Case of Thames cleaning up discussed
The United States can be great allies to building India’s Digital foundation for the water sector, according to Dr. Ravi Kota, Minister Economic – Embassy of India in Washington.
Speaking at a session on Digital Water at the 5th India Water Impact Summit by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and the Center for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (cGanga) on 13 Dec 2020, he highlighted the changes in the form of artificial intelligence to state-of-the-art infrastructure development approaches.
There is a massive shift in the Indian Government’s approach from focusing only on infrastructure development to working with people and bringing about behaviour change, noted to Xavier Chauvet De Beauchene, Senior Water and Sanitation Specialist, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).
De Beauchene also emphasized the importance of data. “The problem cannot be solved if it is not understood and quantified. Also, India has taken many endeavours in this direction.”
“There are many tasks at the work-in-progress stage but it’s a very good start, he observed.
Ben Grumble, Secretary, Environment, Maryland, stressed the need for nations to learn from each other’s experience.
He said that “equity” of water is very essential and shared the success story of the US Clean Water Act.
Interestingly, India too has launched ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’ with the goal of equal distribution of water to all, applauded Usha Rao Monari, Senior Advisor at Blackstone Infrastructure Group and Board presenting the case of the Thames river cleaning up.
Monari noted a good mix of policy and finance lead to effective cleaning of the river. It is noteworthy that the Namami Gange Mission has the advantage of these two factors – policy and finance.
The discussion was organised as a part of the 5th India Water Impact Summit by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and the Center for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (cGanga) on 13 Dec 2020. #water #infrastructure #investment /fiinews.com
