Transforming India

Ministry of Rural Development 21-February, 2012 18:43 IST
ASHA workers will be roped in to create awareness on sanitation, says Jairam
The Union Minister of Rural Development Sh Jairam Ramesh has said that issues like Sanitation and Drinking water should become the main national agenda to ensure a healthy national outlook. Addressing the second meeting of National Drinking Water and Sanitation Council here, the Minister said, he is hopeful of 40 to 60 percent increase in the budgetary allocation for drinking water and Sanitation, which stands at Rs 10,000 crore at present. He said, health, sanitation and water supply should not be treated as separate issues, as they impact on each other and should be seen in a holistic framework. Shri Ramesh said that nearly eight lakh ASHA workers working in the health sector will be roped in for creating awareness about sanitation issues in rural areas and appropriate incentives will be given to them. He also informed that the allocation of Rs 3,000 for creating individual toilets will be increased to about Rs 7,000, but at the same time added that the focus will shift from individual toilets to community ones, where the Gram Panchayats will be the sheet anchor of the programme. SNC (Release ID :80441)
Create awareness of Hygiene and Sanitation

Comment: We need to applaud Jairam for his vision and bold initiative in transforming India of garbage, open defecation, public urination, filth, open sewers, contaminated drinking water and abysmal sanitation. A small step in the direction of a major and a gigantic challenge. The funds allotted is peanuts- Civic sense must be imparted, administered and cultivated in the schools and colleges. A great opportunity for all veteran organisations to get into the act of nation building instead of withering away our organisational assets.

Green Governance: Indian Army joins hands with ICICI

Indian Army-ICICI Bank
The Indian Army has joined hands with ‘The Green Governance Programme’ of ICICI Bank to implement projects like rainwater harvesting, ground water rejuvenation, construction of check dams and water treatment/de-siltation of water bodies, New & Renewable Energy Initiatives etc. The Indian Army Environment and Ecology Cell functioning under the Quarter Master General’s Branch at the Army Headquarters in New Delhi, is the nodal implementing agency for the various projects under this programme. The project is expected to enhance the biodiversity conservation potential of the Indian Army’s various establishments, such as cantonments, depots, maneuver areas and military farms. The project also involves spreading awareness on ecology and biodiversity related concepts among school children.
To increase awareness of the project, General VK Singh, Chief of The Army Staff released two Coffee Table Books named ‘A Saga in Stone’ and ‘Friends of the Earth’ on 22 September 2011. The two books present a facet of the Indian Army largely unknown to most and emphasize the commitment of Indian Army towards preservation of our heritage and culture and its resolve to arrest and conserve environmental degradation. S Om Singh/Dhup Singh/Ganesh
(Release ID :76160)
Indian Army-ICICI Bank
Comment: Can Veterans contribute to Green Governance? All ESM organisations need to incorporate/ aid green governance and technologies in their aims and goals.

Real Idea of India

Fri, 24 December, 2010 10:45:45 AM
Subject: Real Idea of India - From Anand, Office of Mr. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Member of Parliament
Greetings.
Mr. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Member of Parliament shares a photograph of a brilliant and extremely thoughtful signpost put up by the Indian Army that captures the essence of being an Indian. The photograph speaks volumes about Indian Army and the Real Idea of India.
Visit Rajeev web page: click here
Will be grateful to your feedback.
Mr. Chandrasekhar extends his Best Wishes for the Season and for the coming New Year.
Best Regards
V.Anand
Principal - Public Affairs,
Office of Rajeev Chandrasekhar,
Member of Parliament

Happy Diwali 2010

RMS Team and Forum wish all its Readers a very happy, prosperous and safe Diwali. Let us perceive brightness in all walks of life. On this Festival of Lights, let us pray that all the dark forces of terrorism, corruption, Adulteration Inflation be eliminated from our lives. Let the good prevail over the evil... This be our wish this Diwali.

Incredible India, can we have a Clean India?

Peeing and spitting has become the National Hobby- You cannot miss or mask it
“Are you on the side of those who make India hang her head in shame or those who raise her head in pride,” asks Aamir Khan in an ‘Incredible India' advertisement. I am as big a patriot as is the next person, but sometimes, queries buzz about inside my head querulously. Is there any harm in talking about those aspects of our country that could be wished away!

Do you need that big gob of spit that just misses your big toe on your way to an important appointment? Or that red-flecked liquid spewed out so casually in a traffic snarl? What could be worse than that giant phlegm-filled hawk that begins from deep inside a champion ‘spitter', making you wince and shut your eyes and ears in anticipation of the actual event? And those artistic red squiggles on pristine walls, winding staircases, and ironically, below signs which scream “Please do not spit here!”

What about the male members of the human species with undoubtedly canine habits, when they sight a vacant wall, and proceed to let loose in public? The movie Three Idiots has a funny yet effective way of dealing with this, where the culprit receives a gentle jolt, just enough to bring him to his senses, yet does no permanent harm! Pedestrians are often caught between the devil and the deep blue sea; is it safer to sink into excreta, or step off the pavement and be hit by a bus! Tread on mush or turn into mush, as it were!

The tagline of Lays Chips (no one can eat just one!) rings true as one perceives bright wrappers forming part of the vast garbage dump that our roads have turned into. Plastic bottles, cans, fruit peels and groundnut shells turn the picture murkier! On one memorable suburban train ride from Guindy to Chetpet in Chennai, I walked in confidently to a deserted corner in the ladies' compartment, only to be assailed by a stench that made my insides churn. Someone had let her child squat on the floor and left the evidence behind! ‘Incredible India', anyone?
Forget about Incredible India, can we have a Clean India? by DEEPTI MENON: The Hindu
Related news:
Expanding cities, vanishing space for citizens by T. R. Bhat: The Hindu