Development Alternatives with its partners is elated to announce SAM-UDYAM - an inclusive entrepreneurship collaboration which aims to bring together thought leaders, changemakers and innovators on a platform to promote entrepreneurship for creating sustainable livelihoods at scale. By 2025, the initiative will enable setting up of 1 million new enterprises every year, thereby creating employment for over 10 million Indians by 2030. Join us as we come together to make entrepreneurship accessible for all!

NDTV, in collaboration with the Habba, initiated a fundraiser for weavers and artisans. The main aim of the special telethon was to bring back the demand for handmade and revive their livelihoods. While speaking at the event, Dr Ashok Khosla, Chairman, Development Alternatives said that in order to understand the handicraft, there is a need to go back to the values of Mahatma Gandhi. He asserted that over the past years, the country as a while seems to have forgotten its artisans who possess the traditional skills and knowledge and have immense potential. Kanika Verma, Programme Director, DA added that the voice of the artisans must be given importance in order to truly address the problems that they are facing.

Civil Society Organisations have been pushing boundaries to secure rights for empowering people and safeguarding the planet. They are often at the forefront of innovating solutions and implementing programmes for tackling local, national and global challenges. Dr Ashok Khosla, Chairman of the Development Alternatives Group, the world's first social enterprise dedicated to sustainable development, was recently interviewed by Sunish Jauhari, Jagrik Bharat on the importance of Civil Society Organisations in today's times for advocating and action for change.

Integrating People, Ecology And Economy; The intersection of the environment with people’s health, socioeconomic mobility and community resilience has traditionally been ignored in these measures, but COVID-19’s intersection with deforestation, wildlife and ecological health is highlighting how intimate these connections actually are - and how much we need to redesign our concept of human well-being and growth. Watch the panel discussion, moderated by Dr. Ashok Khosla, chairman, Development Alternatives, exploring how we can learn to think about human development from indigenous perspectives on interdependence, how environment can be re-centered in how we measure prosperity and economic growth, and how this interdependence of people, ecology and economy can be better measured and fostered for the future. The panellists include Shankar Venkateswaran (Head – ESG, ECube Investment Advisors Pvt. Ltd.), Sourov Roy (Head – CSR, Tata Steel), Dr. Sarala Khailing (Regional Director, ATREE)

A short film made by NDTV, highlights our effort to reduce Marine Plastic Litter by taking appropriate measures and by creating awareness among people in Haridwar (Uttarakhand) and Pryagraj (Uttar Pradesh). This was part of our project “Promotion of Countermeasures against Marine Plastic Litter Southeast Asia and India” along with UNEP, under which we also conducted a comprehensive study to gather data on plastic pollution in rivers. The film was telecasted on NDTV on 25 May 2020.

As India fights the coronavirus pandemic, the use of plastic products has been on the rise. On this special episode of We The People, Dr. Ashok Khosla, chairman, Development Alternatives along with UNEP's goodwill ambassador Dia Mirza along with other environmentalists to answer the million dollar question on how to address India's mammoth plastic waste problem.

Dr. K. Vijaya Lakshmi, Vice President, Development Alternatives participated in a webinar - "Gender & Water: The Intersection", organised by Centre for Social Research on 13 May 2020. She highlighted the nuances between gender and water issues along with other panellists Dr. Yogesh Jadeja (Arid Communities & Technologies) and Dr. Fawzia Tarannum, TERI School of Advanced Studies.

TARA Akshar+ is an ICT based Adult Literacy Programme. Being run in more than 8 states, it has made about two lakh women functionally literate. In this video, Bala Devi, a TARA Akshar+ learner from Birguan village of Uttar Pradesh, reads fluently and has gained self-confidence.

Dr. Ashok Khosla - an environmental visionary of international acclaim, the Founder/Chairman of Development Alternatives (DA), and a global authority on environment and sustainable growth - talks about solutions to poverty, saving the environment, species & resources, and about his organisation, Development Alternatives.

The urban housing shortage in India is currently estimated at 18.78 million, more than 95% of which pertains to low-income groups. In addition, the housing sector is, by definition, an energy and resource intensive sector, creating a large environmental burden on Earth's natural resources. This video highlights the need for more sustainable options in order to meet the housing demand, as well as to conserve our natural resources.