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august 2021
Personal
touch The ‘individual grants programme’
helps the needy with assistance
for education and healthcare
waTer waTch DiviDe DeleTeD To Bee more
A tech-savvy monitoring More than 30 million rural A beekeeping project in
system is powering women have benefitted Andhra Pradesh delivers
India’s water mission from Internet Saathi sweet results for farmers
august 2021 tata trusts Horizons 3
Editorial
E
ven when the giving is for an institution or an organisation, it is the
individual that counts for most in any measuring of philanthropy and its
outcomes. The ‘individual grants programme’ (IGP) of the Tata Trusts
personalises this concept to the greatest extent while rendering financial support
to the truly needy for education and for medical emergencies.
The cover story in the latest edition of Horizons profiles IGP and charts the
changes that are enabling it to better serve people from different walks of life.
Drawing on a legacy of benevolence that began with the setting up, in 1892, of
the JN Tata Endowment, the programme has expanded as it has evolved and
now reaches more individuals than ever before.
Our centre stage section is occupied by a trailblazing water-monitoring
system based on the Internet of things network. This trailblazing solution will, if
all goes well, soon be a crucial component in India’s aspirational effort to provide
tapped water in every rural home of the country by 2024. Sensors, software and
other technologies are the levers here but the onus is on village communities to
make a success of the initiative.
A variety of subjects and themes are covered in the collection of feature articles
we have put together for this issue. The highlights in the blend are a story on how
the Internet Saathi project has enabled some 30 million women in 20 states to
become digitally literate, another on a water-centred initiative that is helping more
than 9,000 farmers in Maharashtra, and a piece on the relief and rehabilitation
programme undertaken by the Tatas for victims of the 2015 Nepal earthquake.
We have two illuminating interviews as well, the first with Ajay Mathur, director
general of the International Solar Alliance, who talks about the revolutionary
potential of renewable energy and the climate change challenge, and the second
with social scientist Ravi Srivastava, who articulates his view on the social and
economic path that could work best for India.
Offering more pointed perspectives are Deepika Sorabjee of the Tata Trusts
on the nature and meaning of support for art and artists in these difficult times;
Valay Singh and Niyati Singh on the criticality of reforming India’s justice system;
and Dr Abhay Bang, who pleads the case for tribal communities left in the lurch
by the country’s healthcare setup.
Last but far from least, in our photo feature we turn the lens on a beekeeping
project that is bringing sweet rewards for a bunch of enterprising villagers in
Andhra Pradesh.
Cheers to staying safe and keeping the reading habit going.
We hope you will help us make Horizons better with your valuable feedback.
Please do write to us at horizons@tatatrusts.org.
CONTENTs
Vol 4 | ISSue 2 | AuGuST 2021
NeWs cover storY ceNtre stage iNtervieW
20
06 Water Watch
safe periods push A technology-savvy measuring
Also, Spring recharge effort and monitoring system is
unfolds in Nagaland; Nutrition poised to power India’s
outcomes get a boost; IHF ambitious goal of delivering
bolsters fight against TB and tapped water at the doorstep
malaria; and more for every rural household 25
08 ‘this is a revolutioN
WaitiNg to happeN’
it’s persoNal aNd
Ajay Mathur, director general of
it’s supportive
the International Solar Alliance,
The ‘individual grants
on harnessing renewable
programme’ of the Tata Trusts
energy, climate change and the
helps meet a variety of health
challenges facing the world
and education requirements of
those with no other recourse
editor editorial team editorial editorial advisors
Christabelle Noronha Philip Chacko coordiNators Debasis Ray
Email: cnoronha@tatatrusts.org Gayatri Kamath Kainaz Mistry Laxman Sivasubramanian
Shubha Madhukar Sonia Divyang
feature stories shoWcase opiNioN
54
bee-iNg the chaNge
A beekeeping project has made
30 42 success all the more sweeter 63
for farmers in Chittoor district of a people’s palette
deletiNg the divide diversioNarY tactic Andhra Pradesh
Supporting art and artists in
An estimated 30 million women More than 9,000 farmers in 229
these tortuous times may mean
across India have been enabled villages of Maharashtra have
iNtervieW an upending of the way the
and energised by the Internet been boosted by a water-
show has been run thus far
Saathi programme centred breakthrough
34 46 66
healthY haveN a start is borN esseNtial justice
Christian Hospital The Nano unicorn programme It’s critical to reform India’s
Bissamcuttack is a vehicle has enabled some 300 small justice system — for the sake
for community healthcare in entrepreneurs in odisha to of country, community and
odisha’s tribal heartland launch their own business equitable social development
38 50 perspective
suNshiNY WaY leNdiNg a haNd
Renewable energy solutions at
the village level are powering up
The efforts of the Tatas have 71
provided succour to survivors of a time to heal
the lives of farmers in four states the 2015 Nepal earthquake
58 India’s tribal communities
solutioNs search deserve far better than what
Social scientist Ravi Srivastava the country’s healthcare system
on social and economic has delivered thus far
development in India and
migration during the pandemic
desigNed bY desigN coNtact disclaimer
The Information Company Shilpa Naresh Tata Trusts All matter in Tata Trusts
Abraham K John World Trade Centre 1 Horizons is copyrighted.
26th Floor, Cuffe Parade Material published in it
priNted at Mumbai 400 005 can be reproduced with
Sahaya Print Services India permission. To know more,
please email the editor at
horizons@tatatrusts.org.
6 news
News
A push for safe periods in UP, Jharkhand
T he menstrual hygiene
management programme
(MHM) of the Tata Trusts has got a
big push in Uttar Pradesh and
Jharkhand, leading to a noteworthy
increase in awareness levels at the
community level in the two states.
In the year leading up to April
2021, the MHM programme has
An awareness session for rural women and girls on managing menstrual hygiene
trained 12,955 women, 8,596 girls
and 257 men and boys in Uttar tive was extended to cover schools eco-friendly menstrual hygiene
Pradesh on the issue in an effort to and the larger community. products, and the safe disposal of
dispel the stigmas attached to it. In The programme rests on four sanitary waste.
Jharkhand, 7,737 women, 3,308 pillars: intervention with women The ignorance surrounding
girls and 309 men and boys have and adolescent girls through menstrual hygiene has become a
been similarly sensitised. schools and community outreach, graver risk during Covid-19. It was
The programme focused on reaching out to adolescent boys and the seriousness of the situation
empowering women and adolescent couples to educate them about that led the Trusts to step up the
girls while building a conversation menstruation, setting up of sustain- MHM programme across their
around menstruation. The initia- able supply chain mechanisms for project areas. n
Nutrition outcomes get a boost
IHF bolsters
fight against T he Tata Trusts will partner
Procter & Gamble Health to
tor of Procter & Gamble Health,
said: “This is a behaviour change
TB, malaria advance the nutritional status of
women and children in Krishna
programme that aims to comple-
ment the government’s efforts by
T he India Health Fund (IHF), district of Andhra Pradesh. ‘Yes to promoting diet diversity and
a Tata Trusts’ initiative that poshan’ has been planned as a three- addressing the challenges of limited
works to help in India’s fight year collaborative initiative and will or age-inappropriate diet among
against tuberculosis and malaria, be executed in five villages of pregnant and lactating women and
has roped in two startups in a bid Krishna district. children below two years.”
to bolster the country’s defences Malnutrition is a complex Rajan Sankar, senior advisor,
against infectious diseases. public health problem which has nutrition, with the Tata Trusts,
The artificial intelligence- inter-generational repercussions. said: “Under ‘Yes to poshan’, we
driven TrakItNow Technologies According to a survey in Andhra will endeavour in partnership with
and Stellar Diagnostics, are Pradesh of women between 15 and P&G Health to sustainably increase
expected to strengthen IHF’s 49 years of age, 58.8% are anaemic diet diversity. This programme
mission to develop and deploy and 14.8% have a low body mass will benefit from community
breakthrough innovations and index, highlighting the need for involvement. The convergence of
align these with the objectives of pointed nutrition interventions. local government schemes and
the Indian government. n Commenting on the initiative, self-help groups will maximise its
Milind Thatte, the managing direc- on-ground impact.” n
august 2021 tata trusts Horizons 7
Spring recharge effort
CInI wins
unfolds in Nagaland honour for
M ore than 11,000 households
in 95 villages across 11
districts of Nagaland have become
education
projects
‘all-weather water sufficient’ thanks
to a Tata Trusts-supported initiative
to achieve sustainable water security
and enhance the resilience of
T he Collectives for
Integrated Livelihood
Initiatives (CInI), an associate
vulnerable mountain communities organisation of the Tata Trusts,
to climate change. has been awarded the platinum
Designed and executed by the award at the ‘master
North East Initiative Development transformation conference’
Agency, an associate organisation of hosted by FGnC Consulting.
the Trusts, in collaboration with the The award was for CInI’s
Nagaland government, the project The project maps water sources outstanding efforts to boost
provides an innovative model of educational outcomes among
public-private partnerships. alarming depletion in groundwater tribal communities.
Mountain springs are the life- and mountain aquifers have been CInI was able to tap some
line and the primary source of water observed in the region. 700 volunteers for its projects,
for domestic and agricultural pur- The springshed management which reached 50,888 students
poses in Nagaland. Demand and project, launched in 2018 on a pilot and more than 2,000 teachers.
the need for water for drinking and basis, has concentrated on rejuve- This happened at a time when
agricultural purposes has increased nating springs. As many as 105 the coronavirus pandemic and
in recent years. Despite the state springs in 95 villages have been reju- subsequent lockdowns affected
receiving abundant rainfall, an venated so far. n the education of tribal chil-
dren. Being digitally deprived,
Techtonic charts new course in most did not have access to
waste management innovations devices or cellular networks,
causing a gap in learning.
P hool, Zeroplast Labs,
Loopworm, Swachha Eco-
solutions and MuddleArt have been
livelihoods of people working in
the informal sector.
The winners were selected from
To overcome the chal-
lenges and to ensure continu-
ity of learning, CInI launched
adjudged the top five winning more than 100 applications and several initiatives — among
startups at Techtonic — innovations were based on a set of criteria that them a regional volunteering
in waste management, a joint took in technology innovation, programme and the ‘jhola
initiative involving the H&M impact, operational scalability and library’ — to enable digital
Foundation and Social Alpha, the business sustainability. lessons on YouTube for tribal
nonprofit startup incubator “The winning innovations have children. Local leaders assisted
supported by the Tata Trusts. demonstrated the potential to create the volunteers in contributing
The winning startups focused impact and scale up across geogra- to the success of the overall
on developing technology innova- phies, said Manoj Kumar, the chief initiative. n
tions that enhanced the lives and executive of Social Alpha. n
8 coveR SToRy
It’s personal and
it’s supportive
The ‘individual grants programme’ of the Tata Trusts helps
meet a variety of health and education requirements of those
with no other recourse. By Kishore Rathod
S
mall steps can lead to big supports the needy and the on, talented students looking to
changes and this holds true meritorious through financial pursue further education is
for the Tata Trusts. Starting assistance for medical and education illustrative: “What advances a
with loan scholarships in the late requirements. nation or a community is not so
19th century, the multidimensional Like they have from the much to prop up its weakest and
and multi-thematic initiatives of the beginning, the business and most helpless members, but to
Trusts have come to span a wide philanthropic principles of the Tatas lift up the best and the most
spectrum of social development have been guided by the philosophy gifted, so as to make them of the
initiatives. A crucial — and and vision of Jamsetji Nusserwanji greatest service to the country.”
personalised — component in this Tata, the pioneer who founded the The JN Tata Endowment for
continuum of purposeful group. Education was of particular the Higher Education of Indians,
philanthropy is the ‘individual concern to the Tata patriarch and this set up in 1892, reflects Mr Tata’s
grants programme’ (IGP), which quote of his on backing, and banking belief. The first of many
The individual grants programme
supports deserving students from
across the education spectrum
AUGUST 2021 TATA TrUSTS HorizonS 9
philanthropic endeavours by the
Tatas, the Endowment’s legacy has
enriched IGP and the funding
support it provides to individuals
Backing that counts
in two categories, for education The ‘individual grants programme’ supports those seeking monetary
needs and for health emergencies. support for higher education and for medical emergencies
IGP has grown in size and scale
over time (in 2018-19, it disbursed
education
more than `1 billion to some
8,000-plus beneficiaries). Although 4,000+ beneficiaries a year get financial
disbursals dipped slightly during assistance in a variety of categories…
the pandemic, the programme
l Grants for school and college fees
continues to receive thousands of
applications from people looking l Support for higher education
for financial help to pay for costly l Spectrum grants for sports and music talents
medical treatment and from l Scholarships for undergraduate and postgraduate studies
students and institutions seeking in select streams
monetary support for education. l Pilot training programme for teachers and caregivers
involved with special needs children
Sparkling scholars
The roster of those whom IGP
has supported down the years
includes some of the country’s Medical treatment
brightest minds. The JN Tata
Endowment, for example, covers 2,800+ beneficiaries a year get up to
many of India’s leading lights. `2 million each for treatment of cancer,
There’s Freany Cama — among the kidney diseases, heart ailments, etc, at a
earliest beneficiaries — who went to network of government, charitable and
Britain to study gynaecology and private hospitals
midwifery, and later luminaries
such as KR Narayanan, the late
president of India, astrophysicist is a pilot project to train teachers available or are beyond the reach
Jayant Narlikar, Dinshaw Patel and mothers to care for children of disadvantaged individuals. The
of the Memorial Sloan Kettering with learning disabilities. programme’s disbursal process has
Cancer Center, New York, and IGP’s disbursals for medical been honed to ensure a
Srikant Datar from Harvard care helps patients unable to afford comprehensive and, importantly,
Business School. treatment of life-threatening fair and humane approach to
The Trusts have expanded IGP’s diseases. Apart from supporting identify the meritorious in genuine
reach to incorporate grants for those who apply directly, the Trusts need.
individuals wanting to enhance have also tied up with a network of IGP is now looking to design
their professional skills, spectrum hospitals that can endorse and better schemes with targeted
grants for budding talents in sports recommend deserving cases. outcomes in both health and
and music, and even a grant for For IGP, the intent is to deliver education, even as it continues to
candidates keen on becoming support in domains where other impact the lives of thousands of
commercial pilots. Also in the mix sources of funding are either not individual beneficiaries. n
10 coveR SToRy
Cricket time for students
of Sunshine School in Navi
Mumbai in Maharashtra
Means for the
meritorious
The education component in the individual grants programme
enables institutions and ordinary students as well as talented
scholars to pursue the path of learning
T
he aptly named Sunshine needed a friend, any friend, to enrol online, but the lockdown’s
School for Differently help it see the light. economic impact meant that as
Abled Children started When the Covid pandemic many as 30 of them could no
small, with just six children, back struck, this school for children longer afford to pay the fees.
in 2006. By early 2020, the Navi with special needs had to shut its “Even with a pay cut to our
Mumbai-based institution had gates and take its integrated staff of therapists and teachers, we
grown to accommodate 107 education programme and therapy barely had enough funds to
students in the 3-to-24 age bracket. sessions online. Unfortunately, continue for three-four months.
Then came an unforeseen that led to a third of students We would have had to close
challenge and Sunshine School dropping out. About 70 kids did down,” says founder-principalAUGUST 2021 TATA TrUSTS HorizonS 11
Paramita Mazumdar. The thought “We were consciously looking to incorporate different models of
of abandoning the differently- at underserved areas where the support within our overall theme
abled children at a time when they Trusts could step in,” says strategy, while considering diverse
needed the school the most was Rukshana Savaksha, who heads education needs.”
unbearable. The school reached IGP’s education portfolio. “The IGP’s education component has
out to the Tata Trusts’ individual Trusts have always been mindful an annual budget of around `360
grants programme (IGP) for of staying relevant to the need of million, about half of which goes
emergency assistance. the hour and that’s why we strive towards scholarships for deserving
“The Trusts came as a
godsend,” says Ms Mazumdar.
“Their support ensured the survival
of the school. The Trusts assured us
that our students would continue
to get the nurturing they so badly
needed.” Coming in the nick of
time, the IGP funds safeguarded the
education of 70 students.
Two deciding factors
The education component in
IGP supports a wide array of
beneficiaries who cannot afford the Lightening the load
cost of education, from individual
students who dream of higher
studies to teachers learning how to
engage with special-needs children,
H aving graduated from medical school as a dentist,
Chennai doctor rahul raghavendra was keen on doing a
master’s with specialisation in oral and maxillofacial surgery.
from professionals looking to Unable to afford the high fees in Chennai, he took up a seat at
upskill themselves to youngsters the Bangalore institute of Dental Sciences. The total fees of
aspiring for a learning experience more than `2.5 million for the three-year course were still too
in the best universities. Two factors high, and his father had to mortgage the family land to secure
decide the 4,000+ recipients of IGP’s a bank loan.
education grants — merit and means. That was when Dr raghavendra learned about the Tata
The grant to Sunshine School Trusts’ individual grants programme and he applied for a
was an outcome of IGP’s recast scholarship. The application was processed, Dr raghavendra
focus over the past few years on appeared for an online interview with a subject expert, and
the education of special-needs soon a scholarship of `0.8 million was approved for a period of
children. This is part of an effort three years.
by the Trusts to explore ways of “i used to worry about finishing my studies and earning
catering to the requirements of enough money to repay our loan but the scholarship has given
children with diverse forms of us huge emotional comfort and our family land will soon be
learning disability. One of these released from mortgage,” says the young doctor, who has just
has been to support the training of completed his postgraduation and is set to begin his career as
teachers and caregivers — though a a medical professional. “My family and i will always be grateful
pilot programme — of differently- to Tata Trusts for helping us at a crucial time in our lives.” n
abled children.12 coveR SToRy
students, including for higher a substantial part of the fees and the
studies in India and overseas. costs of textbooks, uniforms and
The programme receives more travel of these kids.
than 8,000 applications from IGP’s engagement with special-
around the country every year. The needs children started with a
challenging part is making sure the request from the Mumbai-based
brightest and most deserving Santosh Institute for Mentally
students benefit from aid, and IGP Challenged Children and has now
has been continuously refining its expanded into an initiative that
selection and administration supports 12 special schools in
processes to ensure this. “We were consciously Mumbai and Pune.
looking at underserved The two ‘means grant’ schemes
Wealth of disciplines areas where the Trusts support students up to their
IGP handles disbursals under could step in.” graduation. Last year, even after a
a number of heads. The largest — Rukshana Savaksha, head, sharp decrease in the number of
part of its funding goes towards education portfolio, IGP, Tata Trusts applications due to the pandemic,
scholarships, primarily for IGP supported 140 students directly
bachelor’s and master’s courses, incomes and fields of study where and 485 students through the
with aspirants applying under 19 students find it difficult to obtain indirect programme, disbursing a
disciplines, including medicine, education loans. total of `20 million for their
healthcare and neuroscience. Grants to organisations such as education and other needs.
Apart from scholarships based Sunshine School are in a category
on merit, IGP covers applications called ‘means grant-indirect’. A break for pros
directly from individuals living in Children orphaned by farmer Additionally, IGP backs mid-career
Mumbai and its suburbs under a suicides, children of commercial professionals with enhancement
scheme called ‘means grant-direct’. sex workers, street children and grants that help them enhance their
Based on need (defined with respect tribal children are supported under skills through training programmes,
to annual income), this scheme offers this scheme, and they are identified workshops and observerships.
partial assistance to students from through select NGOs in Maharashtra Aviators requiring funding to
standard VIII up to graduation. The who work with marginalised obtain commercial pilot licences
focus here is on families with lower communities. The Trusts directly pay are another set of beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, the programme’s
spectrum scheme covers the needs
of sportspersons, musicians and
theatre artists, as also the training
of teachers to manage children with
learning disabilities.
IGP has evolved down the
years to expand and amplify the
support it extends in education.
One factor has remained a
constant, though — the needs and
aspirations of the individual
continue to remain the focus of
About half of the budget for the education programme goes towards scholarships the education programme. nAUGUST 2021 TATA TrUSTS HorizonS 13
Where there’s hope...
Disbursals for medical emergencies under the individual grants
programme help desperately needy patients get life-saving treatment
S
he is a single mother of a grants were awarded, with a
young child, with a disbursement of over `500 million.
life-threatening heart The Covid pandemic put a spanner
condition, but Vijayalakshmi in disbursals last year, but IGP was
Kancharla is not a weak-hearted still able to help some 1,300 people,
person by any means. For this with a financial outlay in excess of
resident of Guntur in Andhra `320 million. These disbursals cover
Pradesh, the way forward for her up to 80% of a patient’s treatment
was an open-heart surgery — there and related expenses.
was no way Ms Kancharla could “The programme typically
afford it. receives applications for cancer
That’s when the individual care, heart ailments and kidney
grants programme (IGP) of the “There is a thorough disorders,” says Kumar Chaitanya,
Tata Trusts stepped in to lend a evaluation... We want to head, grant finance and budgets,
hand, enabling Ms Kancharla to be sure that every grant IGP. In recent years, the Trusts
undergo the procedure at the given is to a deserving have included cochlear implants
Madras Medical Mission in beneficiary.” and children’s therapies in their
Chennai. “The Trusts are my near — Kumar Chaitanya, head, canopy of medical care (the
and dear, my well-wishers and my grant finance and budgets, IGP programme has underwritten the
family,” says the grateful lady. treatment of more than 250
“Their timely help allowed the thousands of beneficiaries who have children for paediatric cardiac
hospital to take up my case on been accorded financial support for procedures in Mumbai alone).
priority. Today I’m living a essential medical treatment and IGP offers assistance to
stress-free life with my child only post-treatment expenses under IGP’s individuals who apply directly and
because of this support.” medical emergencies programme. In also to patients recommended
Ms Kancharla is among the 2018-19 alone, more than 2,800 such through a network of hospitals14 coveR SToRy
linked to the programme. Most of grant for treatment in a private facts and parameters before a grant
the beneficiaries come under the hospital is considered. is approved. We want to be sure
second category and the treatment IGP has refined its screening that every grant given is to a
cost is paid directly to the hospital process over the past few years. deserving beneficiary.”
where treatment is provided. “The cases from linked hospitals The selection process for
Preference is usually given to are approved after a rigorous approval of a grant demands a
beneficiaries receiving treatment in process of due diligence,” adds dynamic evaluation of varying
government, civic or charitable Mr Chaitanya. “With direct parameters and criteria: where the
hospitals. If a specific treatment is applications from patients, there is person is taking treatment, the
unavailable in any of these, then a a thorough evaluation of all the beneficiary’s age and personal
The challenges created by Covid-19 led to a
shift to online for applications and interactions
Keeping it going
W hen Covid-19 disrupted the regular working
of organisations, the Tata Trusts office
shifted to work-from-home mode and the iGP
reach their hospital or found that hospitals were
treating only Covid patients. Procedures for
ailments that were not life-threatening had to be
medical team set about organising its workflow so deferred.
that patients continued to benefit and there was no Applications began to pour in again as
interruption in grant disbursals. The team quickly awareness grew of iGP’s new ways. interactions
changed the method of paper and hard copies to and interviews shifted to phone calls and video
accepting and processing requests via email. meetings. With home and hospital visits being
However, the shift from physical to online curtailed, the team had to rely on their experience
confused many who did not have access to emails to evaluate doubtful cases. “We adapted to the
or were unaware of the transition. in addition, there new normal, kept the work going and supported a
was the pandemic-induced disruption at hospitals number of beneficiaries,” says Kumudini Todankar,
to contend with. Sometimes patients could not a programme officer with iGP medical. nAUGUST 2021 TATA TrUSTS HorizonS 15
income, the family’s
financial standing, the type
of treatment required, etc.
In addition, there is continuous
engagement with the applicant at all
stages of the process, even
post treatment, for feedback.
The programme has a structured
process in place that records the
beneficiary’s experience in the
hospital and with IGP. This
feedback is used to improve the
grant-giving mechanism.
Ringing in changes
Recent changes include opening
up the application window for
more hours, providing funding to
patients undergoing treatment —
instead of reimbursing expenses
later — and giving extra weightage to Hearing and now
younger patients.
From acceptance and
processing of applications to
disbursement of funds and
F or Mumbai resident Aftab Sheikh, despair and disappointment
used to be constants. His daughter Aiman (seen above) was
born deaf and her disability was a source of constant concern.
feedback from beneficiaries, every Despite being a man of limited means, Mr Sheikh was determined
function of IGP has been fine- to do all he could to help his daughter get rid of the handicap.
tuned to make it more efficient and He found a ray of hope when he heard about iGP medical’s
effective. “We are bringing in support for cochlear implants and applied for a grant. “i
technology to run our processes; thought it would be very difficult to get funds from such a huge
this will not only cut the time taken organisation,” says Mr Sheikh. “To my surprise, the staff was very
but also augment our due diligence open and they helped with my documentation and processing.”
system,” says Mr Chaitanya. Hearing loss affects millions in india and only some benefit
Another area of change from a hearing aid. Cochlear implants, especially for children, play
has seen IGP go beyond its donor a vital role in overcoming profound sensorineural hearing loss and
function to smoothen the process in providing a lifetime’s gift of sound. The challenge faced by the
for beneficiaries. It works to align Sheikh family was in meeting the high cost of the implant as well
hospitals, counsellors and sponsors as payments for hospitalisation and follow-up treatment.
so that beneficiaries don’t have to The monetary support Mr Sheikh received from the Trusts
run around much. With its greenlighted his daughter’s cochlear implant surgery — at the
humane approach and technology- Holy Family Hospital in Bandra, Mumbai — and Aiman was able
driven processes, IGP is primed to to hear within weeks of undergoing the procedure. “The Trusts
continue providing a healing have given a new lease of life not only to my daughter but to our
touch to thousands of patients entire family,” says Mr Sheikh. n
every year. n16 coveR SToRy
Roll call of brilliance
For 129 years, the JN Tata endowment has enabled some of India’s
brightest minds to pursue their passion for learning — and their dreams
v
inod Mudliar had just Mr Mudliar decided to change Inner Calling, an organisation that
earned his engineering tack and pursue a career in works on a range of concerns related
degree from Mumbai counselling. Issue was, he needed to mental health.
University and was getting ready money to get re-educated. Mr Mudliar is sure his objective
for a corporate career when he was In 2017, Mr Mudliar of becoming a counsellor came true
diagnosed with early-stage cancer. approached the JN Tata Endowment principally due to the support he
During the course of his (JNTE) for a scholarship to pursue a got from JNTE. “Receiving the
subsequent treatment, the Navi master’s in counselling from scholarship meant I could realise
Mumbai resident experienced University of Santa Clara in my dream of contributing to the
firsthand the role played by California, USA. After finishing the field of cancer care and mental
counsellors in helping cancer course — and now a certified health,” he says.
patients cope with the disease. counselling psychologist — he Mr Mudliar is among the
Impressed and inspired, returned to India and co-founded 5,500-plus students who haveAUGUST 2021 TATA TrUSTS HorizonS 17
benefitted from the Endowment, set spelled out its mission to help young minds in the country to
up in 1892 by Jamsetji Tata, the mould talented young Indians to be improve their prospects through
Founder of the Tata group. The of service to a nation seeking further education. As he said: “What
earliest philanthropic undertaking self-reliance and self-sufficiency. advances a nation or a community
of the Tatas, JNTE was born with a The Endowment has stayed true is not so much to prop up its
corpus of `2.5 million donated by to its purpose, enabling meritorious weakest and most helpless members,
Mr Tata. It’s full name — The JN Indians to pursue higher studies at but to lift up the best and the most
Tata Endowment Scheme for the some of the best universities in the gifted, so as to make them of the
Higher Education of Indians — world. Mr Tata wanted the brightest greatest service to the country.”
Report card
The Jn Tata Endowment has been helping young and talented indian students pursue their dreams of
attending institutes of international repute. Here are two recent examples of JnTE scholars who have
excelled in their chosen fields.
AMIN ALI MoDy
Bengaluru, Karnataka
year of Award: 2018
Subject matter: Master’s in aerospace, aeronautical and space
engineering from the University of Colorado, USA
Amin Ali Mody was selected to be part of the Mars Desert research
Station (MDrS) Crew 213, where research teams spent weeks in a
simulated Mars habitat conducting studies. Crew 213 conducted
research on medical scenarios in space and on Mars. The activities
at MDrS included lectures from nASA flight surgeons and others,
extravehicular activities, search and rescue, emergency scenarios, etc.
The team also developed and launched a medical supplies delivery
rocket, for which Mr Mody worked on structures and propulsion.
TeJAS cHHeDA
Mumbai, Maharashtra
year of Award: 2020
Subject matter: Master’s in computer science from the University of
Massachusetts Amherst, USA
Tejas Chheda started working as a graduate student researcher at the
information extraction and synthesis laboratory at his university under
Andrew McCallum, a renowned professor in the domain. The lab
focuses on applied ‘neuro-linguistic programming’, a new approach
to communication, personal development and psychotherapy.
Mr Chheda, who is hoping to publish a paper on his research
findings, is currently working on machine learning in an internship
with PayPal, the American online payments company.18 coveR SToRy
The first beneficiary of funding higher education in a diverse candidates of exceptional merit
support provided by JNTE was a range of subjects. pass through the gates.
woman, Freany Cama, who went to The sterling list of these “It is a purely merit-based
Britain in 1892 — funded by a grant scholars includes Ardeshir Dalal, a scholarship,” says Ashlesha
of `10,000 — to study gynaecology member of the British viceroy’s Lotankar, who is part of the team
and midwifery, and returned to executive council, former Indian that manages JNTE. “We receive
become one of India’s first President KR Narayanan, nuclear about 1,600 applications a year
gynaecologists (there’s a hospital in physicist Raja Ramanna, from students across India for
Mumbai named after her). astrophysicist Jayant Narlikar, and about 100 scholarships.”
The Endowment has the architect Rahul Mehrotra.
continued playing the role of Between 1892 and 2021, Screenings, interviews...
benefactor in the time since. Every scholarships have been awarded to The process from inviting of
year around a hundred ‘JN Tata over 5,500 individuals in over 200 applications to final disbursement
scholars’ — among the brightest in fields, covering more than 800 of funding happens in a seven-
their field of study — proceed to subjects and branches of month cycle between December
some of the world’s best specialisation. The Endowment’s and July. Along with academic
educational institutions to pursue eligibility norms ensure that only performance, the course and the
institute the applicants have been
selected to are considered during
the two screenings that candidates
have to come through. Then there
is a ‘technical round’ of interviews
by subject matter experts.
The subject experts are chosen
from amongst the best education
institutions in the country (such as
IITs, NITs, IISERs, Tata Institute of
Fundamental Research, universities
in India), professionals, and even
overseas institutions. “The
Endowment has initiated the
practice of inviting former JN Tata
scholars as subject experts. Great
care is taken to ensure a near-
perfect match between candidates’
profiles and subject experts’ areas of
specialisation,” says Ms Lotankar.
“The experts test candidates for
proficiency in their chosen subject
and, besides, we also evaluate the
applicant’s sense of purpose and
his or her consistency with the
The individual grants programme helped
principles that the Endowment
Vinod Mudliar pursue a master’s from
Santa Clara University in the United States
stands for,” adds Ms Lotankar.
A JNTE bursary, which can goAUGUST 2021 TATA TrUSTS HorizonS 19
A LeGAcy AND A LeAGue
The Jn Tata Endowment at a glance
1892 5,500+ 200+ 100+ `1 million
year of total number of Jn disciplines bursaries funding ceiling for
establishment Tata scholars covered disbursed candidates
annually
up to `1 million, is extended as a take pride in it. The scholarship
loan that beneficiaries have to opens a world of opportunities that
repay over a period of time. goes beyond immediate academic
“Jamsetji Tata believed this would support. Importantly, it gives these
instil valuable lessons in self- scholars access to a network
reliance,” explains Ms Lotankar. comprising achievers from various
“The idea is to make the students walks of life. “We have a dedicated
feel a sense of responsibility alumni platform where we share the
towards their own education and to success stories of our scholars and
ensure a degree of accountability.” enable interactions between
“The repayment of every loan members,” says Ms Lotankar.
helps ensure that another JNTE keeps its community
deserving candidate is able to connected through a dedicated
study abroad. Repayments are near alumni website for Global
100%, with many of the students Association of JN Tata Scholars as
settling their loans much ahead of well as a newsletter called JNTE
the prescribed period,” says FAB for alumni members. “Besides
JNTE’s Sandhya Jadhav. achievements and success stories, we
share information about the new
Newer fields in the picture developments here as well as
The scholarships cover a spectrum of relevant information across Tata
disciplines, among them newer and “What advances a group companies to keep our
little-known science and engineering nation or a community scholars updated,” says JNTE’s
streams. In recent times, JNTE has is not so much to prop Swapnali Rane.
seen an increase in the number of up its weakest and The Endowment’s biggest
students opting for newer fields most helpless achievement has been its success in
of study, among them machine helping young Indians achieve their
members, but to lift up
learning, artificial intelligence, dreams and contribute to the larger
the best and the most
environment engineering, good of the society. Many of them
gifted, so as to make
biomedical devices design and even would probably echo what
them of the greatest
river-basin management, creative Mr Mudliar says: “I express my
service to the country.”
writing and dance therapy. deepest gratitude to JNTE and I hope
— Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata,
There is something about being it continues to have an impact on
the Founder of the Tata group
a JN Tata scholar and beneficiaries many more aspirational students.” n20 centre stage
Members of a water user group
from Abu Road in Rajasthan on
an exposure visit to the nearby
Varki Khera village in Sirohi
district to examine the water
supply scheme there
Water watch
a technology-savvy measuring and monitoring system is
poised to power India’s ambitious goal of delivering tapped
water at the doorstep for every rural household
t
he supply of safe and between public institutions, private piloted in geographically and
sufficient water for each and organisations and civil society geologically diverse villages in the
every household in each and entities — to reach its daunting states of Uttarakhand, Rajasthan,
every village of India before the end goal. The collaborative nature of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Jharkhand
of 2024 — that may have seemed the endeavour is evident in the and Himachal Pradesh. There are
like a pipe dream even as near as making of an essential component 11 pilot projects in the programme
five years back, but not so now. The that will determine the success of and their purpose is to show how
reason is the Indian government’s the Mission: a water supply the monitoring mechanism can
Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), an measuring and monitoring system contribute to JJM’s wider rollout.
ambitious, elaborate and cost- based on the much-touted ‘Internet The monitoring system
effective effort to deliver the elixir of things’ (IoT) network. employs sensors, software,
to rural homes across the country Developed and deployed by the electronics and the net — the
through tapped connections. Tata Trusts and the Tata technology elements of the IoT
JJM is banking on an ecosystem Community Initiatives Trust matrix — to capture, collate and
of partnerships — between the (TCIT), this ‘smart water transmit data on the quality and
central and state governments, management’ system has been quantity of water available toAUGUST 2021 TATA TrUSTS HorizonS 21
households in the chosen villages. Provincial singularities aside, was critical in the design and
Human intervention is minimal in the initiative depends on widely implementation framework arrived
a low-cost setup where a host of prevalent methods of water at by the project team. “In rural
water-related parameters are tracked management. “When the idea came India the responsibility of
in real time: distribution, leakages, up, the thinking was that this is managing water resources rests
groundwater levels and purity, and already being executed in many largely with panchayats [village
community usage statistics. urban areas and that we could councils] and they have limited
The logic driving the IoT-based transfer it to a rural setting,” resources and technical knowledge,”
system is solid. The case for robust explains Divyang Waghela, who adds Mr Waghela. “Secondly,
and reliable management and heads the water, sanitation and equitable distribution of water is
monitoring of India’s increasingly hygiene portfolio at the Tata Trusts. just not happening in rural regions.
scarce water resources has never “That’s where we started and then We wanted to enhance the
been stronger. An estimated 30% of we examined the ground realities efficiency of water usage and make
rural water supply schemes and the challenges at the village communities the managers
flounder due to poor maintenance community level.” of the process.”
and the inability to take speedy The community is central in As with JJM as a whole,
corrective action. Besides the waste the initiative and understanding the partnerships underpin the IoT-
of public funds, such lapses worsen water needs of village consumers based system. It could not have
the socioeconomic woes of rural
families, particularly women.
Pilot to prototype Of all the things…
It is expected that the pilot projects
will provide a water-monitoring
prototype that can be made
operational through JJM in all of
t echnology — affordable, durable and feasible for rural locales
— is a cornerstone of the ioT-based solution. There are
sensors to track and measure water flow, groundwater levels, water
India’s 660,000-plus villages. That pressure and water purity. The ioT platform is integrated with a GiS
would make this path-breaking (geographical information system) to enable a decision-support
solution — which kicked off in system for engineers and utility operators through automated alerts
September 2020 — the largest of and analytics. To cite one big advantage here: predictive
its kind in the world in terms of maintenance and grievance redressal happen fast and simple.
implementation scale and spread. Given how rare a reliable internet connection is in the country’s
Flexibility is built into the rural reaches, the project is engineered to function on Lora, a
IoT-based solution, which has been networking protocol that offers long-range local wireless networks
fine-tuned to function in areas with in constrained environments and meets ioT requirements. Erratic
poor internet connectivity and a power supply is another persistent obstacle in india’s villages and
shortage of skilled personnel to run it has been dealt with by turning to solar energy (this is likely the
it. The villages in the programme are first time in the world that a solar-powered ioT system capable of
solitary units — save for Gujarat, supporting hundreds of sensors has been developed).
where there is a cluster of villages There are two units in the ioT-based system, one for monitoring
— and they have been picked to and the other for communications. These are sensors attached to
account for assorted climatic the pipeline through which the water flows from its supply source.
conditions, water sources and The gathered data is relayed every hour (or whatever the period
availability levels. That explains hilly set) to a central cloud server for analysis and action before being
Uttarakhand and arid Rajasthan transmitted by SMS to multiple points. n
being put into the mix.22 centre stage
A training session for water
user group members in Bhoola
village in Sirohi district
been any other way. “Water in our faced was to complete the pilots in now know about fast-depleting
country, particularly rural water the middle of the pandemic,” adds groundwater levels, villagers have
supply, involves multiple Mr Masson. “We had to use small begun using water more efficiently
stakeholders and is a complex windows of time to do our and responsibly, and administration
subject,” says Siddhant Masson, installations and test our system. officials and others are able to
who leads the project from the We took it for granted that we monitor and manage water quality
TCIT side. “We have joined hands would get easy access to grid and quantity remotely. “Our system
with village communities, water electricity to power our IoT devices. has demonstrated high accuracy and
user groups and local NGOs for That wasn’t to be and we ran into uptime despite patchy network
on-ground implementation. We several bottlenecks. The decision to connectivity,” says Mr Masson.
have also collaborated with state plump for solar power eliminated Several states have been
government authorities, including the dependency on grid supply.” interested enough by the smart
their public health and rural water water management system to take it
supply departments. We now have a Taking care of hiccups on board. Bihar is deploying it in
common governance structure to Tampering, mainly by curious more than 50,000 rural locations.
ensure the system’s sustenance.” village children, and theft of the Gujarat, Arunachal Pradesh and
Technology vendors, many of IoT devices were additional issues Haryana have started the process of
them from the startup space, are that needed sorting out. Protective embedding it in their rural water
another vital part of the IoT gear and tamper-detection gadgets supply schemes, and Goa, Punjab
solution. Finding the right fit was took care of these hiccups but and Sikkim are planning similar
not always easy. “This system had ultimately it was the community initiatives in the coming months.
to be developed at a fraction of its that counted. “We believed that Mr Masson’s pride in what has
market price to keep it affordable, community mobilisation and been accomplished thus far is
and we had to facilitate adoption education were crucial for the palpable. “We are extremely glad we
and scalability,” says Mr Masson. success of such a system,” says Mr could deliver a high-fidelity IoT
“We had to work with our Masson. “And the community took system within a highly constrained
technology suppliers to maintain a ownership of these assets.” environment and at such a low
balance between cost and feature The proof of the pilot projects cost.” The satisfaction level could
richness. Several vendors backed pudding is in its positive outcomes. climb to new highs as the rest of
out but we were finally able to Distribution problems — outages, rural India cottons on to a water
secure our end-state solution.” leakages, low pressure, etc — have solution out of the ordinary. n
There were other roadblocks as been rapidly resolved across the
well. “One of the challenges we sites, officials and the community By Philip ChackoAUGUST 2021 TATA TrUSTS HorizonS 23
‘The Jal Jeevan Mission
is everyone’s business’
I
t’s an implementation electronics, communication, data
challenge as tough as it comes analytics, etc make it feasible to use
in a country such as India — IoT technology to share information
providing assured water supply to and take remedial action.
every rural home by 2024 — but We had launched a technology
that does not faze Bharat Lal. challenge for manufacturers to
Rather, the additional secretary develop a water supply monitoring
and mission director of the Jal system and we have picked 100
Jeevan Mission (JJM) appears to be villages in eight states for field
relishing the responsibility of demonstrations by four solution
executing a project as aspirational providers. Meanwhile, some states
as it is audacious. — Gujarat, Sikkim, Haryana and
With a budget of $51 billion Bihar among them — have started
(about `3,814 billion), JJM is planning for such a smart system.
working at a gallop to realise its
goal of ensuring that good-quality How challenging is the goal
water in adequate quantities reaches JJM has set itself ?
all of India’s 660,000-plus villages. It’s quite challenging but there is a
In this interview with Horizons, public utility managing supply to determination to accomplish the
Mr Lal talks about the Mission and every household in that village. task. The central government is
how it has geared up to execute the There is an investment outlay committed to achieving this goal
gargantuan task at hand. of `3,600 billion over five years to and we have got tremendous support
provide tap water to rural homes, from everyone. That’s the reason we
What’s your view of JJM and we are disbursing about `300 have made substantial progress.
and the IoT-based water billion a year to panchayats [village When the Mission was
monitoring system in it? councils] to manage water supply. launched in August 2019, only
JJM is being implemented in It is important, in the context, to about 32 million households in
partnership with the states to ensure measure and monitor this water rural areas (or 17%) had tap water
that every household in our villages supply in terms of quantity, quality supply. Today about 76 million
get an assured supply of potable tap and regularity. We have to do this rural households (39.4%) are
water on a regular and long-term in an efficient and cost-effective getting tap water supply. That’s an
basis by 2024. manner and that’s where the addition of 44 million households
We are working to empower IoT-based system comes in. in under two years, despite the
rural communities through the A technical committee had been disruptions caused by Covid -19.
setting up of water and sanitation constituted to prepare a roadmap Many states have advanced
committees, popularly known as and the states are using the broad their plans to provide tap water
pani samitis, in each village to plan framework provided by it for connections to rural households
and operate water supply schemes. planning, designing and before 2024. Goa, Telangana,
That means every village will have a implementation. Advances in Puducherry and the Andaman and24 centre stage
Jal Jeevan Misson’s goal is to
ensure potable water reaches
India’s 660,000-plus villages
Nicobar Islands have already lives’ — that’s the JJM motto. We The expectation is that this IoT
achieved the distinction of are working at different levels with system will be adopted in rural
providing tap water to every rural different partners to ensure that the areas across the country. Do
household. This has motivated Mission is everyone’s business. you see that happening?
everyone to achieve the JJM To that end, we have forged Today more than 93,000 villages
objective as early as possible. collaborations with civil society and 62 districts in India have the
The dynamics of water usage in entities, NGOs, international provision for tap water supply and
India are interesting. Only about agencies, various ministries and in the near future a further 60,000
7% of available freshwater is used departments, state governments, villages will have it. In another
for drinking and domestic needs, academic and technical 100,000 villages, projects to provide
less than 10% of available water is institutions and, not least, local tap water to every home are under
used for industry and about 85% of communities. Most of the implementation. That’s the speed
water consumption is accounted for execution of the Mission is done and scale of the work.
by agriculture. This means that any by private sector players. The central government is
change in consumption of water in The IT revolution in India was providing technical as well as
agriculture will have profound led by the private sector and IoT financial support in deploying the
impact on water availability for solutions are being increasingly necessary systems. With regard to
domestic use and industry. used in telecom, gas, electricity, etc the IoT solution, there is huge
with the participation of this sector. excitement about it among
How important are private- There is a huge opportunity with technology developers,
public partnerships in bringing water as well. I’m sure the private entrepreneurs and innovators, on
such solutions to fruition? sector will come up with various the one hand, and public health,
It is vital that every individual and models for implementation and engineering and water-utility
organisation join hands for the cause bring in the latest technology in officials and the general public, on
of water. ‘Building partnerships, sensors, data communication, the other. This solution will usher
working together and changing storage and analytics. in a new era. nAugust 2021 tAtA trusts Horizons 25
‘This is a revolution
waiting to happen’
Ajay Mathur is doing his bit, and then some, to help with the global
effort in achieving the daunting objective of net-zero emissions by
2050. The recently appointed director general of the International
Solar Alliance (ISA) has a part to play as the world steps on the pedal to
speed up the development and use of renewable energy, the holy grail
in getting to the goal of a cleaner, more sustainable planet.
Previously the director general of the New Delhi-based Energy
and Resources Institute, Mr Mathur has been a member of the Prime
Minister’s Council on Climate Change and was the Indian delegation’s
spokesperson at the 2015 Paris climate summit. He talks here to
Christabelle Noronha about the challenges India and the world face in
doing the right thing to cope with an emergency like no other.
Edited excerpts from the interview:
India’s ability to reduce poverty without depending too much on
fossil fuels will to a large extent determine the success of global
efforts in combating climate change. How can that be made
possible given our economic realities?
The key issue is that a large amount of our energy-based needs are yet to
be met. Whether it be for agriculture, lighting in homes or even for dental
treatment, energy is essential. For all such needs, green applications provide
power at a cheaper price than do fossil fuels. So, as far as the economics is
concerned, the situation is good and getting better.
The key challenge in using green energy is the availability of such
options: I should, as a user, have access to it, maintenance should be
available and I should be able to pay for it in a manner that’s comfortable
for me. But capital costs for solar electricity are much more than for fossil
fuel electricity; that’s where the problem lies.
Does India have the financial muscle to make these investments?
If we go back 40 years to when the green revolution happened, we were very
dependent on pumped water; it was the only solution. The problem then
was the same: where will the capital costs for these pumps come from? IsYou can also read
