Water Fest 2024, themed "Ek Pavitra Bandhan," explored the dual role of waterbodies for rituals and recreation. Debates highlighted the need for a delicate balance, emphasising environmental stewardship and sustainable practices.

#Ministry of Jal Shakti #WaterAid #Center for Global Affairs and Public Policy

The session was organised to review the awards, ways to strengthen it and to ensure more applications are received.

#Womenempowerment

*Department of Science & Technology

This year, Development Alternatives (DA) embarked on a mission to document its grassroots work in Bundelkhand, through the power of photography. Through the lens, narratives of resilience, innovation, and community spirit unfolded.

#Photostory

The Kaun Banegi Business Leader (KBBL) Finale event, held in Jhansi, to promote women's entrepreneurship and get innovative ideas for non-traditional enterprises.

#KaunBanegiBusinessLeader

Development Alternatives, in collaboration with Transform Rural India, recently inaugurated a pioneering 60kWp solar mini-grid in Mihinpurwa, Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh.

#energytransition

Development Alternatives has recently inaugurated its first Shakti Kendra on this Republic Day in Badagaon, Jhansi, marking a significant stride towards sustainability and women empowerment.

#Equality4Progress

Development Alternatives and TARA together participated in the General Assembly of the PAANIWATER Project which was held at the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute in Nagpur, Maharashtra. Efforts were made to ensure sustainability of drinking and wastewater technologies. 200 Indian Airforce Officers were trained on wastewater treatment and reuse at Vayusena Nagar in Nagpur, Maharashtra.

#CleanWater

Development Alternatives participated in the Livelihoods India Summit 2023 held from 17th to 18th January 2024 in New Delhi.

#InclusiveEntrepreneurship

Zeenat Niazi, Senior Vice President, Development Alternatives spoke at the CRDT Foundation Day in Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. She described DA’s 40-year journey in shaping sustainable housing solutions from climate-resistant materials to community-driven initiatives, and how DA is tackling affordability, access, and environmental impact across rural and urban landscapes.

#SustainableHousing

A one-day workshop was conducted with 15 Gram Vaani volunteers in Jhansi on the social innovation approach of micro-enterprise development. The session was conducted to orient the volunteers on listening and co-creation processes as per social innovation methodology.

#Equality4Progress

Department of Mines & Geology, Government of Nepal, Nepal Cement Manufacturers’ Association (NCMA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the launch of the Limestone Calcined Clay (LC3) in Nepal with TARA (Technology & Action for Rural Advancement). This launch is a counter offensive against the adverse effects of Climate Change and to reduce Nepal’s Carbon footprint.

#SustainableDevelopment

Development Alternatives participated in the USAID pre-solicitation workshop on Marine and Coastal Conservation in Bengaluru. USAID representatives discussed initiatives, strategies, and objectives of their coastal and marine interventions. The workshop included guidance on responding to USAID solicitations and successful stakeholder engagement.

#coastaland marine conservation

On the 9th of January 2024, Development Alternatives Group, New Delhi, organised a Policy Frameworks working group consultation for the project ‘Transforming the Built Environment through Sustainable Materials’, with the support of the XIM, Bhubaneswar.

#circularbuiltenvironment

A consultation on ‘Exploring Pathways to Scale Inclusive Entrepreneurship in Uttar Pradesh’ was hosted by Development Alternatives (DA) along with the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) on 29th November 2023 in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

#InclusiveEntrepreneurship

Weeklong job readiness and soft skills training programmes organised in three women’s colleges in Sonipat under the Prabhat Skills to Livelihood programme to upskill the women students.

#Equality4Progress

In a collaborative effort led by Development Alternatives (DA) with the UNDP, BSPCB and the University of Nottingham, reports on a successful demonstration conducted in Bihar through GeoAI Platform to mitigate pollution was released. To tackle the menace of air pollution, Geo AI, is used for diverse applications, such as Segmentation, Object Detection, Feature Extraction, Image Classification, change detection and many more analyses that can be applied. A user-friendly mobile and web application supports government agencies in Bihar to conduct field inspection and regulate brick kilns.

#ArtificialIntelligence

The Aarya Manch, a platform where women e-rickshaw entrepreneurs actively engage in dialogues with local system stakeholders, recently held its third edition with a focus on e-mobility ancillary services.

#AaryaManch

The District Entrepreneurship Coalition is a networking platform initiated by Development Alternatives for gathering, bringing together visionary entrepreneurs, innovators, and change-makers under one roof. The event provides an incredible platform for networking, fostering meaningful connections among stakeholders of entrepreneurship ecosystem and entrepreneurs.

#DistrictEntrepreneurshipCoalition

Development Alternatives under the project ‘Ashraye (Odisha Chapter)- Transforming the Built Environment through Sustainable Materials’ signed an MoU with Odisha State Housing Board, which was followed by a consultation with Market and Finance Working Group.

#BuildingBreakthrough

Development Alternatives along with partner organisations from India and across the globe, hosted and participated in a series of side events and exhibits at the 28th Session of the Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC (COP28), which was held from 30 November 2023 to 12 December 2023 in UAE, at Expo City, Dubai. The objective of DA@COP was to create enough synergies that would nudge the sustainability conversation and help in creating a pathway for the Net Zero goal.

#COP28