Many regular readers of GoodNewsIndia [GNI] have wondered why this site has not been updated since 2006. The simple answer is this: the one-man team, that is me, D V Sridharan that publishes GNI is busy with a land restoration project christened, pointReturn . It will need my undivided time and attention at least till 2010; that leaves me with little time or energy to travel and do stories for GNI as I have done since 2000. So work on the site is temporarily suspended.
That is the reason. But there is a connecting story behind how I came to undertake pointReturn. In case you are interested, do pull up a chair and listen. It's a long one, and I must caution, somewhat opinionated. ⇒⇒
Apr 29, 2006
The Bangalore Electricity Supply Company [BESCOM] has been successful in having its services and collections managed by village level entrepreneurs, known as Gram Vidhyuth Pratinidhi [GVP].
There are 3,425 GVP -many of whom, women- across over 5,000 villages in Karnataka. Average collections have gone up 30% and service quality for consumers has got better. Power theft and bill default have practically disappeared. Villagers don’t have to travel to a nearby town and waste all day to pay their bills - these are collected at their door-steps.
With bonuses and incentives, a GVP can expect to earn Rs 4,500 per month, which is a considerable income in villages.
You can read the full story told at length in the April 24, 2000 issue of Outlook Magazine.
Random picks:
They showed they had a mind of their own: they wanted to start and run a bank exclusively for children.
Feb 20, 2005:ActivismSchools, community groups and villagers have joined in scientific testing and spreading awareness of Ganga’s sickness.
Sep 19, 2003:EnergyA workshop on biodiesels in Bangalore on Sep 6 and 7,2003
Jul 17, 2003:ElsewhereDemocracy is more than governments through elections-- it is governance by discussion
Jul 15, 2003:EconomyWe have a self-reinforcing pattern with trends beginning to inter-lock.
Jan 12, 2004:InnovationA quick composting technique and a plant recycling TetraPak cartons
Mar 04, 2004:ResourcesIt takes 60 years to replace a 60 foot tree but only 60 days to replace a 60 foot bamboo
May 20, 2003:SciencesIndia will gain her identity due to the efforts of her little known sons
Feb 03, 2003:EconomyUnaccounted money that used to flee India may be returning to India
May 21, 2003:Ideas For IndiaThe Van Ooetegham discovery seems precisely targeted at India.
Dec 21, 2004:InnovationThe bus plays two roles- that of a school bus and that of a school on wheels.
Sep 02, 2003:Ideas For India“Seed balls are a small universe in themselves.”
Oct 18, 2004:EnthusiastFor a great communicator, he is a quiet man of few words you are unlikely to track down, as he is always on the move.
Mar 13, 2003:Sciences“We have been able to successfully develop cyrogenic engine on our own”
Oct 21, 2003:TrendBarefoot Solar Engineers are now working across eight states in India
Jan 24, 2003:InitiativeCosts run to Rs.60,000 per month and she needs donations
Jul 05, 2004:Ideas For IndiaAn ox driven desalination plant is capable of producing 600 to 700 litres of potable water per hour
Jun 15, 2005:Ideas For IndiaAll it requires is some subtle management of a fully integrated, zero-waste system
Feb 20, 2003:Newsclip“We owe this tremendous success to college girls and rural women.”
Jan 01, 2003:EconomyGrowth rate of 5.5% is “one of the highest ever recorded by a democracy.”
Dec 23, 2004:SciencesAn abject apology to Dr Herbert Kroemer, a Nobel Laureate
Apr 14, 2006:ActivismGlobalisation that spawns much evil, has also created many tools and resources for grassroots activists
Dec 07, 2003:Ideas For IndiaThese are ideas that a rapidly changing India needs
Jan 04, 2003:TrendThe greatest achievement of the last decade has been the effect of including women in local governance
Aug 22, 2004:InnovationSingh was awarded US Patent No 6237579 in May 2001 for his idea
Oct 29, 2003:InnovationLuckily,India has already exhausted that reflex reaction of shallow thinking: ‘ban plastics!’
May 13, 2006:Ideas For IndiaHere are some promising paths that lead away from fossil fuel dependance, towards a sustainable energy future
Jul 15, 2003:ActivismThe Kali Bachao Andolan (Movement to Save the Kali) has been formed by Parisara Samrakshana Kendra of Uttara Kannada
Feb 16, 2005:ProfileHe was a tree that bore many scientists as fruits.
Feb 09, 2004:ActivismVery few Indian commentators have bothered to question Transparency International’s techniques
Aug 21, 2003:InitiativeRead the Sam Singh saga...that would be enough to fill you with optimism
Jan 02, 2004:Memory SpeaksThe whole family gathered around it
Oct 23, 2002:TrendRight now, there is a market opportunity for India
Nov 19, 2002:EnergyThe implication of this move is enormous for India
Sep 09, 2004:InitiativeReality is, there is a huge shortage and and a need to create new supplies of them.
Oct 22, 2003:Trend30,000 executive positions in Britain’s finance and insurance industries are likely to be transferred to India over the next five years
Jan 13, 2005:InitiativeOften what we cannot achieve by fulminating, can be achieved by switching off disappointment and working for a greater objective.
Jun 08, 2003:TrendThe number of heinous crimes had come down, particularly in Rajasthan and Maharashtra
Nov 09, 2004:InnovationIt is unlikely that any other country made such a decision, before it became affluent.
Sep 15, 2002:InitiativePrize for Dr Pushpangadan’s work with the Kani tribe