Taru Leading Edge

Taru Leading Edge collaborates with ISC-FICCI & IRC for Insights Forum, a pioneering pan-India platform uniting WASH professionals, policymakers, and experts. The forum promotes knowledge sharing, addresses challenges, and fosters partnerships in the water, sanitation, and hygiene sector. Through dialogues in various cities, the forum aims to bring transformative impact on communities and geographies, focusing on critical themes such as Behavioral Sciences, Sanitation Skilling, Faecal Sludge Management, and Malnutrition and Sanitation.

UCHAI is a capacity-building initiative aiming to climate-proof the health sector in India. It connects professionals and researchers from various fields to foster collaboration, training, research, and climate-friendly health interventions. The moderated open platform utilizes social media and instant messaging to engage diverse stakeholders.

Taru Leading Edge, supported by ADB, spearheads a comprehensive flood early warning system in Kolkata, combatting urban flooding. IoT technology enables real-time forecasts on rainfall, inundation levels, climate, and environmental data, enhancing city resilience.
The flood forecasting system is the first of its kind in India, offering city-level forecasts and real-time updates from sensor nodes. Environment and weather sensors provide year-round monitoring of temperature, humidity, and air quality across Kolkata.
Ultrasonic sensors strategically placed at vulnerable points, including canals, pumping stations, and schools, transmit real-time data to a cloud-based dashboard. This data is integrated with Kolkata's global information system to assess risks. Citizens and community groups receive risk information through mobile alerts and radio/television messaging, helping them plan daily activities with early warning and inundation status awareness.

Taru Leading Edge, with support from the Rockefeller Foundation and Indore Municipal Corporation, initiated a lake conservation project in Indore under the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN). The project's primary goal is to ensure the availability of local water resources during emergencies through the development of a replicable model for peri-urban lake rejuvenation and conservation. Active engagement with the community and multiple stakeholders is a crucial aspect to reduce untreated sewage flow into the lakes. The expected outcomes include stakeholder-managed processes to improve water quality and perenniality of restored lakes and generate interest in conserving urban lakes.

Taru has set up the 'Center for Digital Transformation' to enhance development through IT, GIS, and new-age technologies. The Center's primary focus is on generating intelligent and spatial data, developing software for data tracking and monitoring, and conducting in-depth research to assess risk levels and causal factors associated with disasters and climate-related events.
By mapping hazard-prone areas and creating a matrix to rank and assess the probability of such episodes, the Center aims to provide effective solutions for natural and technological hazards. Real-time data becomes the basis for optimal risk management strategies, vulnerability assessment, and risk reduction.
The Center has played a crucial role in supporting various projects by creating GIS maps at national, state, district, and city levels, encompassing multiple sectors such as floods, heatwaves, and earthquakes. Its cutting-edge approach in utilizing technology and spatial analysis has proved beneficial in advanc

Project Sammaan is a pioneering urban sanitation initiative focused on redesigning and improving sanitation facilities for slum communities across India. The project conducts extensive research on sanitation and hygiene in urban slums, aiming to rethink the existing models of sanitation facilities and develop a new programmatic infrastructure that fosters dignity and addresses open defecation issues.
Based in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, Odisha, Project Sammaan tests a range of hardware and software innovations within shared sanitation facilities to be potentially replicated in other cities. More than 39 community toilet blocks have already been set up in identified sites.
What sets Project Sammaan apart is its unique collaboration among diverse organizations, including design firms, government bodies, empirical researchers, architectural firms, waste management experts, and community engagement specialists. This collective effort ensures a holistic approach to improving urban sanitation,