Dr Vijaya Lakshmi is Vice President of Development Alternatives. Her main focus and achievements are in the area of water quality testing, associated with development and application of innovative technologies that address the problems of women. Dr Vijaya Lakshmi realised that 90 per cent of water borne diseases are due to coli form bacteria that largely affect women and children in rural areas and urban slums. She took upon herself the challenge of demystifying the science of water quality monitoring and developed filter and testing kits that can be taken to villages in India.