Waste initiative : India starts fellowship to reduce waste
Indias 'Waste to Wealth' mission is one of the nine national missions of the Prime Ministers Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council. It is an initiative to empower young innovators, known as ‘Swachhata Sarathi’, working at community level in the waste management, awareness dissemination, waste survey and studies - people who are engaged in tackling the challenge of waste management, scientifically and sustainably.
The role of young students from schools and colleges, and citizens working in the community through Self Help Groups (SHGs), or in independent capacity, is key in sensitizing the communities towards waste management and offer innovative solutions for conversion of waste to value. This fellowship is aimed to empower interested students and citizens to continuously engage in their attempts to reduce waste in cities and rural areas.
Announcing the fellowships, Prof K. VijayRaghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the GoI said : “India is a diverse cultural wonder with our practices and lifestyle being confronted by many environmental challenges. Managing the waste we generate is one issue that has deep implications—those who generate waste are often not those who clear it . The Swachhta Saarthi Fellowships will recognize exemplary people from any walk of life who go beyond the call of duty in tackling waste and manage it scientifically and sustainably. The fellowships will target the very grassroots of Indian community participation and recognise efforts made by citizens to make India a zero-waste nation.”
Targeted to encourage community participation, the Swachhta Saarthi Fellowships invites applications from students and community workers who have done previous work or are currently engaged in waste management activities, including awareness campaigns, surveys & studies.
Three categories of awards under the fellowships are — Category-A – Open to School students from 9th to 12th standards engaged in waste management community work; Category-B – Open to College students (UG, PG, Research students engaged in waste management community work and Category-C – Open to Citizens working in the community and through SHGs, municipal or sanitary workers working beyond specifications of their job requirement/descriptions.
The last date for applying to the fellowship is March 19th, 2021. Up to 500 fellows will be recognised under the fellowship. Details and application link is available here.