Vasudha Foundation is engaged in ensuring access to clean, sustainable, affordable, 24x7 energy for all and works in collaboration with various agencies such as Sustainable Energy For All in developing models and pilots for rural energy access with an aim to address livelihood enhancement and income creation in rural areas.
One of the first projects in this space, that Vasudha Foundation embarked on was to work with communities to set up community owned, designed, managed and operated holistic renewable energy based mini-grids. Work of setting up one such pilot project in Lalpur Village in Madhupur Taluk of Jharkhand was successfully implemented.
Further in an effort to build capacities of rural communities, Vasudha Foundation also embarked on a project titled, Universal Service Obligation for Rural Electricity Supply, which helped to train rural communities to engage with State Electricity Regulators for rural electricity supply.
Vasudha's Energy Transition team is primarily engaged in supporting India's clean energy transition journey through the creation of data repositories and data driven analysis to ensure that all stakeholders are on board on India's clean energy transition. The team is also engaged in tracking global clean energy transition and policy framework across various countries across the globe to track and understand best policy practices that could be adapted for Indian situation. Through its rich analysis, the team also assesses potential or possible barriers for scaling up clean energy solutions and reforming India's power sector and proposes potential solutions to address the perceived barriers.
The Organisation has already created a very comprehensive data repository which is housed in an exclusive website, which provides easy access to data and analysis without any paywalls that will help in getting a wide range of stakeholders to participate and actively engage in India's clean energy transition.
The energy transition team has also worked on highlighting cross sectoral issues that impacts India's power sector, particularly on the water, land, environment and air quality linkages and impacts.
The Climate team engages actively with policymakers, researchers and others stakeholders at the state and national level with robust qualitative and quantitative research and analysis to ensure mainstreaming climate concerns and sustainable development goals into development planning. The climate team works with the energy transition team to develop cross-sectoral and sector specific solutions to mainstream climate and sustainable development goals.
Specifically, Vasudha Foundation has been engaged in working with multiple states in developing their state climate action plans and in recent times, updating and revising their state climate action plans to synchronise climate actions with India's NDCs. The Climate team is also actively engaged with a few district administrations to develop district environment and climate action plans.
Vasudha Foundation was also instrumental in conceptualising the first of its kind initiative of a civil society platform to provide information on greenhouse gas emissions for India as a whole as well as at the state level.This is part of the training and capacity building initiative on climate actions
The work primarily engages with communities, particularly the farming communities in key states in promoting low water use cropping in India. The team also works with communities in minimising crop burning through alternate solutions of using crop waste.
As a cross-cutting work, Global Partnerships entail engaging proactively with various global platforms on Climate and Clean Energy Solutions. As part of its Global Partnerships, Vasudha Foundation is a member of the IRENA Coalition of Action, The Climate Action Network and various other Civil Society platforms such as Civil 20, BRICS 20 etc. Vasudha Foundation is also an accredited observer at the UNFCCC, World Bank, Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank and the New Development Bank.
As part of its global engagement, the team is also engaged in showcasing India's actions in addressing climate change and the leadership role it is playing on renewable energy scale up. The global engagement also tracks climate negotiations at the UNFCCC and also tracks the international financial flows.