Now, more than ever, there is a need for non-profits to align with the ‘national agenda’, work collaboratively with the Government and tap into the power of relevant schemes to optimize impact on the ground in communities.
In its 26th year journey to develop prosperous rural communities, ACF has not only tailored programmes to meet the needs of communities, but has strategically aligned with Government priorities around Water, Agriculture, Skills and Sanitation and has achieved scale and impact as a result.
Water Resource Management & the Jal Shakti Ministry
The National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) describes the features of National Water Mission as “to ensure integrated water resource management helping to conserve water, minimize wastage and ensure more equitable distribution both across and within states.” Water has always been an integral focus in ACF’s communities and we continue to scale and grow this programme – achieving to date:
- 55.60 mcm water storage created
- 1114 RRWHS Installed
- increase in ground water level in the range of 2-12 meters
- Total dissolved solid reduction in the range of 500-5000ppm in Kodinar
Sanitation & Swachh Bharat
The Swachh Bharat Mission was launched by Government in 2014 to accelerate the efforts to achieve universal sanitation coverage across the country. Already working heavily in this space, ACF also ramped up its efforts to achieve 100% toilet coverage in core villages, enhance access to drinking water and promote cleanliness and hygiene among communities. Today, as the Government declared parts of India Open Defecation Free, we have achieved the following results to contribute to this national agenda:
- 146 Villages with 100% Toilet Coverage/ODF
- 952 Drinking Water Sources
- 4518 WASH Beneficiaries and 203 Swachta Doots
Skill Training & the Skill India Mission
Skills and knowledge are the driving forces of economic growth and social development in any country. Whilst many developed countries, have a skilled workforce between 60% and 90% of the total workforce, India records a low 5% of workforce (20-24 years) with formal vocational skills. The National Skill Development Mission launched by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in 2015, aimed to consolidate and coordinate skilling efforts to achieve skilling at scale with speed and standards. In 2015, ACF had 17 Skill & Entrepreneurship Development Institutes and today we have scaled this program to 31 centres across 11 states training over 55,000 youth
- 55,000 graduates across the country
- Entry level Salary for each graduate, averages Rs.8500 per month
- Placement Rate of 75 %
Agriculture & the Krishi Vigyan Kendra
The Indian agricultural sector faces many challenges with a high number of small farmers, lack of infrastructure and extreme weather conditions. But in today’s day and age, with the advent of technology and new scientific approaches to farming, there is a need, now more than ever, for farmers to adopt learning as a daily exercise.
The current national government’s program “Doubling Farmers’ Income by 2022” calls for an increase in agricultural productivity, development initiatives, as well as technological innovation. In 2007-08, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) sanctioned the establishment of a Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) to be implemented and managed by ACF. Apart from National Schemes and Projects, ACF also works on state and district level schemes and projects to align with the set targets.
The government expects KVKs to aid in the dissemination of information and practices regarding new government initiatives. Till date, almost 2 lakh farmers have participated in different activities at ACF’s KVK and have adopted new technologies, become entrepreneurs, received district and state level awards and increased their income as a result.
- 1137 hectares Converted to Drip/Micro/Lift Irrigation across India
- Working with over 2 lakh farmers
- 11 Farmer Federations across India
- Increase from 1 crop to 3 crops per year
The Ambuja Cement Foundation works collaboratively with the Government to harness the power of national schemes and initiatives to advance on-ground efforts in our rural communities. There is a need to work together to transform livelihoods and realities in rural India and we are proud to be contributing to nation building in this meaningful way.
