News In Shorts

Posted 04 Sep 2025

Updated 09 Sep 2025

3 min read

Article Summary

India faces ongoing challenges with floods and water scarcity despite technological progress; recommendations include modernizing forecasting, interlinking rivers, dam safety, rainwater harvesting, and integrated policies.

India’s Water Management

Recently, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Water Resources in a report highlighted that despite significant technological advancements and substantial investments, India continues to face severe socio-economic losses due to floods and water scarcity.

Key Themes and recommendations

Themes	Current Status/ Issues	Recommendations
Flood Forecasting Modernization and Expansion	Central Water Commission (CWC) operates 340 flood forecasting sites covering 22 states and 2 UTs, which is planned to increase to around 375 by 2026.	Upgrade the present system to address challenges in flood forecasting due to climate change.
Interlinking of Rivers Program	30 link projects identified. Lack of consensus among States is a major obstacle as Water is a State subject under Schedule VII.	Conduct detailed studies on benefits of the projects enhancing awareness amongst the States concerned and expediting implementation of link projects.
Dam Safety	Out of over 6,000 dams, only 459 have Emergency Action Plans (EAP). Dam Safety Act, 2021 mandates EAP preparation within five years of enactment.	National Dam Safety Authority should constantly engage with dam owners for preparation of EAP.
Rainwater Harvesting and Water Conservation	‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain’ and ‘Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari’ promote community-driven water conservation and groundwater recharge. Increase of 11.36 billion cubic meters (BCM) in 2024 with respect to 2017. (Dynamic Ground Water Resources Assessment Report 2024)	Provide dedicated financial grants to States/UTs for Rainwater Harvesting to boost and enhance support for and enhance support rainwater harvesting initiatives.
Proactive and Integrated approaches	New Draft National Water Policy is under consideration.	Cross-Border Flooding Management as an independent initiative coordinated between Ministry of Jal Shakti and Ministry of External Affairs. Inclusion of local MP/MLA in the bodies under National Mission for Clean Ganga to ensure more cohesive outcome.

Tags :
Dam Safety
Flood
Water Management

Articles Sources

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/despite-tech-advancement-lives-assets-continue-to-suffer-p

Global Outlook Council on Water Investments

The President of South Africa announced the launch of the Global Outlook Council on Water Investments (GOCWI).

About GOCWI

Launched as a G20 Presidential Legacy Initiative, it forms a core pillar of the Global Water Partnership’s (GWP) Global Transformation Agenda on Water Investments.
- GWP is a multi-stakeholder action network and intergovernmental organisation dedicated to equitable, sustainable, and efficient management of water resources.
- GWP’s Transformation Agenda aims to mobilise 15 billion for water security by 2030.
It will serve as a high-level platform to sustain political and financial momentum for water investments worldwide.