Calling all gram panchayats in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka – Google.org’s Inform and Empower Initiative wants to know the top five panchayats in each of these two states that are using innovation and good governance. According to the Google.org blog,

The prize…

PepsiCo Foundation has awarded two grants, totaling $76 million, to sustainable water and sanitation efforts by WaterPartners and Safe Water Network. The PR release describes each program. WaterPartners will use the award to implement their WaterCredit program:

The WaterCredit program in India has two main…

An article in The Economic Times blames India’s water woes on human activity, as detailed in a report released by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham). The secretary-general of Assocham, D S Rawat, said:

India’s water crisis is predominantly a…

Here is the daily dose of headlines:

• Water supply: In Chennai, city officials have made it mandatory that buildings connected to the main water supply install meters to measure consumption.
• Government transparency: The Central Information Commission (CIC) will now require political parties to…

Your daily dose of headlines:

• International: The US government has put India on its ‘Priority Watch List’, along with nine other countries, saying that the country’s failure to protect Intellectual Property Rights is putting health, safety and jobs of its citizens at…

• Agriculture: PM Singh to visit Bihar to begin implementation of statewide agricultural development plan.
• Hogenakkal and Water: The decision of Tamil Nadu’s CM to delay decision on project has been questioned for having political motivations. The Times of India takes a look back on four…

• Water and environment: Cross-state water supply link will not be stopped by political maneuvering, says CM. Moving to Varanasi, the National Water Conference is underway. Finally, in protest to the company’s water usage and other environmental abuses, a UP community shuts down Coca-Cola Plant.
• Research: First…

Some headlines to start your evening off right:

• The government of Himachal Pradesh announced at a three-day international conference this weekend that they are drafting a master plan for the development of backpack tourism in the state through strategic public private…

This past week I was in Costa Rica on vacation, and while the trip was no doubt amazing it kept me away from a computer and thus unable to blog. However, the trip did give me sometime to catchup on…

• Rural Supply Chain MokshaYug Access Gets $2 Million Funding from Unitus

A rural supply chain firm MokshaYug Access (MYA) has received funding of Rs 8.35 crore ($2 million) from Unitus Equity Fund L P (UEF), an Unitus supported organisation to fund microfinance…