Telangana, ASCI launch online portals, fellowship on water, sanitation

Hyderabad: Three new websites and portals, along with a fellowship that aims at creating awareness and solving issues related to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) have been launched by the Telangana Government in association with the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI).

WASH Innovation Hub (WiH)

WiH is an initiative to promote innovation in water, sanitation, and hygiene in India. WiH will be housed in the Urban Centre for Excellence which will be set up in Hyderabad soon. It is an ecosystem to continuously identify and develop innovative WASH solutions and build the capacities of municipalities and other stakeholders for implementing and sustaining solutions. It is currently working with over 600 start-ups and innovators to creatively solve problems confronting our cities and local bodies.

WiH's vision is to transform Telangana into a lighthouse for WASH innovations to enable India to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It will provide a collaborative, multi-disciplinary platform that promotes research, assists in capacity building and fosters new ideas, and helps them reach fruition by providing incubation, prototyping, and up-scaling.

Telangana Urban Fellowship

The Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department (MAUD), the Government of Telangana, and the ASCI are offering the Urban Leaders Fellowship (ULF) which aims to provide an opportunity for bright professionals passionate about urban systems and public service to be part of Telangana's urban transformation journey.

ULF is a 24-month, full-time, multi-disciplinary scholarship program based in Hyderabad. It is designed to provide theoretical underpinning and field-based experience of working on live projects in diverse areas of urban practice with continuous mentorship support from a team of academics and urban practitioners.

ULF takes a scientific approach to making cities more habitable, resilient, and sustainable. It aims to nurture young professionals as urban leaders who will develop innovative and sustainable solutions for addressing urban challenges such as unplanned growth, economic inequality, lack of access to safe water and sanitation, public health concerns, and climate crisis.

Telangana FSSM Knowledge Portal

The Telangana Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (TFSSM) knowledge portal is a platform for practitioners to advance FSSM in Telangana. It has a repository of various officials, government officers, technicians, donors, and more.

The platform is powered by the National Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (NFSSM) Alliance. The alliance works in close collaboration with the MoHUA and comprises numerous national and international organisations across the country working towards sustainable sanitation solutions for India. The NFSSM Alliance was convened in January 2016 to build consensus around FSSM in the country.

In a first of its kind, this one-stop knowledge platform intends to support practitioners to advance FSSM across India at all levels including national, state, and city. Additionally, a Telangana FSSM Monitoring Portal has also been launched.