India Water Week 2026 Focuses on Climate-Resilient Water Management
IW Week 2026 Begins in New Delhi
India Water Week 2026 began at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, with Vice-President C. P. Radhakrishnan inaugurating the 9th India International Water Week on 22 September 2026. The five-day event runs until 26 September under the theme “Climate Resilient Water Management.”
The Vice-President stressed judicious water use, conservation and integrated management. He said water security supports both public welfare and national security.
Traditional Wisdom and Modern Water Management
Shri Radhakrishnan highlighted India’s traditional practices of conserving and sharing water. He recalled his experience of water scarcity in Tamil Nadu and a 19,000-km Ratha Yatra that promoted river interlinking and water conservation.
India has about 2.4% of the world’s land area and 18% of its population, but only around 4% of global freshwater resources. Therefore, he called for behavioural changes and greater water-use efficiency.
The Vice-President stressed an integrated approach involving river-basin management, groundwater recharge, rainwater harvesting and efficient irrigation. He also highlighted cooperation among States on water-sharing issues and referred to 10 inter-State MoUs.
The event also saw the launch of the Sustainable Urban River Management (SURM) Framework and AI/ML-driven Integrated Reservoir Sediment Management.
He urged greater recycling, reuse and technology-enabled water management as agriculture and industry increase their water requirements. The India Water Week deliberations are expected to generate technological, policy, social and environmental approaches for climate-resilient water management.
He also urged citizens to make water conservation a mass movement, stressing that “Jal Suraksha” can contribute to Jan Suraksha and Rashtra Suraksha.
