1 December, 2023: S M Sehgal Foundation established in 1999 as a public charitable trust and DCB Bank, a new-generation private sector bank with 439 branches (as of 30th September 2023) across India collaborated with NIRDPR as the knowledge partner recently. They jointly held the inaugural workshop in the capacity building and experience sharing workshop series in New Delhi on November 30, 2023. The inaugural of the workshop series titled ‘Jalagam’ was graced by the presence of Secretary, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation-, Ministry of Jal Shakti – Smt. Vini Mahajan, Commissioner, Ministry of Jal Shakti – Shri Ashok Goel, and trustees of the SM Sehgal foundation, Smt. Neelima Khetan and Dr. Suhas P. Wani; and Mr. Avinash Mishra, former member NITI Aayog. The panel sessions focused on community adaptability and sustenance mechanisms in addressing water- related challenges. The proceedings from the four workshops in the series will be utilized for part of a white paper that will be shared with academia, policymakers and practitioners.
‘Jalagam’ creates a mark as a significant step toward featuring the adaptability of the community and sustenance mechanisms at the intersectionality of climate change and water. Through the workshop series collaboration and sharing experiences in the field of water resources management as well as bringing out best practices across regions in the states of Delhi, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh. Will be highlighted.
Mr. Murali M. Natrajan, Managing Director and CEO, DCB Bank enumerated the value of “Contribute to Society” and said that the lack of water is an impediment to the progress and sustainability of the planet, people and the nation. The relation of water and waste management affecting the overall health and water of a nation cannot be ignored. He went on to add that the CSR projects of the bank focus on climate change, water crisis, sustainable livelihoods preferably nature Based Solutions (NBS.) Considerable CSR resources have been invested by the bank to work with experts and communities across India, with a view to impacting changes in sustainable livelihood, climate change adaptation projects that have a long-term sustainability and protection of water. More than 5,00,000 square feet of water bodies and ponds have been revived in projects with the SM Sehgal Foundation in watershed development and more than 35 crores of rainwater have been harvested. This has had a positive impact on over 14,000 marginal and small farmers.
Trustee and CEO, S M Sehgal Foundation Anjali Makhija, that the joint efforts of both the organizations have made a significant contribution to water conservation and sustainability making a positive transformation to the lives of many communities in India. The workshop series will set a milestone in the ongoing efforts that are directed towards building resilient communities and providing a collective impetus to the important issues of water and climate change.
A partnership was formed between DCB Bank Limited and S M Sehgal Foundation in 2017 to embark on community projects that were focused on water.
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