Spotlight
S M Sehgal Foundation Received the TALHero Awards 2025
(Pooja O. Murada receiving the award on behalf of the foundation)
On December 13, 2025, Touch-A-Life Foundation honored SMSF with the TALHero Award, recognizing its purpose-driven leadership, integrity, and sustained impact in the social sector.
Pooja O. Murada, principal lead, Outreach for Development, and Neeraj Kumar Dubey, state lead, Telangana, received the award in Hyderabad on behalf of the organization.
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Stories of Change
In Rangala village, Rajina used the toll-free helpline of the Citizen Information and Support Center (CISC) to gain information on several government programs, including loans to set up small enterprises, secure MGNREGA work, improve ration delivery under ICDS, TPDS, and school, among others.
Rajina’s story shows how community leadership coupled with the right support leads to rural transformation.
Watch the video here.
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Partnership Highlights
(Coca-Cola team receiving the award)
Another Milestone for Project Jaldhara!
Coca-Cola India’s flagship water stewardship initiative, Project Jaldhara in partnership with S M Sehgal Foundation, has won the Community Development Award at the Frost & Sullivan PERP 2025. Adding to its growing list of national recognitions, this award celebrates Jaldhara’s measurable impact in strengthening safe drinking water access and groundwater availability in water-stressed rural Maharashtra.
(HDFC and SMSF team in Champawat, Uttarakhand)
Focused Rural Development Initiative in Champawat
A focused rural development project covering forty villages, supported by HDFC Bank Parivartan, was inaugurated at a community event in Lohaghat, Champawat district, Uttarakhand, on December 1, 2025. The event witnessed enthusiastic participation from representatives of newly inducted intervention villages, including members of Panchayati Raj Institutions. Attendees included Jessica Choudhary, CSR Manager, HDFC Bank; Om Beer Yadav, HDFC Bank, Lohaghat; government officials, representatives from the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), and the S M Sehgal Foundation team. Read more…
(PRIF team with SMSF team in the project inauguration)
Launch of Project Abhivriddhi in Behror
Marking the National Farmers Day (Dec 23), S M Sehgal Foundation, with the support of Pernod Ricard India Foundation (PRIF), proudly launched the Abhivriddhi Project at Gram Panchayat Jhajharpur, Kotputali-Behror, Rajasthan.
The launch brought together 150 farmers from 17 villages, along with representatives from PRIF, Agriculture, Horticulture, Rajeevika, Panchayat, INTAS Animal Health, and India WAL Behror FPO, showcasing a strong collective commitment to rural development. Read more…
(SMSF team at the CCRI Event)
Advancing Regenerative Coffee Landscapes at the CCRI Centenary
At the CCRI centenary, SMSF joined the session “Navigating Climate Change Impacts in Coffee: A Regenerative Approach,” led by IDH India. So far, SMSF has onboarded around 15,000 coffee farmers from the project villages and formed more than 100 Farmer Interest Groups (FIGs).
Through partnerships with CCRI, HUL, and JDE Peet’s, a regenerative landscape approach is being advanced across four districts in Karnataka and Kerala, restoring soil and water health, promoting low-carbon and biodiversity friendly practices, and strengthening climate-resilient livelihoods for smallholder coffee growers organized through farmer collectives.
Month At A Glance
(Anjali Makhija as a speaker at the Eastern Himalayan Forum)
Anjali Makhija Speaks at the Eastern Himalayan Naturenomics Forum
The 13th Eastern Himalayan Naturenomics Forum was held recently, convening leaders and practitioners to examine the future of the region’s ecosystems. In the two-day forum, Anjali Makhija, CEO and trustee, S M Sehgal Foundation, highlighted community-led innovations, climate adaptation, and the critical role of women’s collectives in water and forest conservation, and shared perspectives on integrating indigenous governance into CSR and rural development.
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(Farmers celebrating soil day)
Celebrating Soil Day with the Nurturers of Soil
World Soil Day was celebrated in Nidhona village, Phulambri block, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra, under the Uttam Gram Initiative. More than sixty farmers actively participated in the awareness event. The foundation team and farmers engaged in scientific discussions covering everything about soil, its health and conservation.
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(Debika Goswami as a speaker at DropTalk)
SMSF Shares Community-Led Water Security Practices at Hydromingle by DropTalk
Debika Goswami, Implementation lead, S M Sehgal Foundation, recently spoke at the Hydromingle Special Edition by DropTalk as a panelist in the session “Open Collaboration Forum: Converging Currents.” She highlighted SMSF’s community-led approach to water security, emphasizing the active involvement of villagers, women, panchayats, and Village Development Committees to ensure long-term sustainability.
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(Vrindaa Sharma presenting on rural planning in community development projects)
SMSF Highlights People-Centric Rural Planning at GeoSmart India 2025
S M Sehgal Foundation was represented by Vrindaa Sharma, associate social scientist, Rural Research and Technology Innovation, at GeoSmart India 2025, held on December 3, 2025. She spoke in the session, “Spatial Development Plans for Gram Panchayats: Guiding Planned and Climate-Resilient Rural Growth,” under Digital Maps @ Gram Panchayat. Ms. Sharma highlighted the role of spatial development plans in strengthening rural planning and advancing people-centric, data-driven development.
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(Rajpal Singh presenting SMSF’s findings on rice cultivation techniques)
SMSF Presents Climate-Smart Rice Cultivation Findings at Food Systems Summit 2025
At the Food Systems Summit 2025, hosted by FOLU India on December 16–17, 2025, Rajpal Singh, principal scientist, S M Sehgal Foundation, presented findings on the use of IoT-enabled alternate wetting and drying (AWD) in rice cultivation in Haryana. The results demonstrated significant gains in water conservation, productivity, and emissions reduction, including a 30–35 percent reduction in water use, a 7 percent increase in grain yield, and substantially lower N₂O and CH₄ emissions compared to control plots. Find out more here.
(School administration with SMSF team at the inauguration)
Inauguration of PM SHRI Government Senior Secondary School
The PM SHRI Government Senior Secondary School, Malab, in Nuh, Haryana, was formally inaugurated today in the presence of senior education officials, including District Education Officer Rajender Sharma and District Elementary Education Officer Sageer Ahmad, along with the Block Education officer, school principals, the sarpanch of Gram Panchayat Malab, and members of the SMC, VDC, and school administration.
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(Salahuddin Saiphy speaking at the conference)
SMSF Highlights Keys to Sustainable Piped Water at National Conference
Mr. Salahuddin Saiphy, principal lead, Water Management at SMSF, was invited to speak at the National Conference on Assured Clean Piped Water to All: The Road Ahead, organized by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and Sankala Foundation. During the session on Sustainability of Drinking Water Sources, he emphasized that robust technology, active stakeholder engagement, institutional training and empowerment for operations and maintenance (O&M), source augmentation through rainwater harvesting structures, and the creation of a water-conscious society are essential prerequisites for a successful and sustainable water supply scheme.
More from SMSF
Podcast
SMSF Connect Podcast features a bouquet of interesting programs about rural development and other social issues and themes. TUNE IN to our podcast channel on I-RadioLive. Podcasts also available on Spotify.
Contributors: S M Sehgal Foundation team
Photo Credits: S M Sehgal Foundation staff
Design and Production: Outreach for Development team
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