Arghyam grants funds to organisations, which implement and manage groundwater and sanitation projects in India. Arghyam has made grants to recipients in 22 states of India since 2005, the year of its founding.

Arghyam, meaning, ‘offering’ in Sanskrit, is a public charitable foundation that is based in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The foundation’s work rests upon a personal endowment from Rohini Nilekani.

Arghyam supports sustainable water management towards meeting the basic water needs of all citizens, especially those from vulnerable communities. While the focus is on domestic water, Arghyam’s activities are contextualized around the broader issues of the water sector and take into consideration agricultural, industrial and environmental aspects.

 

The reasons for Araghyam's decision to support activities like groundwater and sanitation are: Over sixty years after independence, about 85,000 habitations lack access to safe drinking water (Source: indiawater.gov.in, as of 1st April 2013). And according to Census 2011, about 70% rural households lack access to toilets with all the accompanying consequences on public health, economic productivity and well-being. Despite enormous sums being spent by governments at state and central levels, the progress has been disappointing.

In a country as large and diverse as India there are many interconnected reasons for the lack/slow pace of progress in the water and sanitation sector. Amongst all the environmental infrastructure sectors, water is perhaps the most complex one. A combination of several issues all contribute to the eventual poor reliability of water and sanitation service to millions in our country. These include – governance, social, gender and caste-based inequity, technical, and environmental among others.

Addressing the water and sanitation challenges that the country is faced with, calls for innovation, the ability to absorb risk and working towards long-term systemic change, which is why Arghyam decided to dedicate itself to the cause of improving access to drinking water and sanitation. 

 

The areas in which organisations can apply for grants are as follows:

 

Arghyam aims to work to improve access to clean water and the provision of sanitation in a sustainable and equitable manner. Arghyam considers requests for grants to assist small, medium and large projects in India that meet its vision of safe, sustainable, water and sanitation for all.

Arghyam makes grants to NGOs, civil society organisations, research institutions and government agencies at local ,regional and national levels. To ensure effectiveness of its work, Arghyam considers grants in its focus areas, which are:

1      Water Security

2      Water Quality

3      Participatory Groundwater Management (PGWM)

4      Sanitation

5      Urban Initiatives

Grants in these areas are given to cover activities such as development or restoration of water supply and sanitation infrastructure, capacity building of communities to understand and respond to their local water and sanitation needs, research, advocacy, events, and communication. 

 

Financial & Grants Management

Budget Preparation	Steps to be taken while Applying for Grants
Bank Reconciliation	Letter of Intent
AdvancesÂ	Capacity Building
Cost Effective Analysis	Concept Note
How to choosea Bank	Bank Accounts
Cash and Fund flowÂ	Asset RegisterÂ
Financial Statements	Cash and Acrual based AccountingÂ