On December 10-15, 2020, the 5-day long virtual 5th India Water Impact Summit (IWIS) 2020 was organised by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and Center for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (cGanga) on the theme “Arth Ganga – River Conservation Synchronised Development”. The summit was inaugurated by Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS).
- The summit provided a platform for interaction between global investors and stakeholders in the water sector to address issues pertaining to water and river management in India.
- The summit also hosted a “Finance Forum” to bring together global financial institutes and investors interested in river restoration and conservation programs (Namami Gange). Click here to read about Namami Gange
Key Points:
— Upendra Prasad Singh, Secretary, Jal Shakti Ministry proposed 5 Rs for waste water management viz. recycle, reuse, reduce, recharge (ground water) and respect for water.
–Summit discussed and addressed issues of Agriculture, Human Habitation, both urban and rural, on banks of rivers, Tourism, Energy and Flood Management.
–In collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, NMCG is trying to promote organic farming, natural farming and zero budget farming.
What is Arth Ganga Vision?
Project Arth Ganga” aims to energise economic development in the Ganga along the river banks in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal in order to generate economic benefit of more than Rs 1000 crores over the next 5 years.
- About 40 floating jetties and 10 pairs of Ro-Ro terminals are being planned on River Ganga in the four states in the Gangetic belt, which will bring down the logistics cost for farmers in the movement of local produce.
–Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research signs MOU with cGanga
Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with cGanga for the development of sludge management framework in India by providing its best practices.
- It was announced by Ola Stedje, Research Scientist at NIBIO.
- A detailed interaction between both entities will be fixed to explore joint projects.
It should be noted that in September 2020, British Water signed a MoU with cGanga and the NMCG envisaging US$200 billion of investment for the Indian water sector.
About National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG):
NMCG is the implementation wing of National Council for Rejuvenation, Protection and Management of River Ganga (referred as National Ganga Council). The council was set up in 2016 replacing National Ganga River Basin Authority(NGRBA).
Director General– Rajiv Ranjan Mishra
Parent Ministry– Ministry of Jal Shakti
Recent Related News:
i.On November 6, 2020 Gajendra Singh Shekhawat inaugurated India’s first solar-based Integrated Multi-Village Water Supply Project (IMVWSP) in Lower Dibang Valley district in northeastern Arunachal Pradesh at a cost of Rs 28.50 crore.
ii.Gajendra Singh Shekhawat virtually inaugurated the Australia-India Water Centre (AIWC) that will be led by IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) Guwahati & University of Western Sydney along with another 21 partners from India & Australia.
About Centre for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (cGanga):
It is a think-tank of NMCG.
Establishment– 2016
Headquarter– Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IITK), Uttar Pradesh (UP)
Founding Head– Dr Vinod Tare
About Norway:
Capital– Oslo
Currency– Norwegian krone (NOK)
Prime Minister– Erna Solberg
Ambassador of India to Norway– B Bala Bhaskar
