice

De Novo 2011 International Conference with “Eco-SocialJustice: Issues, Challenges and Ways Forward” as its themeis being organized by De Paul Institute of Science &Technology (DIST) Angamaly, Kerala in association withJames Cook University Australia on November 8-11 2011and will be held at the De Paul Institute of Science &Technology in Kochi, Kerala. Abstracts are invited in theprescribed format mentioned in the website (www.denovo.in). Contact: Rajeev S.P., Head, of the Department, Schoolof Social Work, website: www.depaul.edu. in, www.denovo.inor P.V.Baiju, Dept of Social Work, Sanskrit University, Kalady,Kerala, India #(R)91 484 2699024 (O)91 484 2463380 Extn134

Folkschool Koraput, OrissaA three-day training programme on Facilitating CommunityDevelopment in the light of Gandhian thoughts and values,will be held on 2-4 October 2011 at Athithi Bhaban Koraput.The training course will cover Antodaya , Sarvodaya,SWARAJ, ddressing the issues of gender and Village as thecentre of development.

The training programme will be suitable for the Developmentpractitioners\ middle level functionaries\ field functionaries.The course fee is kept to Rs 1800 for 3 days which includelodging, boarding and course material. This training will bedesigned for 30 participants, so please reserve yourparticipation as early as possible by Sept 15. Contact:Team, Folk School Koraput email- folkschoolkoraput@gmail.com

Workshop on Lokpal &Right to Justice

The Indian Social Institute Bangalore is organising a workshop“Recent Bills on Lokpal and Right to Justice” on 10-11 Oct2011 at Bangalore for lawyers with the goal to build theLawyer’s Collective and to expand the Human Rights space.Medium:English, Registration Fee : Rs. 300/- Food and lodgingexpenses will be met by ISI Indian Social Institute. Contact:Adv.Fr. Stephen Kulandaisamy SJ, Tel. . (080) 23536364/23536189 (or) Ms. Viji Mob: 96201 35 138 Email:isi*humanrights@ gmail.com, vijayathilagam@ gmail.com,stepenksamy@ gmail.com

9th Indian Fisheries ForumChennai, Dec. 19-23, 2011.

The forum is being organized by the Central MarineFisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), Cochin. The maintheme of 9IFF is ‘Renaissance in Fisheries.

Nileema Mishra

With a master’s degree in clinical psychology, in 1995, NileemaMishra returned to her village of Bahadarpur, Maharashtra toorganize Bhagini Nivedita Gramin Vigyan Niketan(BNGVN), or Sister Nivedita Rural Science Center.

Starting with a self-help group of only fourteen women, otherself-help groups followed, engaging in microcredit and suchincome-generating activities as the production of foodproducts and distinctive export quality quilts. BNGVN enabledthese changes by training women in production, marketing,accounting, and computer literacy. Driven by extremeeconomic distress, a shocking wave of farmers’ suicidesstruck Maharashtra, BNGVN helped create a village revolvingfund that provided loans for farm inputs and emergency needs;they addressed health problems by building over 300 privateand communal toilets; and activated a village assembly todiscuss and resolve local needs.

In less than ten years, BNGVN has formed 1,800 self-helpgroups in 200 villages across Maharashtra. Its microcreditprogram has caused to be distributed the equivalent of US$5million, with a hundred-percent loan recovery rate

Harish Hande

From Bangalore trained in energy engineering, with a doctoratefrom the University of Massachusetts, decided to live withvillagers in India to understand their situation first-hand. Hebelieved that a decentralized approach in the spread of solarapplication- using small-scale, stand-alone installations is bestfor reaching poor, remote villages where the technology ismost needed.

Putting this belief into practice, he established Solar ElectricLight Company-India (SELCO) in Bangalore in 1995.SELCO’s principal product offerings were solar PV lightingsystems, water heating systems, and cook stoves to meetthe needs of the rural poor. He separated from his businesspartners andwith the help of the International FinanceCorporation and new, socially-minded investors” restructuredthe company and refocused on its social mission.

While SELCO remained a for-profit business, it strengthenedits purpose as a social enterprise, measuring performanceby how it creates social capital instead of simple financialprofit. To date, SELCO has reached more than half-a-millionpeople by installing solar lights in 120,000 households,microenterprises, and community facilities. Poverty reductionis central to its goal. Hande says, “Until the poor becomeasset creators, we are not empowering them.” . PresentationCeremonies on31 August 2011, Manila, Philippines

Yudhvir Memorial AwardThe trustees of the Yudhvir Foundation presented the 20th

Yudhvir memorial award to Dr. A. Saibaba Goud, Founder-Chairman of Devnar Foundation for his outstanding servicesto the visually challenged.

The award was given to him by Dr. Duggubati Purandeswari,Minister of State for Higher Education at the KLN PrasadAuditorium, Hyderabad on April 30.

Contact Hindi Milap Office, Hyderabad Tel: 24732583/65500467

Toto Awards 2012Toto Funds the Arts (TFA) invites submissions for its 8thannual arts awards for young photographers, writers,musicians and bands. There are six awards to be won – onefor music (Rs 50,000), two for photography (Rs 25,000 each),two for creative writing in English (Rs 25,000 each), and onefor creative writing in Kannada (Rs 25,000).

All submissions must be original and must be received before10 September 2011 . Young Indian nationals between theages of 18 and 29 are eligible to apply.

Toto Funds the Arts is a non-profit trust set up in 2004 inmemory of Angirus ‘Toto’ Vellani, who was intenselypassionate about music, literature and film. It nurtures andencourages young artists in India through awards, workshopsand other events. For more information visit: http://totofundsthearts. blogspot.com/2011_07_01_ archive.html

Fellowship for Women Scholar-Practitioners

The School for Advanced Research (SAR) is pleased toannounce the new Campbell Fellowship for Women Scholar-Practitioners from Developing Nations, made possible with agenerous three-year grant from new SAR board memberVera R. Campbell’s family foundation.

The Campbell Fellowship will support a female social scientistfrom a developing nation, either pre- or post-doctoral, whosework addresses women’s economic and social empowermentin that nation. The goal of the fellowship is twofold: 1) toadvance the scholarly careers of women social scientistsfrom the developing world, and 2) to support research thatidentifies causes of gender inequity in the developing worldand that proposes practical solutions for promotingwomen’s economic and social empowerment.

In addition to a stipend, and housing and office space on theSAR campus, the Campbell Fellow receives travel, shipping,and library resource funds; health insurance; and the supportof a mentoring committee of established scholar-practitioners.The fellowship term runs from September 1 through February28, 2011. The application deadline is November 1st.Application instructions are available in the website’sResident Scholar Fellowship section at http://campbell.fellowship. sarweb.org/

‘Exploring a Sustainable Future’4-10 September 2011

The Workshop at Auroville, Pondicherry introduces someof the Auroville technologies and explores an integralapproach to sustainable practices.

The workshop includes theoretical sessions, practicaldemonstrations and site visits. The classroom sessions willcover topics such as the environmental crisis, concepts ofsustainability, water harvesting, wastewater treatment, solarenergy, earth construction, food, community-building andwellness. and will include visits to see practical applicationsof sustainable principles.

The workshop is limited to 25 participants and will beconducted in English. Boarding and modest sharedaccommodation will be provided in Auroville, Pondicherry(Puducherry). The workshop fee is Rs 9000/- includingboarding and lodging. Partial scholarship avail. Contact: Ms.Vandana Sanjay, 103 East, Trinity Woods, Near BellandurGate, Sarjapur Road, Bangalore –560034. Tel. 080-41534699;9845459413. Send a soft copy of your application by email toavworkshop2011@gmail.com Applications and paymentshould reach Ms. Vandana Sanjay.

The Grassroots InstituteInvites applications for its forthcoming residential field trainingcourses.

1. Certificate “ Case Story & Study Writing” training date:17-20.

Application deadline: 30 September 2011, Place: Agra(Fatehpur Sikri),

2. International Certificate “Advocacy Skills forDevelopment Action” training date: Nov 15-19 2011.Application deadline: 30 Oct 2011, Place: Shimla.

For details contact: Training Team, Grassroots Institute,Email: info@grassrootsinstitute.in Website www.grassrootsinstitute.in http://grassrootsinstitute.in/ift_programs.html

Programs for Artisans /Craftpersons

The National Centre for Design and ProductDevelopment (NCDPD) is undertaking comprehensiveindustry-oriented Capacity / Skill Development Trainingprograms for 7000 Handicraft Artisans / craftpersons at about47 important handicraft clusters basis under the HumanResource Development Scheme of DevelopmentCommissioner (Handicrafts) , Ministry of Textiles, Govt. ofIndia.

This 5-day workshops starts from 1st week of August, 2011in six regions and in phased manner. For more details ofterms & reference and submission of Expression of Interestplease visit website www.ncdpd.com or email us atncdpd@ncdpd. com. The Application forms and details mayalso be obtained from all the Regional Offices / Marketing &Service Extn. Centres / Service Centres / CFCs of O/o.Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) , EPCH & NCDPD

Conference on Feminismand the Law

10 – 12 February 2012 at ILS Law College, Pune, India

Women’s Studies Center (Sponsored by UGC), ILS LawCollege, Pune in partnership with the Faculty of Law,

The 2011 Ramon MagsaysayAwardees

Harish Hande & Nileema Mishra

May-June, July-Aug, 2011

CONFERENCES

8

NGO Connect

Protected Area Update Vol. XVII, No. 4, August 19 2011 (No.92) Contact: Dr. G. Syda Rao, Convener, 9IFF, CMFRI, P.B.No. 1603, Ernakulam North P.O., Kochi - 682 018, Kerala.Tel: 0484-2394867, Fax : 2394909. Email: contact9iff@gmail.com Web: www.9iff.org

Indian Forestry Congress 2011November 22 to 25 in New Delhi.

The central theme of the congress is ‘Forests in a changingworld’ and it seeks to bring together various stakeholders offorestry, including the researchers, planners, implementersand beneficiaries. The main themes for the congress areForests in Society, Forestry in an Expanding Economy,Expanding Frontiers of Forestry Sciences, Forest Biodiversityand Landscapes and Forests and Climate Change.

Contact: Sandeep Tripathi, IFC 2011, ICFRE, P.O.NewForest, Dehradun, Uttarakhand. Tel: 0135-2756497; Fax:0135-2756497. Email: sandeeptrip@icfre.org. Web: http://ifc2011.icfre.gov.in/

Student Conference onConservation Science

The 2011 Student Conference on Conservation Science(SCCS) will be held at the Indian Institute of Science inBangalore from September 14 to 16, 2011. The organizersof the conference are the Ashoka Trust for Research inEcology and the Environment (ATREE), the National Centrefor Biological Sciences (NCBS), Nature ConservationFoundation (NCF), IISc, the National Institute for AdvancedStudies (NIAS) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)-India. The conference is funded by ADM Capital Foundation.Contact: Bharath Sundaram, ConferenceAdministrator,SCCS-Bangalore.Email: sccs@sccs-bng.org Web: http://www.sccs-bng.org

Trainings at CSE, Delhi1. Training Programme on Urban Rainwater Harvesting -Sept. 27-30, 2011

Course details available at: http://www.cseindia .org/content/training- programme- urban-rainwater- harvesting-september- 27-30-2011

Contact: Sushmita Sengupta, Tel: 011 – 29955124, Fax: 011- 29955879 Email: sushmita@cseindia. org

2. Decentralised wastewater treatment and reuse - Sept.28-October 1, 2011 Last date for applying: September 15,2011

Some fellowships for participants from South Asia available.Course contact: Deblina Dwivedi, Email: deblina@cseindia.org Mobile: 9899596661

3.Covering India: Where Journalism Meets Environment- Nov 1-30, 2011

This certificate course is designed as a hands-on ‘bootcamp’,and targets those interested in a career in mainstream orniche news media, development communication, civil societycampaign and advocacy initiatives, and industry CSR, amongothers.

Some fellowships for participants from South Asia available.

Course details: http://www.cseindia .org/node/ 2607 Contact:Sharmila Sinha, Emails: aagc@cseindia. org / cseindiasharmila@ gmail.com

National Workshop onEcological Sanitation

The Department of Civil Engineering of the Sardar VallabhbhaiNational Institute of Technology, Surat, Gujarat is organisinga workshop on Ecological Sanitation on 20-21 October,2011 to disseminate the recent advances in the science andtechnology of sustainable water and waste managementtechniques.

Registration/Stall Fee: Research Scholar/Student Rs 300,Academician/ NGOs : Rs 500.

There are two awards for outstanding performance in thefield of water and sanitation one award for NGO’s and otherfor Research scholar/student.

Those interested in participating for the award kindly sendNGO profile or research paper then ten pages. Space isavailable for poster presentationDeadline for full length paper/NGO Information Submission: 30 September, 2011

Contact: Dr K D Yadav, Email: kdjhansi@yahoo.com/kdy@ced.svnit.ac.in Phone: 09428398266 0261-220 1821

A Training Programmeon Qualitative Research

Qualitative research takes a holistic understanding of researchparticipants, views and actions in the context of their livesoverall. While a wide array of approaches are available toundertake qualitative research, the principal focus remainson keen observation, in-depth inquiries and documentaryevidences.

This training programme is aimed at introducing theparticipants with the qualitative frame work of research andthe rigour with which the data is collected and analysed forthe study. Participants are expected to have familiarity withthe social science research.

The programme will be six days of intensive training in thetheoretical grounding and methodological aspects of thequalitative research with practical exposure in selecttechniques of the qualitative research.

Medium of instruction will be English.The selected candidates will be given 2nd class train fare,food and lodging facility during their stay.Interested candidates can download application forms fromour website www.css.ac.in. Communication in this regardcan be mailed at info@css.ac.in.

The course fee is Rs. 800 for teachers, Rs. 400 for researchscholars who are getting fellowship and NGOrepresentatives, and Rs. 200 for research scholars who donot have any scholarship. For further information applicantscan contact the Course Director Dr. Ratnawali:sinha_ratnawali @yahoo.com, info@css.ac.in Centre forSocial Studies,Gujarat. Ph : 0261 2227173-74 Email :info@css.ac.in

Global Finance and HumanSecurity in South Asia

A Gender Perspective Nov 1 – 5, 2011

Venue: Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi

Org. by The Department of Economics, Lady Shri RamCollege for Women (University of Delhi) in partnership withthe Heinrich Boll Foundation

The Autumn School will attempt to examine the causes of therecent finance-led global crises and the implications forpeoples’ rights and human security. In this context, thedeliberations will focus on the status of women in South Asia- a region that suffers from severe poverty and stark genderinequities.

The programme of the School will use multiple formats oflectures, panel discussions and presentations with emphasison elicitive learning, participant-led discussions andsimulations. Additionally, a skill-building workshop will trainparticipants to evaluate policies/projects for sensitivity togender concerns

For further details, please contact: www.lsr.edu.in/AutumnSchool2011

Empowerment of RuralWomen in Uttarakhand

Status, Challenges and Solutions (Sponsored by UGC,New Delhi)

October 14-15, Venue: B.S.M.P.G., Roorkee, Uttarakhad.

Hill women’s suffer from very hard work which takes heavy atoll on them. One of the most common complaints womenhave is Leukemia, poor nutrition - anemia and body ache.

Mafia and muscle power. The Uttarakhand agitation is a greatland mark in the awakening of political consciousness ofwomen. The women understand the need for participation inlarge numbers in the broader political movements for a causeand participated eagerly in the regional movement for securinga separate state. The National Seminar will be focusing onvarious topics related to women of Uttarakhand.

FEE: Teacher/Academician – Rs. 500,Students/ResearchScholars – Rs. 300For Details pls contact: Dr.Rajesh Chandra Paliwal Deptt. ofpolitical Science,B.S.M.P.G. College, Roorkee, (Haridwar)Uttarakhand Email-drrajesh.paliwal@gmail.com Ph.09412439436, 08126848054

Health Care asA Fundamental Right

The Human Rights Unit of Indian Social Institute, Bangalorewill hold a 5-day course on Health Care As a FundamentalRight from Aug 27-31 to update the knowledge of the HealthCare workers.

It also provides broad Legal frame work and Practical Tipscovering present challenges and opportunities in the Healthcare involvement, health policies and indicators, Empoweringthe Marginalized for Health. It aims to build up the capacity ofour health workers with the help of Eminent, Experts, Doctors.

Contat: isihumanrights@gmail.com

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CONFERENCES

May-June, July-Aug, 2011

Please enrol me as your subscriber at the price of Rs.150 / USD 15 /GBP 8 per annum for 6 issues (Including postage). Please mail ___copies at the address given below. DD/ cheques should be in thename of “Shakti Trust”

Name: _______________________________________________

Organisation: _________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Type of activity: ________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Address:_________________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

_____________________________Pin code: _______________

Phone No:_____________ E-mail: ________________________

Cash/Cq/DD No: ___________________ Amt. Rs.____________

On Bank : ________________________ dated:______________

Mail to: SHAKTI TRUST5E, Gulmohar; 20, Convent Road, Bangalore 560 025

Tel. No: 93418-67487E-mail: shaktisrc@yahoo.com.

You can:

* sponsor an issue for Rs. 20,000/-per issue

* release an ad (10cms. x 1col.)for Rs. 1000 per issue.

This newstabloid goes out tohundreds of NGOs, Corporatehouses and the public.

If you would like to insert an ad/sponsor an issue, pls contact us. Allad copy/ news should be sent/emailed to: shaktisrc@yahoo.com

SHAKTI TRUST

Ad.RATES

c/o ERA, 1st Floor,N. M. Wadia Bldg.123 M G Road,Mumbai 400001

5E, Gulmohar,20, Convent Road,Bangalore 560025Tel: 09341867487

“If you are neutral in situationsof injustice, you have chosen the

side of the oppressor. If anelephant has its foot on the tail

of a mouse and you say thatyou are neutral, the mouse willnot appreciate your neutrality.”

– Desmond Tutui

May-June July-Augustl 2011

Tel. No: 09341867487e-mail:shaktisrc@yahoo.com.

Course on Bamboo ApplicationTechnology

Centre For Green Building Material & Technology, Bangaloreis conducting a course on Bamboo technology to popularizethe use of bamboo for an Integrated Environment friendlydevelopment and generating Employment opportunities forthe masses.

For more details visit website: www.cgbmt.net Contact:Neelam Manjunath, Managing Trustee, Centre For GreenBuilding Material & Technology, No 7, Aditigreenscapes, No20, Venkateshpura Sampigehalli Road,Bangalore – 560064,Karnataka. Tel. 080-22792658 Website: www.cgbmt.net

INSA-Indiais focusing on strengthening its “child-at-risk’ program throughdeveloping 20 sites locally and 15 sites nationally to be bestpractice sites for child protection and survival. In this modelINSA India is working towards building convergence betweenthe community and care providers at one end and betweencare providers {governmental, educational andnongovernmental} at the other.

Processes include: A two week trainer skills building programon “Approaches for Boosting Child Development andEmpowerment” was held from July 18-30, in Bangalore withfollow- ups and a 3-5 day follow up Monitoring and Evaluationprogramme scheduled a year later.

They hope to achieve active advocacy and child survival/protection strengthening through creation of 170 ChildrenParliaments nation wide, ·Contact: INSA India, Bangalore, Tel+9180 23536633; 23536299 Web www.theinsaindia.org!

9

NGO Connect○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

OPPORTUNITIES (despite deadlines, you are advised to apply)

pilot projects, entrepreneurship opportunities among womenand girls, funding sources, partners; assisting with writing upreports, proposals and any other communication document,and creating content for the website.

Quali & exp: Master’s degree in Marketing, MassCommunication, International Relations, Development andrelated field/s or relevant work experience preferable;Orientation and interest in women’s issues and developmentwork, excellent writing and research skills in English,experience with developing surveys, quantitative analysisand tools for statistical analysis of survey data and knowledgeof local language-Hindi/Telugu.

Stipend: TBD commensurate with experience and/orqualifications. All office related expenses will be reimbursedon actual.Send application by August 20, 2011 Email:asha.jayaraman@thetaaracollective.org

Teaching Conversational English,Mumbai, for Municipal Schools

LIFE Trust India Mumbai invites applications for teachingconversational English for Municipal Schools. Place of work:Municipal Schools located at Worli, Dadar, Sion, Parel, LowerParel, Wadala, and Sewri in Mumbai. Job description: Toimpart conversational English learning in the school, to identifyweak students & provide them additional help to cope with therest of the class, to organise educational excursions, & otherco/extra-curricular activities & value education, to monitordrop-out rates among students and work to reduce this.

Quali: Bachelor’s degree, B Com, B. A., B. Ed, D.Ed, Paraprofessionals, Computer proficiency in MS – Office, Goodcommunication in English, Marathi & Hindi ENGLISH iscompulsory- both written & oral. Send applications by August30, 2011 to Email: empower@lifetrustindia.org

Project Coordinator(Livelihood / Education)

Job Code: PC (L) No of Positions: 5Last Date: August 25

AROH Foundation, a reputed national-level NGO workingtowards social upliftment in the sectors of education andlivelihood seeks Project Coordinators in livelihood operations.

Project Location: Based at AROH Head Office in NOIDA.Travel to project sites at UP, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan,MP, North East, etc.

Key responsibilities of Project coordinator:

• Responsible for mobilsation, implementation, monitoring andreporting • Devise the plan of action within the team and in thefield • Coordinate and ensure media coverage of theprogramme in local newspapers/channels.

Eligibility Criteria: Minimum graduate in social science orequivalent background (preferably post graduate) with 4-5years of experience with a reputed NGO in a similar job profile.Excellent knowledge in the field of vocational training andskills development for rural areas and rural beneficiaries, andunderstanding the nature of livelihood projects. Goodcommand over written and spoken Hindi and Englishlanguages. The incumbent should have a two wheeler and alicense to drive and should be willing to travel to projectlocations.

Selection Criterion: A written test along with personal interviewwould be conducted on a specific date at a later time.

CTC Offered: In the range of 10 to 12K pm.

Send CVs with a covering letter, stating the job code in thesubject line at our Email Id: careers.aroh@gmail.com or applyby post mentioning job code on the envelope to AROHFoundation, F-52, Sector-8, Noida-201301. Ph 0120-3088073

PG Dip. In Hospital AdministrationHyderabad, Beginning Jan, 2012 .

Eligibility: Graduates in medicine, nursing, pharmacy, socialsciences, life sciences, administrative staff in hoipsitals. Below45 years

Cert. Course for Nurses for six months from Jan 2012-June 2012

Offered by CHAI, IGNOU, Public Health Management Institute,Loyola Community College. Socy of Comm Health Nurses ofIndia (SOCHNI)

Eligibility: Grad in B.Sc Nursing, Gen. Nursing & Midwiferywith 5 years experience, below 45 years of age. It will alsoempower them to use parallel/alt. systems of medicine. Thecert. course is meant to build the capacities of the nurses inproviding care, support and treatment to PLHA.

Appl. Forms av. At www.chai-india.com and emailed toinfo@chai-india.org. Printout to be sent to CHAI office. Reg.fee Rs. 500 Course fee: Scholarships sponsored by CHAIand incl. tuition fees, etc. Hostel accommodation available forsix weeks.

Contact: Dir.-Gen.,The Catholic Health Association of IndiaPB 2126,157/6 Staff Road, Gunrock Enclave, Secunderabad500009. Tel: 040-27848293/1610/27898756, Email:info@chai-india.org

expected salary, and three references, and write “StateDirector – Maharashtra / Karnataka” as applicable, in thesubject line of your e-mail/application and send to: Director-HR & Manpower Development, Human ResourcesDepartment, WWF-India, 172-B, Lodi Estate, New Delhi110 003. Email: recruitments@wwfindia.net

Manager – Research, New DelhiChild Rights and you (CRY) has a vacancy for aManaager – Research who will be responsible fordeveloping and updating the data bank on an ongoingbasis on the various issues covering child rights in orderto provide content and support to research and policyanalysis.

The role broadly involves data collection from varioussources, data mining and data sharing in line with requestfrom various functions. Support the management of theresearch portfolio by exploring multiple dimensions.Provide distilled information for research, advocacyinitiatives as a support to research and policy analysis.Support maintenance of up-to-date information and datasystems on research themes.

Quali and exp: Post - Graduate in Social Sciences /Statistics from a reputed institute with 5 – 7 yearsexperience and strong knowledge of researchmethodologies. Email your application tocareers@crymail.org mentioning preferred location & thepost applied for by Sept.

Senior Media Officer, Delhi

Media Officer, DelhiGreenpeace India has vacancy for two posts for its MediaUnit to develop media strategies and plans andcommunicate to the English & Hindi media aboutGreenpeace campaigns and other duties in the field ofinformation dissemination environmental issues, includingdeveloping a network of media contacts (print & electronicmedia) and interact with the journalists regularly (English/Hindi).

Qualifications More than 5 years of experience in handlingmedia (English/Hindi); Strong news sense; a degree inmass communication/journalism/public relations;Experience in developing and implementing mediastrategies; Ability to turnout PRs within a short time span,editing skills and preferably a flair for writing.

Compensation Sr.Media Officer: Rs. 526,284 per annum(cost to organization)

Compensation Media Officer: Rs. 404,844 per annum(cost to organization)

Send application by Sept 1, by email using the subject line“Senior Media Officer” or “Media Officer” to:hr.recruitment.in@greenpeace.org

Consultant (Econometrics) DelhiInternational Water Management Institute (IWMI)which is based in Sri Lanka and has regional offices in 12countries in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, is looking for aConsultant (Econometrics) based in IWMI New Delhi office.This is a fixed duration position of one year starting October2011. Competitive all-inclusive salary will be offered to theright candidate. You will work on an ongoing impactevaluation project. You will be also required to providedata analysis assistance to other researchers.

Quali and Exp. A Masters in Economics with aspecialization in Econometrics from a reputed University,one to three years of experience in working with a researchorganization, (however, fresh graduates with strongeconometric skills may also apply); an excellentunderstanding of cross section, time series and paneldata analysis techniques. The candidate must have usedsome or all of these in their Master’s thesis or as a part ofprevious research assignment, high level of competencyin database management and econometric packages suchas STATA, SAS, R or SPSS and excellent writing andcommunication skills to be supported by either publishedor unpublished papers and/or presentations made atconferences.

Apply with updated CV and a full list of publications - up tothree pieces of published/unpublished papers. (It may beterm papers/essays done as a part of your coursework),and three reference letter, of which at least one has to befrom teacher/supervisor who has taught you econometricsand another from past employer, if any.

Last date of application is August 31. For further informationon this position, please contact Dr. Aditi Mukherjia.mukherji@cgiar.org , www.iwmi.org

Research & CommunicationsInternship, Hyderabad

The Taara Collective, Hyderabad offers 4-6 monthsinternship in the field of Research & Communications. Jobresponsibilities include: assisting the CEO and StrategicBusiness Development with all project and administrativework, assisting in the assessment and implementation of

Research Associate, MumbaiADAPT (formerly the Spastics Society of India), a non-profitorganisation in Mumbai, working in the disability sector forover 37 years, is looking to fill a vacancy for the post ofResearch Associate specifically for a project (two years),and generally on other research activities of the organisation.The Research Associate will be working under the FounderChairperson. The job requirement includes among others: toidentify key techniques and strategies for evaluation andassessment of the project, to conduct independent research,both qualitative and quantitative, to conduct field visits relatedto the project, etc. Educational qualification: PhD in Education/Psychology/Child Development or other related fields.Remuneration: Rs 25,000 (based on skills and experience).Please email your CV and contact details of two referencesto: Ms Shahana Chatterjee: shahana.adapt@gmail.com

Secretary, MumbaiADAPT is looking to fill a vacancy for the post of Secretary.The position will be based at ADAPT’s Skills DevelopmentCentre in Chembur in Mumbai.

Job Profile: Providing secretarial and administrative supportto the Deputy Director and Senior Staff. Qualifications required:previous work experience in Secretarial and Administrativesupport positions and computer literate. Remuneration: Rs8,050 – Rs 10,000 per month (based on skills and experience).Only Mumbai-based candidates will be considered.

Email: shahana.adapt@gmail.com

Technical Specialist, New DelhiThe International Center for Research on Women has avacancy for the post of a Technical Specialist who will haveprincipal responsibilities and tasks of project management,research, monitoring and evaluation. Education quali:Master’s degree in a relevant field (economics, business,public policy, public administration)

Exp: Two to five years post-graduate relevant organizationalor field program experience. Previous research and/orprogram work experience at a global level is preferred.Experience with research for the private sector, monitoringand evaluation, and project management – including facilitatingpartner and donor relations, report writing, budgetmaintenance, and work planning – is preferred. Ability tocreate, maintain and align team with project workplans andbudgets. Prior experience interacting with donors (existingand potential), developing proposals, experience in planningand implementing monitoring and evaluation (M&E),proficiency in one or more of the following statistical software: SPSS, STATA, ATLAS, as well as widely-known researchmeasures (e.g., ARRM, HBM, etc).

Interested candidates are requested to submit a cover letterstating why you are suitable for this position and send theresume to arohr@icrw.org with subject line “TechnicalSpecialist 1”. Deadline for application: August 21, 2011.

State Directors –Mumbai and Bangalore

Last Date: August 21, 2011

Email: recruitments@wwfindia.net

World Wide Fund for Nature – India invites applications forthe post of State Directors for its Maharashtra & KarnatakaState offices in Mumbai and Bangalore

1. State Director – Maharashtra State Office: Mumbai

The Candidate will be responsible for interacting with theWWF-India’s programme staff, government, educational andscientific institutions, NGOs, the corporate world and themedia. The position offers challenge and demands innovationin carrying out environment education activities, field projects,fund-raising, interaction with the corporate sector andmarketing.

Quali and exp: The candidate must be a Graduate/PostGraduate (any stream) with excellent interpersonal andcommunication skill and knowledge of working in the NGOsector and issues related to conservation is essential.

2. State Director – Karnataka State Office: Bangalore,

The position requires heading and managing the KarnatakaState Office and leading the team; to keep a focus on the keyconservation issues and strategize the conceptualization,design and implementation of small conservation projectswithin the Karnataka State. Qualifications and experience:Graduate/Post Graduate (any stream) with goodcommunications and presentation skills, leadership skills andinitiative, ability to shoulder responsibilities and have the abilityto act independently, knowledge of working in the NGO sectorand issues related to conservation is essential,

Both positions require candidates to have 8-10 yearsexperience in a managerial position including experience inteam leadership, fund-raising, marketing, administration,budgeting & funding, project management.

Apply by 21st August 2011, along with a cover letter (notmore than 1 page) and an up-to-date CV, giving full detailsregarding compensation received in the present assignment,

May-June, July-Aug, 2011

10

NGO ConnectMay-June, July-Aug, 2011

Research and Advocacy AssociateBangalore

Sangama (www.sangama.org) a human rights organisationworking mainly with sexual minorities, sex workers and PLHIV(People Living with HIV) requires a full-time experiencedresearch and advocacy associate. Job Profile: involvesworking with the Project Director from concept design tocoordination and execution of research projects andadvocacy activities. The person will primarily be responsibleto facilitate, contribute and document the research workundertaken as well support the fellowship programme.

Quali & exp: At least 6 years relevant experience at a middle/senior position in human rights/ social justice/ communitycollectivization work, comfortable to work with working classsexual minorities/ sexworkers/ people living with HIV,committed to social justice in the context of class, caste,gender, sexuality, religion etc.

Skills required: to combine research, project managementand advocacy. A strong theoretical grounding and goodmethodological, analytical and writing skills (in English)required, to communicate in Kannada and to independentlyplan and coordinate training programmes

Salary will be based on experience and skills. Interestedcandidates can sent a brief bio to sangama@sangama.orgor shubha.chacko@gmail.com as soon as possible.

Volunteers Required, BangaloreDreamConnect programme requires Kannada-speakingvolunteers to empower 10th standard graduates / drop-outsaged 15+ years (Dream A Dream Alumni) by offering thetools and foundational life skills necessary for careerdevelopment.

Volunteers are needed to take sessions on English,Computers, Personality Development and WorkplaceReadiness. The sessions are held throughout the week andalso on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. Contact:Relationship Manager – iVolunteer Centres, Bangalore No10, KHB Colony, 8th Block, Koramangala,Bangalore - 560095. Tel: +91-80-41466568 Cell: +91-9481514972

Fellowship of the PhysicallyHandicapped

Mumbai

Seats are available for Vocational Training for thePhysically Challenged in twelve types of courses. Fouryears training with Stipend upto - Rs. 850/- P.M. & free lunch.Computer training provided simultaneously. Also opportunityto appear for Govt. Technical Exams.

Contact: Fellowship of the Physically Handicapped (FPH) -The Training Centre of Physically Handicapped, Lala LajpatraiMarg, Haji Ali, Mumbai - 400 034. Tel. (022) 23538476,23548490

Training, Logistics andFinance Officer, Kolkata

Project Pehchan (Job code CAL-PEH-TLFO-0811)

Solidarity and Action Against The HIV Infection in India(SAATHII) is implementing a long term project titled “ProjectPehchan: MSM, Hijra and TG Community SystemsStrengthening”, in partnership with emerging and existingCBOs in the states of West Bengal, Orissa, Jharkhand andManipur.

SAATHII is looking for a suitable individual for the post ofTraining, Logistics and Finance Officer, Project Pehchan.Who will take a lead role in the coordination of logisticsarrangements for the various trainings and capacity buildingactivities, which will be organized in the Eastern region underthe said project with the event management agency. S/he willalso be required to maintain the books of accounts on a dailybasis (including cash management) of this training unit. Hewill report to the Regional Training Coordinator, ProjectPehchan, as well as Administration and Finance Manager,Kolkata Office.

At least five years of experience in managing training logistics,finance and administrative work in the social developmentsector; Graduation or higher degree from a recognizeduniversity in commerce or financial management; Sound skillsin usage of the ERP version of Tally software.

Salary: A max. Rs.20,000/- per month as cost to organization.An initial contract of one year with a renewable option.

To apply: Submit a comprehensive CV in English with asupporting cover letter, including the names of three referees(preferably one should be a current or previous employer),as well as last salary earned, and whether able to joinimmediately or not. Applications should be sent by courier ore-mail to the following contact address, and be clearly marked:“Application for the post of Training, Logistics andFinance Officer, Project Pehchan” Contact address:Director, Kolkata Office, SAATHII, 229, Kalitala Main Road,Purbachal (North), Kolkata 700 078. E-mail:

saathii.jobs@gmail.com (CVs sent to any other e-mail ID willnot be entertained). Website: www.saathii.org Closing datefor applications: August 25, 2011

Volunteer Recruitment ProgramSocialCoin Foundation is a non-profit institution whichprovides individuals with a platform to do their bit for society.We help non-profit organizations by connecting them to donorswho are passionate about the NGO’s causes. We help youdonate, raise funds and sign/start a petition for a cause thrusocial media to encourage people to contribute towards socialcauses around them.

We are looking for enthusiastic volunteers to join us on apart-time basis for the following positions.

Public Relations (2 Pos) Establishing relations with socialorganizations and corporate houses.

Media, Design & Advertising (2 Pos) o Create and conceptdesigns for various events, marketing materials. the webdesign/layout.

Web/ Infrastructure (1 Pos) Creating and optimizing webapplications. Adding innovations and scalability to currentapplications.i

Write to info@social.coin.org

Deadline for Application is 15 August 2011

Development Consultant: NoidaMart Rural

Job profile: Provide technical support to various assignmentsof qualitative and quantitative social research, consultancyand implementation; Provide coordination and planning supportfor managing assignments; Undertake intensive field visits toassignment locations (all across India and neighboringcountries) as and when required.; Prepare reports, casestudies, presentations etc. and communication with clients

Remuneration: commensurate with qualifications and exp.See website www.martrural.com

Contact: Divya Kashyap, Partner, MART , A-32, 1st Floor,Sector 17, Noida – 201301 Ph-0120-4231092, 2512140Mobile-9910508397 email - divya.kashyap@martrural.com,www.martrural.com

Technical Consultant, IndiaFlour Fortification Initiative (FFI) Last Date: September 20, 2011 Email: quentin@quican.com

The Flour Fortification Initiative (FFI) began in 2004 as anetwork of public, private, and civic sector partners workingtogether to make flour fortification standard milling practicearound the world.

FFI is seeking a Technical Consultant based in India reportingto FFI Director, and FFI Technical and Training Coordinator.The Technical Consultant’s primary job is to extend technicalsupport for fortification within the flour milling industry;

QUAL: Master’s degree in business, public health, millingtechnology, food, nutrition or other relevant discipline orequivalent work experience. Significant experience (at least10 years) in the milling industry or food industry/foodfortification division; Deep knowledge and experience in keyfoods and nutrition content areas, understanding aboutstakeholder engagement, wheat supply chain, milling industryenvironment, regional and local trade barriers

Applicants may apply to Quentin Johnson, FFI Training andTechnical Coordinator at quentin@quican.com with a copyto skdutta@micronutrient.org along with your complete CVdetailing your qualification and experience. For more detailsrefer to www.ffinetwork.org.

Secretary to the DirectorCommonwealth Human Rights Initiative

Last Date: August 31, 2011

The secretary will be a detail oriented person for providingsecretarial and administrative support to the Director.

Quali:• Post Graduate with a Secretarial Course with minimumof the three years experience as a executive assistant/personal assistant/secretary to a Director/CEO/Chairpersonin the NGO,private or public Sector.

Type of Employment: Contractual (renewable).

Send A covering letter describing why the applicant considersoneself suitable for the job; Current and expected salary andearliest possible date of joining. Latest CV and Original writingsample of not more than 4 pages indicative of the applicantsanalytical and articulation skills; Two references who knowthe applicant in a professional capacity and are willing toprovide testimonials.

Please send your applications to radhey@humanrightsinitiative.org latest by 31st August 2011. All applicantsare advised to visit CHRI’s website

(www.humanrightsinitiative.org) to understand the nature ofour work before applying.

Human Resource Officer, BangaloreArghyam

Last date: August 25, 2011 Email: jobs@arghyam.org

Arghyam, a leading national charitable foundation hasdedicated itself to the cause of the poorest citizens throughthe cause of water. Arghyam’s mission is “Safe, sustainablewater for all”. For more than 5 years now, Arghyam has beendriving and supporting programs in rainwater harvesting,groundwater management, drinking water and sanitationprograms, water quality management etc. by working closelywith diverse multiple stakeholders, primarily in the civil societyand government space.http://arghyam.org

The HR Officer is a mid-level role at Arghyam’s office inBangalore that will work on formulating and implementing theHR strategy and activities at Arghyam. S/he will report to aSr. Finance Manager at Arghyam. and part of Administration.

Job Resp include: Develop, obtain management consent andfacilitate HR policies and procedures; . Manpower planning:Recruitment process: Motivation and employee relations;Performance Appraisal;. Documentation on all HR matters

Requirements: Master’s / Post Graduation or equal Degree /in HR ; Work experience of 2-5 years. Work experience indevelopment sector is desirable.

To apply, please send a cover letter and CV tojobs@arghyam.org with the subject line “Application forHuman Resource Officer”

Message Design Director, New Delhi Facts for Life

Last Date: September 8, 2011, Email: shantanum@miditech.tv

Kyunki… Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai is one of the most highlyrated entertainment education programs on Indiantelevision.The program is broadcast on Doordarshan..Themessages are primarily taken from the UNICEF’s ‘Fact forLife’ and are focused on providing viewers with the informationthey need to save and improve the lives of children andwomen. They also include girls’ education, social inclusionand HIV AIDS.

Under the overall guidance of the Executive Producer, and inclose coordination with the Series Director and Producer, theMessage Design Director will be responsible for thecoordination, planning, development, and management of theMessage Design Unit charged with ensuring the adequacyand controlling the quality of messages and other factualcontent associated with the substance, structure, and styleof the Facts for Life entertainment-education dramaserial.

Qual: Doctoral degree or equivalent background in social/behavioural sciences, with specialised training in qualitativeand quantitative research and analysis, behaviour changecommunication, social statistics, social marketing, and/orcommunication planning; Prior public broadcasting, and/orfield experience in Hindi-speaking states preferred, Minimum7 to 8 years relevant experience

Centre for Science andEnvironment, Delhi

Area Sales Managers

Last Date: September 8, 2011 Email: jgupta@cseindia.org

CSE is looking for Senior level Managers with at least 10 – 15years of experience in selling magazines, handling circulationsetc. Current vacancies are for the northern and southernregions.

Key responsibilities will include selling our in-houseenvironmental products such as Magazine, books, films andjournals to schools, colleges, industry and the Governmentdepartments, besides booksellers and vendors. A genuineinterest in environmental affairs is required to understand ourproducts and market accordingly. A postgraduate degree,preferably MBA in Marketing will be an added advantage.

Salary will not be a constraint for the right candidate.

Space Marketer, Delhi

CSE is also looking for Senior level Managers, with minimum8-10 years of experience in space selling for Down To Earth(DTE). Those with prior experience of working in these lineswould be preferred.

Candidate must have a genuine interest in environmentalaffairs to be able to understand our products and marketaccordingly. A postgraduate degree, preferably MBA inMarketing will be an added advantage.

Salary will match industry standards. Post/email your resumealong with photo, stating your current and expected salary,to:Ms. Jagdeep Gupta (Executive Director - Operations),Centre for Science and Environment,41, TughlakabadInstitutional Area, New Delhi – 110062, Tel: 29956394/6339/5124 Fax: 29955879, Website: www.cseindia.org

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OPPORTUNITIES (despite deadlines, you are advised to apply)

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MediaMediaMediaMediaMediaBOOKS

Vertical City34 min.HD, Hindi and English

In the far suburbs of Bombayresidents from slums are given freehouses in high-rise buildingcomplexes with the promise of abetter life. The State imagined theseconstructions as the realisation ofan urban utopia. But the project isseen as a move to free prime slumland for commercial development.The complexes soon degenerateinto places worse than slums. Thefilm lets the viewer experience theliving conditions of places hiddenaway in a 21st centurymetropolis.

Dilli25 min. Hindi and English

Millions of people across India leavebehind their homes and families, inthe hope of finding a better life inDelhi. Completing 100 years as thecapital of modern India, Delhi todaystands at the crossroads of time.Among the fastest growing cities inthe world, this is also the city that ishome to India’s second largest slumpopulation.

Shot in the heart of this bustlingmegapolis, ‘Dilli’ finds its storytellersin the men, women and children whoare the invisible hands that continueto build this city of dreams.

the line? By circumstances, throughneed, or just by a desire to dare themagical line? women who aretrafficked into the sex trade Interpol

UnderstandingTrafficking Dir. Ananya Chatterjee-Chakraborti

“Understanding Trafficking” won theNational Award this year for thecategory “Best documentary onSocial Issues” The film seeks toconvey that it is wrong to classifyall women who make it to the world’soldest profession as victims oftrafficking. Using the metaphor ofSita (of the Ramayana) who steppedout of her bounds and got whiskedaway by the forces of evil, thefilmmaker attempts to go beyond thefigures to understand the socialmilieu that causes women fromNepal, India and Bangladesh to betrafficked across internationalborders in eastern India.

The fi lmmaker stresses theimportant distinction betweenmigration and trafficking. Focusingon the former, she points out thatmigration by both rich and poor forbetter prospects has alwaysexisted and will always exist.Nations must recognise this andformulate an appropriate policy todeal with it. Lack of such a policy inNepal has opened the floodgates ofcorruption in that country, whilesending countless women migrantsto their doom.

Contact: Ananya C. Chakraborti, AACalcutta. Telefax: 00 91(33) 23596303, 23375757, Mobile: 00 9194326 73737 email :cinemawoman2004@ yahoo.co.inwebsite: www.cinema woman.in

Aapa AkkaThe story of a girl and her searchfor a God who is beyond aparticular religion. Reshma who liveswith her brother Noor in a templetown on the banks of the riverKrishna is fascinated by the truestory of Akka Mahadevi. AkkaMahadevi, a poetess of the 12thcentury, who intoxicated with herlove for God, roamed naked in totaldisregard to social norms.

Marching TowardsEquality

Marching Towards Equalitydocuments Reservation Karwanswhich travelled over 30,000kms andtouched over 50 villages, towns andcities. 350 women organisations,groups from across Indiaparticipated in the reservationkarwan demanding 33%reservation for women in Parliamentand assemblies and immediatepassage of the Women ReservationBill. Contact: Anhad Media, AnhadProduction House Pvt Ltd E-1-2,Z111/9, RV Apartments,Kishangarh, New Delhi-110070

The Miracle WaterVillage

English, 12 mins., 2010Dir. Rintu Thomas & SushmitGhosh

The film is an inspirational story ofan impoverished farmingcommunity in India that reversed itsfortunes through its visionary modelof water management. Lying in oneof the worst drought-prone regionsof India, the village of Hiware Bazarbattled many decades of sparse rainand failed crops. However, 20 yearsago, the entire village came togetherto script a silent revolution bydesigning a rainwater-harvestingmodel that saved every drop of thescanty rain they received. Today,the village is literally an oasis in themiddle of the desert, boasting ofbumper harvests, dairy cooperatives, millionaire families andvisionary farmers.

The GroundwaterUp Project

Eng/Hindi, 36mins, 2010Dir. Tarini Manchanda,Katie Gillett, and Moriah Mason

The film is about people who aretrying to rejuvenate Delhi’s baolis(step wells) and lakes, and schoolkids who are harvesting rain water,who organsie a river clean upevent with music and dancing.Listen to stories of struggleand Satyagraha. The film doesn’tsolve Delhi’s “water crises”, but itexplores current solutions like damsand sewage treatment plants. Itdiscovers ideas in unexpectedplaces and highlights peoplepursuing creative solutions.

NEWSFestival of EmergingCinemas was held at Gulmohar,Habitat Centre from August 8 - 12,organised by the India Chapter ofIAWRT (International Associationfor Women in Radio and Television)in association with IHC.The festivalpresented feature films, short fiction,documentaries and music videosmade in the towns and semi urbanareas of India.

The Festival of EmergingCinemas is a celebration of thediversity in creative expression ofthe cinemas that are emerging inthe towns and villages of India.These are made by people drivenby love for cinema and/orirrepressible urge to talk about asocial or political issue. Curated byJai Chandiram & AnupamaSrinivasan Baha

Movies shown:

Sadri/Nagpuri, 112 min, 2009Dir: Shriprakash

A young tribal man’s dream ofbecoming a singer against thebackdrop of the Jharkhand musicindustry

Malegaon Ke Sholay(Hindi, 150 min, 1999)Dir: Shaikh Nasir

An innovative and delightfulreworking of the Bollywood classic‘Sholay’

The Lament of Niyamraja(Kondh, 13 min, 2007)Dir: Suryashankar Dash

The song of a mountain that is soldto a mining company by thegovernment, sung by a bard of theDongaria Kondh adivasi communitywho consider the mountain sacred

Gadi Lohardaga Mail(Nagpuri, 27 min, 2006)Dir: Meghnath & Biju Toppo

A musical journey intertwining thepathos of the peoples’ struggle forsurvival and the end of a narrowgauge train between Ranchi andLohardaga

Sona Gahi Pinjara(Kurukhi, 20 min, 2006)Dir: Biju Toppo

A musical short fiction film abouthow people from tribal communitiesare unable to attend their festivalsback home because the official setup does not recognise them

Tokskal (Ladhaki, 80 min, 2004)Dir : Jigmet Omachik

A historical costume drama basedon a traditional Ladhaki taleexploring truth and love

The Sun is still not Setting (Manipuri, 27 min, 2010)Dir: Suvas Elangbam

A poignant film that captures thesimplicity and gentleness in the lifeof a l itt le girl l iving with hergrandfather in the backdrop of strifetorn Imphal

Brief Companion in a CapitalCity (Manipuri, 65 min, 2009)Dir : Dorendra Waribam

A deeply personal exploration of thecity of Delhi through the eyes of an‘outsider’.

Contact: jaichandiram@yahoo.co.inonusrinivasan@hotmail.com

Mumbai International FilmFestival for Documentary, Shortand Animation Films(MIFF). 12th MumbaiInternational Film Festival (MIFF– 2012) is scheduled to be heldfrom 3rd to 9th February, 2012in Mumbai. MIFF” <miffindia@gmail.com>

EXPERIMENTA India – theinternational festival for movingimage art in India, seeks artists’films and videos from any countrythat challenge popular andconventional modes of cinema.

Preview copies must be submittedfor selection purposes. All lengthsof film are considered. Submitentries as soon as possible. Thefinaldeadline for receipt of submissionsin 10th September 2011.

EXPERIMENTA is a curated filmfestival, and will be held in Bangalorefrom December 1-4 2011.

For more information onEXPERIMENTA visit: www.experimenta.in

12th Bitfilm Festival for DigitalFilm : Call for Entries Submissiondeadline: 01.09.2011

Since the year 2000 the BitfilmFestival has been showing films thatuse digital technology in a creativeand innovative way.Since 2006 allour films can be watched online, theworldwide audience decides on theBitfilm Awards.In 2011 the BitfilmFestival will take place on theInternet, in Germany’s media

capital Hamburg and in India’shi-tech metropolis Bangalore.

The 3D SPACE category is openfor films of all genres which areentirely computer generated,using 3D animation software.

The FX MIX category is open forfilms of all genres which mixvarious techniques digitally, eg.3D animation, 2D animation and liveaction.

The MACHINIMA category is openfor films of all genres which areshot l ive inside a computergame or a virtual world like SecondLife.

All Categories - There is no limit inlength or size. We accept freeartistic works as well as musicvideos or commercials. We onlyaccept submissions which areuploaded as video files. All submittedvideos wil l also appear inour YouTube channel.

Information on prize money.

>> submit your film. http://bitfilm.de/festival/daten.php?page=fd&category=MA

“Qamar AzadHashmi”

10 min. Hindustani

A woman who threw away her burqaat the age of 9, wrote her first bookat the age of 69, did her M.A. at theage of 70, learnt Persian so shecould get her father’s poetrypublished, spent years underextreme poverty and did not giveup.

We are celebrating a woman, herwill, her strength, her determinationand her vibrancy. We are making afilm on Qamar Azad Hashmi alsoknown as Ammaji. It is a film abouther life and the never say dieattitude that she has had even inthe worst of times. A woman whonot only inspired others but alsogave strength to them and madethem better and stronger people. Itis a film about the struggle that sheand her family had to go throughand how they came out of it. It is alife that not only gives hope to peoplearound her to fight against all oddsand emerge as a winner

Andhere Se PehleDirected by Ajay TG, 33 mins., ACMCS ProductionJuly 7, 2011, !8.30Room No. 4, TISS Main Campus

In the name of development, triballand is routinely grabbed or illegallyacquired by private companies inIndia. In the Raigarh district ofChhatisgarh, farmers are caught ina search for justice against theJindal Thermal Power Plant.

Alongside testimonies by desperatefarmers, this film documents theirdetermined protest against animpending public hearing that willdecide the expansion of the powerplant in Tamnar.

The Latent CityA film on the transformative momentof Delhi and it’s ecological andpolitical ramifications, lookedthrough the eyes of art and artists,got the Golden Eagle Grand Prix(21st July) at Campulung, Romania,at the DocumentArt film festival. Thefilm was created by KrishnenduBose in 2009. The film could beviewed at <http://www. cultureunplugged.com/documentary/watch-online/festival/play/5936/The-Latent-City>

Krishnendu BoseMember of IUCN Commission onEducation and CommunicationEarthcare ProductionsB-91, Defence ColonyNew Delhi IndiaOff- 91-11-24334171, 24332005Cell- +91-9811843111Website<www.earthcarefilms.com>

A Living Faith: My Quest forPeace, Harmony and SocialChange

By Asghar Ali Engineer

His auto biography was released inNew Delhi on 20 July by VicePresident of India Shri Hamid Ansariin the presence of Swami Agnivesh.Shri Hamid Ansari praised Dr.Engineer’s courage and his struggleagainst priesthood in his owncommunity. He described him asmodern day Espinoza. Espinoza,Hamid Ansari Saheb said, was alsoexcommunicated because hefought against orthodoxy in his ownreligion and Dr. Engineer also hasbeen excommunicated bypriesthood of his own community.

Dr. Engineer’s autobiography iswritten in simple language speaksbriefly about his belief, about hisstruggle and about his experiences.He said the essence of religion is invalues and not in rituals, any onecan perform rituals and projectherself/himself as religious. But topractice values one has to makesacrifices, has to be truthful, has tobe honest, has to be just andcompassionate.

He said there are five fundamentalvalues in Quran i.e. Truth (Haq),Justice (Adl), doing good to others(Ihsan) compassion (Rahmah) andwisdom (Hikmah). These are Allah’snames also. Other religions alsoshare these values. Dr. Engineeralso said that iit is my firm beliefthat power should be separated fromreligion and power corrupts religion,the two should never cometogether.

May-June, July-Aug, 2011

Swami Agnivesh and Asghar Ali Engineer at the release of his book

FILMS

BOOKS

12

NGO Connect

The Prophet ofNon Violence

Spirit of Peace, Compassion andUniversality in Islamby Asghar Ali Engineer,Vitasta Publishing Pvt. Limited, NewDelh,2011, pages 246, Rs 395, HB)

Last three decades have been theworst as far as negative projectionof Islam is concerned. A religionwhich had come to establish peacein the region came to be presentedas a religion of violence.

Popular perceptions about Islam asa religion and its various aspectswere so modulated to present themas if the followers of this faith aremoving around with bombs andswords.

It is in this background that AsgharAli Engineer’s popular work, seepedin profound scholarship comes asa breath of fresh air, presenting thetruth of the religion as propagatedby Prophet Mohammad.

The book is a compilation of 19 ofhis essays, contributed periodicallyand they address a vast range ofsubjects from the basic teachingsof the prophet, concept of war andpeace, values of justice, status ofwomen and finally a commentary onsocial issues. Engineer does well torefer to Koran as the base of hisunder- standing and explains thetruth behind the misconceptionspopularized by the motivated.

His contention is that many preceptsand misconceptions have beenthere due to the history of Muslims,Muslim Kings and clergy who fortheir vested interests havemisrepresented the teachings ofKoran, to suit their political and socialinterests.

He places most of the teachings inthe Koran in their proper context toelaborate the truth of teachings ofthe contributions of Prophet to thedevelopment of values of humanismin the World.

Non violence in Islam is a matter ofdeeper conviction and not of mereconvenience. While building theIslamic community the Prophet wasconscience that there should be fullfreedom of faith for those notfollowing Islam.

And so the adage; there cannot beany compulsion in matters ofreligion. Violence was a strict “no”for him except as a last resort inself defense. All battles fought byProphet were defensive battles.

Similarly, Jihad, the much abusedword, was the word abused byMuslim Kings for conquering lands.These military expeditions weretitled Jihad but had nothing to do withspreading the values of Islam in anyway.

Engineer makes a valuable pointthat Islam talks of building a societyand not a state. Despite that thereare Muslim countries which havecarved their path to democraciesdespite mammoth obstacles.Currently a big section of ArabWorld is struggling to overthrow thedictatorship or puppet regimes tobring in democratic regimes.

Even the perception of Islam beingagainst Human rights is baselessas Equality is central to Islamicteachings. In India the birth basedinequality of caste system had beenthe major factor for low casteshudras embracing Islam to escapethe caste tyranny.

The other essays in the bookelaborate the concept of rights ofwomen.

This book is a timely intervention inthe global debate on the nature ofIslam. It is a mammoth task toensure that Islam is seen throughthe pages of Koran.

India’sEnvironmental

History—Rangarajan Mahesh andK Sivaramakrishnan (Eds) (2011).

Vol. 1: From Ancient Times to theColonial Period;Vol. 2: Colonialism, Modernity, andthe Nation. Permanent Black, India

Rs. 1850, for the two volume set

Vol. 1 contains essays that coverthe period from prehistoric times tothe middle of the nineteenth century,while Vol. 2 shows how colonial ruleresulted in ecological change on anew scale altogether.

Pocketful of ForestsLegal debates aroundcompensation and valuation offorest loss in India

Contributory amount: Rs. 200

Kohli, Kanchi, Manju Menon, VikalSamadariya & SreetamaGuptabhaya.

Kalpavriksh, India (2011)

The publication examines the stepsthat led to the setting up of theCompensatory AfforestationPlanning and Management Authority(CAMPA) and the method ofcalculating the Net Present Value(NPV) of forests.

The arguments that have takenplace between the judiciary, theexecutive and the Parliament since1999 are valuable material for thoseinterested in matters of forestconservation and forestgovernance. They touch uponCentre-State relations, the political,administrative and technical notionsof forests and the role of negotiationin policymaking.

This report was supported byWWFIndia’s Civil SocietyCollaboration for EnvironmentGovernance Initiative.

Contact: Vikal Samdariya,Kalpavriksh.Email: vikalgreen@gmail.com

Law Like LoveQueer Perspectives on Law

Arvind Narrain & Alok Gupta,Eds.; Yoda Press, 2011

With the landmark Delhi High Courtvictory in July 2009, sexuality andthe law entered mainstream, legaland public discourse in India invitingboth celebration and resistance.How do we understand thisconversation? The July judgementstands on the shoulders of a muchlonger history, argue the writers inthis contemporary and criticalvolume on queering the law. Alonger history that shapes, unsettlesand challenges both legal and queerhistories and begins newconversations on the intersectionsbetween bodies, politics, activism,sexuality, identity and law. Someplayful, some critical and othersreflective and irreverent, this uniquecollection of pieces brings the life,structures and institutions of lawalive and shine with relevance in thecontemporary moment.

About the Authors: ArvindNarrain is a human rights activistand lawyer with the Alternative LawForum, Bangalore, of which he is afounder member. He is the authorof Queer: Despised Sexuality, Lawand Social Change (2004) and co-editor of Because I Have a Voice:Queer Politics in India (2005). AlokGupta is a lawyer and queer rightsactivist.

Available at: Alternative LawForum,122/4 Infantry Road,Opposite Infantry Wedding House,Bangalore 560001.Phone22868757/22865757

The Right toInformation and Privacy

Balancing rights and managingconflicts

by David Banisar

Published by World Bank Institute

Governance Working Paper series,2011

The relationship between privacyand Right to Information laws iscurrently the subject of considerabledebate around the globe ascountries are increasingly adoptingthese types of legislation. To date,more than 50 countries haveadopted both laws.

On first inspection, it would appearthat the right of access to informationand the right to protection ofpersonal privacy are irreconcilable.However the reality is morecomplex.

For the most part, these two rightscomplement each other in holdinggovernments accountable toindividuals. But there is a potentialconflict between these rights whenthere is a demand for access topersonal information held bygovernment bodies.

Focusing on the cases of Ireland,Mexico, Slovenia and the UK, whilealso looking at other experiences,this paper examines legislative andstructural means to better defineand balance the rights to privacyand to information.

For more information click on: http://wbi.worldbank.org/wbi/news/2011/03/10/available-now-new-working-paper-right-information-and-privacy

All matter in the newsletter is published with the best of intentions. Printed, Published and owned by Rima Kashyap. Printed at W Q Judge Press, 97, Residency Road,Bangalore - 560 025, Published by : Shakti C/o ERA, N. M. Wadia Bldg, 123 M G Road, Mumbai 400 001 Tel. 9820339608.

E-mail : shaktisrc@yahoo.com Editor : Rima Kashyap. Design : Rajeshwari

May-June, July-Aug, 2011

Real Heroes AwardThe Head Held High program hasbeen awarded the “Real Heroes”award by CNN-IBN. Project Directorand co-founder, Rajesh Bhat, of theHead Held High program was giventhe award on Aug 17th in Bombay.

Koppal: Rajesh Bhat, who is just27 years of age, runs The HeadHeld High Foundation, which isturning illiterate villagers into BPOemployees. eg At the speed of 40words per minute, Rameshprocesses insurance forms.Ramesh and Yankamma try theirbest to meet the targets in the tinyrural BPO.

Rajesh runs The Head Held HighFoundation in Koppal, one of themost backward districts inKarnataka.

“Our intention is to enable everyvillager, irrespective of whatever thebackground, caste, creed, religionto live a life of dignity with their headheld high and give them an

opportunity without charity,” Rajeshsaid.

In 2007, Rajesh, a softwareengineer, with a friend started anexperiment that began with just eightvillagers who had little or no formaleducation and in over eight months,the results began to show.

After achieving sucess with the firsteight, Rajesh and his friends openedthe centre in Koppal. There,students often gather to sing outtheir lessons, they are taughtEnglish, Maths, logic, life skills andthe basics of personal grooming.

Rajesh said, “We did somethingcalled village reach programmewhere people we trained went backto their villages and trained 900 kidsin 31 different villages.”

Head Held High has reached 113students so far. After the training iscomplete, the students get inductedinto the BPO setup which has twodifferent states. Our intention is tosee whether we can work in the 100most backward districts in India,”Rajesh said.

The India Idea

Ed. by L.K. Sharma; photo-researched and edited by ShobitArya

Publ. :Wisdom Tree

The book was launched in thepresence of MS Swaminathan,Union Min. of State for Science &Technology, who lauded the menand women who innovated andused their ideas and applications togive India its competitive edge.

The cofee table book is richly visualand showcases innovations like theJaipur foot, Green Footprint andSolar sisters of Tilonia, Mumbai’sdabbawallas (of course!), Mashaqs-the traditional Indian leather waterbags, Dr. Devi Shetty and NarayanHrudalaya.

He also includes Murugunathanwho invented a machine to makeinexpensive sanitary napkins fordistribution through womens co-operatives in the rural areas.

Beginner’s Guide to the GlobalFund

2nd Edition

The guide is designed to provide abroad introduction to the GlobalFund for people who have little orno prior experience of the Fund,including new members of countrycoordinating mechanisms (CCMs),new principal recipients (PRs), newsub-recipients (SRs) - or new staffin existing PRs and SRs - as well asgovernment officials,

NGOs, donors, and journalists whoreport on the Fund.

This guide comes in three forms:the full guide (about 60 pages); aneight-page summary, and a two-page summary. French, Spanishand Russian-language versions willbe posted on the Aidspan websitein April. The English-languageversion of the Guide is now availableat <http://www.aidspan. org/guides

From L, Shobit Arya of WisdomTree, Navdeep Suri of MEA, AshwiniKumar, LK Sharma and MS Swaminathan, MoS for Sc & Tech

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