Gram Panchayat

At 13, Surjeet Lodhi rallied children in Vidisha to fight alcohol abuse and child labour. By 17, he helped restore classrooms and hope across villages.

In drought-stricken Solapur, a visionary farmer’s gamble on lemons transforms Pothre from a village of despair into Maharashtra’s “Lemon Village”-sparking economic revival, social reform, and a movement for women’s rights that inspires change across rural India.

“There were 328 BPL (Below Poverty Line) families in the village. They had neither house nor land. I could uplift them to APL (Above Poverty Line). I think as a Sarpanch that was my biggest achievement and my happiest memory.”

"The gram panchayat can use the salary to further develop the school. There are parts of this country where teachers do not even come to school. With this message, I want to prove to the children in this village that I am dedicated to their education," says headmaster G Satish. #Respect #Inspiration

Awarded the Danish Water Air Food Award 2018 for offering an effective sustainable solution, Thrissur's 'Mazhapolima' initiative could teach cities like Bengaluru and Chennai a thing or two about protecting their groundwater. #WaterActionDecade #ActOnClimateChange #Kerala #Inspiration

Now, the villagers of Bhinjpur have light bulbs, television and the latest electrical gadgets. The kitchens of their houses have been upgraded, and the women can be seen using mixers instead of mortar and pestles, and cooling water in fridges.

Unwilling to be stifled by red-tapism, the dynamic DM of Alipurduar is showing what civil service is really about — taking governance to the doorsteps of the dirt-poor.

In May 2016, there were 6 lakh people in the district who defecated in the open. Incredibly, it took just a year for all villages to become ODF.

After five years of enduring a bumpy and pot-holed roads, the residents of Sus village had enough and decided to step in themselves!

Founded in 2000 as a programme and joint initiative of two NGOs - Public Affairs Centre and Swabhimana, CMCA strives to transform young Indians into concerned, thinking and active citizens for an inclusive and sustainable India.