Marico Innovation Foundation’s Innovation for India Awards 2008 took place on March 19 in Mumbai. Over a 100 entries out of total 205 were about social impact, indicating that there is a large level of activity occurring in this realm. For example, one of the winners is Bhinge Brothers, who redesigned the treadle pump for [...]

Here is a video of someone describing the new Tata Nano (from Kamla Bhatt): [youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=pUcap1TbCxw] Enjoy

While not directly related to India, one of the interesting outgrowths with regard to social entrepreneurship is Bhutan’s focus on measuring its Gross National Happiness. Wall Street Journal reports. As Bhutan enters these uncharted political and economic waters, its leaders want to prove that they can achieve economic growth while maintaining good governance, protecting the [...]

The South Asian, a progressive grassroots newspaper, had the following stories today: Analyzing the effects of social welfare policies through the lens of the most marginalized — the Musahars The subaltern’s skeptical review of human rights and its role as the last resort of the hopeless A grassroots conference on water management and rights

According to TRAI, India is positioned to have the second largest number of wireless phone users in the world behind China. Even more relevant, is the fact that India is estimated to have the fastest growth rate in this market — including China — which means that other sectors that rely on mobile phones, like [...]

Bombay High Court upheld government acquisition of land via the Indian Forests Act of 1927 Soot credited with 4 lakh deaths according to recent study Regulatory fixes fees for self-financed medical colleges Kendriya Vidyalayas on university campuses may begin to appear (wiki article for KVs) Class XI girl has surprise birth after taking emergency contraception [...]

A study recently released by the Hindustan Times estimated that $13 billion a year are spent by Indian students abroad for higher education. Atanu Dey tried to frame this number into more tangible terms. Let’s pause for a moment and figure. $13 billion every year. Or in the last 10 years, about $100 billion. Imagine [...]

A joint effort by ACCESS Development Services, an Indian microfinance technical services non-profit organization, and Hindustan Unilever is providing water purifiers to poor families. Unilever’s PureIt does not require any electricity or running water and so is perfect for rural use.  Nextbillion.net highlights the benefits of such a partnership through an anecdote. Yakalakshmi lives in [...]

The central government is considering a revision of the land acquisition laws to ensure proper compensation for former owners. Manmohan declares steadfast support for nuclear deal and program to continue. Government employees recommended to get 40% pay hike. (See here for the problems this may cause). Eunuchs, beggars targeted for substance abuse programs by government [...]

Update: Please go here to submit your essays. From Let Me Know: The Global Forum for Health Research and The Lancet are holding their third joint essay competition for the under-30s on the theme- “Climate change and health: research challenges for the health of vulnerable populations”. Details after the jump.