The Vice-President of India, Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan, stressed the importance of judicious use, conservation, and effective management of water during the inauguration of the 9th India International Water Week (IIWW) 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
Vice-President of India, Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan, today inaugurated the 9th India International Water Week (IIWW) 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, centred on the theme ‘Climate Resilient Water Management.’
The five-day event, being organised by the Ministry of Jal Shakti from September 22 to 26, is attended by Union Minister for Jal Shakti Shri C. R. Patil, MoS Shri V. Somanna & Shri Raj Bhushan Choudhary, Secretaries of the Ministry of Jal Shakti Smt. Archana Varma and Shri Ashok Meena, Chairman, Central Water Commission, Shri Anupam Prasad, and delegates and experts from India and abroad.
Addressing the gathering, the Vice-President emphasized that water is the foundation of life and civilizations, stressing the need for its judicious use, conservation, and effective management. He recalled his childhood experiences in Tamil Nadu, where he had personally witnessed water scarcity and remembered the importance attached to bringing potable water to people.
Recalling more than two decades ago, when he undertook a 19,000-km Ratha Yatra across Tamil Nadu, one of the objectives was creating awareness about river interlinking, water conservation, and proper management of water resources. He noted that river interlinking could help address situations where some regions face floods while others experience drought.
Emphasizing India’s civilisational connect with rivers, the Vice-President said Indian communities had developed rich traditions and practices for conserving, sharing, and managing water over centuries. He expressed confidence that the deliberations at India International Water Week-2026 would generate innovative technological, policy, socio-economic and environmental approaches for climate-resilient and integrated water management.
The Vice-President also called for a multi-stakeholder and multi-dimensional approach to address water challenges. He highlighted the importance of cooperation among States in addressing water-sharing issues and appreciated the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, as 10 inter-State MoUs have been signed for water sharing.
Calling for a shift from reactive to predictive and technology-enabled water management, he emphasized the need for greater water-use efficiency, recycling, and reuse. He stressed that efficient and sustainable water management will be critical as India moves towards becoming a developed economy by 2047.
On the occasion, the Vice-President launched the Sustainable Urban River Management (SURM) Framework and AI/ML-driven Integrated Reservoir Sediment Management, marking important steps towards technology-enabled and climate-resilient water management.
Source:
Press Information Bureau
