Clean drinking water, one of the basic requirements of a healthy human population has now become a public health challenge, threatening the sustainability of social and economic development across the world. This study is aimed on assessing the level of awareness about the drinking water safety, identifying the gaps and educating the residents of a slum area in Chandigarh. A multistage sampling design was adopted. Three blocks were selected with 90 households from each block through systematic random sampling. Response rate was 98.8 percent with majority of the respondents in the age group of 21 - 30. Educating good purification practice along with its advocacy and mobilizing the community to practice point-of-use purification methods through health education workshops and training setups were found essential for curbing the gaps.

The study has been conducted to investigate microfinance impact on income and employment of the rural poor, through an investigation of the financial behaviour of the SHGs and the sample households. Using the survey data pertaining to 20 SHGs (200 households) and forty non-participant poor households, (selected from same villages from where SHG members are selected), the study has attempted to examine the above issues. The socio-economic background of the sample households is undertaken which is helpful in understanding (a) characteristics of participants in SHG programmes, and (b) also helps in understanding access of the programmes to weaker sections. Income of many of the participants has increased which adds to their household income by involving themselves in income generating activities either individually or in group. From the Probit-model regression it is found that probability of participation in the microfinance programme increases with the rise in land holding, and if the household belongs to the general category, but reduces for ST/SC groups. The study also found that participants from Bhadrak district has performed better that that of Angul district.