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Timeline

Stepping stones, 1991 to 2025

Milestones as written in the PSI timeline draft. Two entries hold draft placeholders. They are flagged on this page and need PSI numbers.

Villagers and a pair of bullocks work on a terraced pond bed in the hills
Hill pond work. Photo supplied by PSI.
Women plant rice seedlings in a flooded hill field
Planting a hill paddy field. Photo supplied by PSI.

  1. 1991

    Earthquake safe housing

    After the Uttarkashi earthquake, PSI published an 8 page Hindi booklet on safe housing, with simple sketches. The district gave it to villages as posters. PSI trained local masons. That method became its standard response.

  2. 1992 to 1993

    Sukha Mukti Abhiyan, Palamu

    PSI led a drought proofing drive with village Pani Panchayats and the district. In 2 years, 125 villages built 143 earthen dams. Irrigation potential reached about 4,000 acres. Spend totalled Rs 2.70 crores. The Government of India later used many steps in national watershed guidelines.

  3. 1996

    A regional training centre

    CAPART chose PSI to train groups in participatory watershed work across north India. With Sir Ratan Tata Trust support, PSI backed 47 NGOs in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, with over 36,000 trainee days.

    Villagers gather around a large coloured map drawn on the ground

  4. 1999

    Temporary shelters that fit the place

    Families need safe shelter while they rebuild. PSI designed shelters for local conditions after disasters in many states. PSI also built schools in Odisha and Kachh.

  5. 2000 to 2005

    From consumption to conservancy

    PSI studied old Himalayan water systems and helped revive them. Two projects covered almost 10,000 hectares in over 100 villages in Pauri Garhwal and Hamirpur. Women led the work. Tanker supply was no longer needed at the end.

  6. 2002

    Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, western Odisha

    PSI helped villages plan their own development. 314 villages made their own plans. Village groups checked that public services reached people.

  7. 2006

    Agro ecology lifts farm incomes

    PSI spread the System of Crop Intensification. Yields rose from 40 percent to over 100 percent in trials. Farmer Paras Ram of Hamirpur raised his wheat harvest from 640 kg to 980 kg in 2012, in his words in the draft.

    Farmers carry harvested crop across a hillside field

  8. 2009 to 2014

    Community action against fluorosis

    PSI joined water testing with village action in Dhar and Sonebhadra. Draft placeholders for villages and people remain. PSI to supply final numbers.

  9. 2010

    Bundelkhand

    The Ministry of Rural Development asked PSI to repeat the Odisha approach. Youth became village resource persons. Women gained a stronger voice. Draft income figures need PSI confirmation.

  10. 2019 to 2020

    River flows in Uttar Pradesh

    With WWF India, PSI assessed flows on 8 major rivers. Partners included IIT Kanpur groups and ICAR NBFGR Lucknow.

  11. 2020

    Training development practitioners

    PSI runs a ten month course for young professionals. Four batches have completed it since 2020.

  12. 2022 to 2023

    Cities: air and groundwater

    PSI mapped air pollution action in Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Indore and Mumbai, with USAID India support. In Gwalior, PSI helped plan aquifer recharge under AMRUT 2.0.

  13. 2025 to 2026

    Gram Panchayat resilient plans

    Ten panchayats in the Song and Kosi basins now plan for climate risk. Local groups lead the planning.