S M Sehgal Foundation

S M Sehgal Foundation (Sehgal Foundation) is an Indian NGO focused on rural development with its main offices in Gurgaon, Haryana. It was founded as an Indian public, charitable trust in 1999 by plant geneticist Suri Sehgal (Dr. Surinder M. Sehgal) and his wife Mrs. Edda Sehgal, who together had accumulated wealth through the 1998 sale of their hybrid seed businesses, Proagro Group. The foundation implements rural development projects in semi-arid areas of districts in Haryana, Rajasthan, and Bihar, in water resources management, agricultural productivity, and rural governance. Projects are supported by multiple sources, including individual donors, corporate sponsors, government grants, academic partnerships, and foundation funding. The organization's rural research unit conducts impact assessments and original research on development themes. Other units conduct crop research and adapt rural technologies to meet local needs.

In 1998, Suri and Edda Sehgal, American citizens, established Sehgal Family Foundation (later changed to Sehgal Foundation) in Des Moines, Iowa, as a 501(C)(3) nonprofit philanthropic organization advocating biodiversity and conservation. The Sehgals established S M Sehgal Foundation in India, in 1999, as a public charitable trust. In the first three years, it made grants to other not-for-profit organizations. In 2002, S M Sehgal Foundation began grassroots development implementation with communities in Mewat District, Haryana, and continued to expand its role. As programs evolved, the founders stressed that “Many approaches are needed in order to create an impact.” The foundation has been recognized in the past as "IRRAD (Institute for Rural Research and Development) an initiative of S M Sehgal Foundation." Some awards for their development work are presented in that name.

S M Sehgal Foundation's programs are interrelated with a focus on gender equality. The organization's tagline, "Together we empower rural India," refers to empowering individuals and members of village-level institutions to participate in projects undertaken on their behalf in order to further their own development.

Foundation staff and volunteers work alongside villagers to obtain and secure adequate local water supplies, improve sanitation, and manage wastewater in their communities. Information and awareness outreach includes door-to-door campaigns and water literacy training. Infrastructure projects include rooftop rainwater harvesting, check dams, water storage tanks, recharge wells and ponds, biosand filters, and wastewater disposal structures. The foundation supports rejuvenating traditional wells as a more sustainable alternative to tube wells. In 2014, the foundation won the Millennium Alliance Award for Outstanding Work on Pressurized Recharge Wells for Creating Fresh Water Pockets in Saline Ground Water Areas. The technology was recognized in September 2015 at the United Nations Solutions Summit as one of 14 "innovative" projects profiled that provide "breakthrough solutions" to help meet sustainable global development goals. S M Sehgal Foundation engineers designed a biosand filter that was more effective than previous versions in treating water contamination at the household level. Sehgal Foundation technical experts collaborate with other NGOs, government bodies, and educational institutions to prepare for monsoon harvesting.

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