Policy from the Ground
Stories, Strategies and lessons in solving problems, and the invisible levers that shape cities and nation
I work at the intersection of policy, people, and practice — from river revival to waste prevention.
My Philosophy
Projects should Solve the Problems They are Designed to Solve, and not just Scratch at the Surface of the Symptoms
These blogs document my journey as a policy entrepreneur — learning from rivers, waste, schools, and cities — and translating those lessons into scalable, upstream solutions.
BROWSE BLOGS BY CATEGORY
How changes happen at a scale, be it Hum Do, Hamare Do, No Smoking in NYC….
Solutions that Actually Solve Problems
Turning off the tap, going upstream rather than working at the end-of-pipe
Latest Insights
Turning Off the Tap on Waste: What years of river work taught me about prevention
Mission City Chakra presents a scalable, upstream model that prevents waste at source by working with schools, institutions, workplaces, and ...
Why Waste Reduction Has Stalled at Cloth Bags — And Why We Need to Go Much Further
Everyone agrees waste reduction is better than recycling. Yet our actions stop at cloth bags. Aditi Deodhar invites you to ...
Why Plastic Products should Carry Health Warning
Why Plastic Tiffins Should Carry a Health Warning 1. Plastic Tiffins Are Food-Contact Materials — Yet Poorly Regulated Plastic containers ...
When Correlation Is Clear, Policy Must Act: Plastic’s Warning Signs
Discover how some of the biggest public-health breakthroughs—from smoking bans to lead-free petrol—were achieved not with perfect proof, but with ...
The Day New York Quit: Bloomberg’s Blueprint for Change
How Bloomberg Made NYC Smoke-Free: A Policy Breakthrough Discover how Mayor Bloomberg transformed New York City with a bold, evidence-driven ...
How a Community Brought a Dead Stream Back to Life — One Sunday at a Time
Discover how a simple, low-cost, community-led wetland restoration project at Vitthalwadi revived freshwater flow in the Mutha riverbed. A replicable ...
How Pune Turned Its “Brown Problem” Into a Green Revolution
A Story of Dry Leaves, Human Ingenuity, and a City That Refused to Burn. By Aditi, the accidental leaf–matchmaker Burning ...
The Most Dangerous Thing in a Child’s Schoolbag — And How We Decided to Eliminate It, Bloomberg Style
Aditi Deodhar writes about the hidden health danger inside children’s schoolbags—plastic tiffin boxes—and how Pune schools are adopting a Bloomberg-style ...
HEALTH WARNING ON THE CIGARETTE PACK AND WHY THEY SHOULD BE ON PLASTIC PRODUCTS
In the mid-1900s, cigarette packs began to change — not their contents, but their conscience. What was once a symbol ...
How Local Leadership Can Make City Streets Paper-Cup Free
Across Indian cities, bustling market streets like Pune’s Laxmi Road witness thousands of paper cups discarded daily — small but ...