Indian government is to ensure water security for all, says Verma
Delegates at the Singapore International Water Week were given updates on business opportunities in India’s ongoing multi-billion dollars water management programmes including the US$50 billion Jal Jivan Mission and the rejuvenation of six rivers based on the Namami Gange model https://www.siww.com.sg/home .
“The government is implementing a US$50 billion programme known as Jal Jivan Mission http://jaljeevanmission.gov.in to provide household (water) tap connections to 190 million rural households by the end of 2024,” Rakesh Kumar Verma, additional secretary, Ministry of Jal Shakti, told delegates at the India Business Forum held at the SIWW held 18-22 June.
The Namami Gange Programme https://nmcg.nic.in/NamamiGanga.aspx , now underway as one of the largest river rejuvenation programmes to restore the wholesomeness of the Ganga River, will be replicated across six rivers, he said.
Apprising technologists, manufacturers and startups, he told the forum that the central government is supporting the state governments in developing more than 100 projects with a total cost of US$10 billion to create new infrastructure of water storage and diversion https://water.org/ .
Apart from new infrastructure, India is also working on dam rehabilitation and improvement for ensuring operational efficiency of existing infrastructure https://www.ibef.org/ .
Assisted by the World Bank https://www.worldbank.org/en/home , the programme covers more than 700 dams at a cost of US$1.4 billion, said Verma, calling for private sector participation in managing water resources for the government alone cannot tackle the ever-increasing challenges of water resources, which is a global issue.
Offering business opportunities through multi-billion-dollar programmes in the country, he underlined, “India’s rapid urbanization and industrialization, growing food and energy demands, accelerated development of our water resources and infrastructure and services https://www.pmindia.gov.in/en/ .”
He continued, “India has adopted a holistic approach to address existing and upcoming challenges in the water sector https://www.bseindia.com/ . India believes that sustainable development of water resources and its efficient management are key to water security and economic growth.”
Verma highlighted the Indian government’s focus to ensure water security for all, pointing out that India is one of the fastest growing water markets https://www.nseindia.com/ in the world.
He assured the global water community at SIWW that the Indian government is keen to forge partnerships with all stakeholders to explore opportunities https://www.globaltenders.com/ to address the challenges of the water sector.
Verma elaborated on the sector’s requirements https://www.meed.com/latest/tenders , calling for capacity building and training of water sector professionals, replicating successful models in micro irrigation, river rejuvenation, sustainable management of groundwater, application of IT, among others.
“There is a role for manufacturers https://www.makeinindia.com/home/ , technology providers, startups and service providers … and we will collectively embark on this journey to evolve modern solutions for water.”
The SIWW 2024 was attended by over 20,000 delegates and speakers from around the world. Fiinews.com
