Working on the ground in remote areas of Himachal Pradesh presents a variety of unique challenges for on-ground implementation teams.

When Ambuja Foundation commenced work in Darlaghat they soon realized that water was the most pressing issue impacting the community.

Recognising India's grave water emergency, the Governments' top priority for 2019-24 is ensuring India's water security and providing access to safe and adequate drinking water to all Indians.

In October 2018, IndusInd Bank partnered with ACF to implement a rural livelihood and water resource management program to address issues of water scarcity and economic poverty in 30 villages of Jaitaran block of Pali district in Western Rajasthan.

When you visit a village in Rajasthan, you are bound to find a pond close by - a village water body that supplies water for drinking, domestic and livestock purposes. One of the most ancient and traditional structures for rainwater harvesting in the dry desert state, it is estimated that there are about 83,000 ponds in Rajasthan.

The agricultural sector is one of the key contributors to the water crisis in India, with 70% of all groundwater being pumped for inefficient flood irrigation purposes, which delivers only 35% water use efficiency.

Over 2.3 crore pumps in India are drawing water, round the clock, to support agriculture - often to grow highly water intensive crops (such as rice, sugarcane, cotton and banana), sometimes in severely water stressed regions of the country.

In Oct 2017, Ambuja Foundation joined hands with the private sector banking giant HDFC Bank, to implement Holistic Rural Development Programs (HRDP) under their CSR initiative.

Anagha Mahajani, Ambuja Foundations General Manager (Research & Monitoring) shares key insights into how they achieved local involvement and ownership of 26 PIMs (Participatory Irrigation Management) in a 2 year period in Gujarat. Covering 30 villages and 12443 farmers across 13326 hectares of land, Ambuja Foundation had the role of facilitating and strengthening groups.

NABARD has played a critical role in promoting people's institutions across India as a key tool for sustainable rural development, and was the first to promote the concept of the Self Help Groups in India in the 1980's.

More than 50 different funders, companies, social organizations, governments and communities convened to explore collaborations to address water scarcity, at the recent Ambuja Foundation and Samhita event 'Investing in Water: For Today & The Future.'

Earlier this year, the Indian government inked a Memorandum of Understanding with Israel to enhance cooperation on water conservation in India - with wastage of water being the critical issue the MOU aims to address.