India Water Impact Summit

Why is in news? New Delhi: Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat to inaugurate 7th India IWIS 2022

Jal Shakti Minister will inaugurate the 7th India Water Impact Summit (IWIS 2022) at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi.

The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and the Center for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (cGanga) are pleased to organize the Seventh India Water Impact Summit during 15-17 December 2022.

The theme of the summit - Restoration and Conservation of Small Rivers in a Large Basin.

It will also focus on the select aspects of ‘Mapping and Convergence of 5Ps’ - People, Policy, Plan, Programme and Project

The three-day-long summit will aim to give an insight into the potential causes for divergence and formulate a strategy to achieve convergence.

The event will also host a finance forum to bring together global financial institutions and investors interested in river restoration and conservation programmes.

In the past 3 to 8 years many mega initiatives such as Swachh Bharat Mission, Namami Gange Programme, Jal Jeevan Mission, Atal Bhujal Yojana, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), Digital India, etc. that directly or indirectly relate to restoration and conservation of river systems were launched.

Similar initiatives are also taken by many state governments to restore and conserve river systems including efforts through MGNREGA.

In the 6th edition, there were deliberations on the judicious use of remaining river resources for several developmental and anthropocentric needs.

Extending the propositions made in Ganga River Basin Management Plan (GRBMP) released in 2015 by the Consortium of IITs (IITC), team cGanga (Center for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies led by IIT Kanpur) developed the framework for ‘Samarth Ganga’ which refers to ‘Able Rivers’.

The foundation of Samarth Ganga can be seen by strengthening five pillars, namely Aviral Ganga, Nirmal Ganga, Arth Ganga, Jan Ganga, and Gyan Ganga.

In the 5th edition of the India Water Impact Summit, understanding the concept and nuances of Arth Ganga was the key focus. Ganga stands on the pinnacle of India’s holy river and symbolizes decades of cultural history of the Indian subcontinent.

The deliberations of the summit summarized that development, restoration and conservation of the rivers are the prime facets of the Arth Ganga model.

Highlights of the summit:

The objective of the summit is to impart impetus towards developing water and environmental infrastructure to protect rivers and water bodies in India

Experts from the country and abroad will discuss ways in which small rivers facing near-extinction in large river basins can be protected

Summit aims to give insight into potential causes for divergence and formulate strategy to achieve convergence

5 broad Tracks of summit are Science and Policy, Finance and Economics, Technology and Innovation, International and Implementation Challenges

Event will host a finance forum to bring together global financial institutions and investors interested in river restoration and conservation programmes