**Executive Summary**
The Indo-German Science & Technology Centre (IGSTC) organized a Strategic Conclave 2026 in New Delhi on "Integrated Water Resource Management," bringing together policymakers, scientists, and international partners. The conclave aimed to foster collaboration on sustainable water governance and technological cooperation. Speakers emphasized the importance of community-led initiatives, scientific interventions, and international collaboration for ensuring water security.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **IGSTC's Role:**
* IGSTC aims to unite academia and industry from India and Germany through its '2+2 projects' model.
* IGSTC focuses on translating research into industrial solutions and scalable public infrastructure.
* **Community-Led Water Conservation:**
* Dr. Rajendra Singh emphasized community-led water conservation models and traditional wisdom in water harvesting.
* Long-term sustainability depends on societal participation, behavioural change, and grassroots ownership.
* **Scientific and Technological Interventions:**
* Dr. Vikrant Tyagi highlighted the need for scientific and technological interventions to address water stress and wastewater management.
* Importance of decentralised treatment systems, circular water economy approaches, and advanced technologies were emphasized.
* **International Collaboration:**
* Dr. Philipp Ackermann highlighted the deepening Indo-German partnership in science and sustainability.
* He reaffirmed Germany's commitment to strengthening Indo-German cooperation through platforms like IGSTC.
* **Integrated Water Resource Management:**
* Dr. Arindam Bhattacharyya emphasized the strategic importance of integrated water resource management in the context of climate change and rapid urbanization.
* Multi-sectoral approaches combining technology, governance, and community engagement are essential.
* **Research and Implementation:**
* Speakers stressed the need for translational research, pilot deployments, and policy integration.
* Research must move beyond laboratory innovation toward scalable field-level implementation.
* **Priorities and Goals:**
* IGSTC views integrated water management as a priority area under climate resilience and sustainability missions.
* DST aims to foster joint research initiatives, promote industry-academia partnerships, and accelerate innovative water solutions.
**Impact Analysis**
**Stakeholder: Policymakers, Scientists, Conservationists, and International Partners**
* **Impact:** Informed about the latest strategies and technologies for sustainable water management and governance.
* **Action Required:** Collaborate on joint research initiatives, pilot deployments, and policy integration to address water challenges effectively.
**Stakeholder: Academia and Industry**
* **Impact:** Encouraged to form partnerships and focus on translational research for scalable field-level implementation of water solutions.
* **Action Required:** Participate in IGSTC's '2+2 projects' to unite academia and industry, contributing to practical water management solutions.
**Stakeholder: Local Communities**
* **Impact:** Empowered to manage water resources sustainably through community-led water conservation models and grassroots ownership.
* **Action Required:** Participate in water governance and adopt behavioural changes to support long-term sustainability.
**Stakeholder: IGSTC and DST**
* **Impact:** Reinforced their roles in fostering international collaboration, promoting industry-academia partnerships, and accelerating the deployment of innovative water solutions.
* **Action Required:** Continue to support joint research initiatives and bilateral platforms to ensure water security for future generations.
Key Entities Referenced
IGSTC Strategic Conclave 2026: A conclave organized by the Indo-German Science & Technology Centre (IGSTC) focusing on Integrated Water Resource Management and India-Germany collaboration for a sustainable water future.
Indo-German Science & Technology Centre (IGSTC): An organization facilitating collaboration between India and Germany in science and technology, particularly in water resource management.
Integrated Water Resource Management: The central theme of the Conclave, focusing on sustainable water technologies and resilient water governance frameworks.
New Delhi: The location where the IGSTC Strategic Conclave 2026 on Integrated Water Resource Management was held.
Dr. Rajendra Singh: Conservationist and 'Waterman of India' who delivered the opening address, focusing on community-led water conservation.
Ministry of Science & Technology
India–Germany Collaboration Key to Sustainable
Water Future: Speakers at IGSTC Strategic
Conclave 2026
The water governance must be people-centric: Dr. Rajendra
Singh
Integrated Water Resource Management Central to Climate
Resilience and Community Empowerment
Posted On: 24 FEB 2026 4:11PM by PIB Delhi
The Indo-German Science & Technology Centre (IGSTC) organised the Strategic Conclave 2026 on
“Integrated Water Resource Management” at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, bringing together
policymakers, scientists, conservationists and international partners to deliberate on sustainable water
governance and technological cooperation.
Dr. Kusumita Arora Director, IGSTC shared that this conclave is an attempt to bring key stakeholders
toa common discussion forum: leaders from government sector, conservation specialists and academic
researchers, as wee industry experts. Through its ‘2+2 projects’ Model, IGSTC breaks down silos by
uniting academia and industry from both India and Germany. This unique collaboration ensures that
research does not remain confined to journals but translates directly into industrial solutions and scalable
public infrastructure.
Delivering the opening address, Renowned conservationist Dr. Rajendra Singh also known as
"Waterman of India" focused on community-led water conservation models and traditional wisdom in
water harvesting. He highlighted the significance of restoring rivers, reviving traditional water bodies and
empowering local communities to manage water resources sustainably. Stressing that water governance
must be people-centric, he underscored that long-term sustainability depends not only on engineering
solutions but also on societal participation, behavioural change and grassroots ownership of water
resources.
Speaking at the occasion, Dr. Vikrant Tyagi, GIZ, emphasised the urgent need for scientific and
technological interventions in addressing water stress and wastewater management challenges. He
underlined the importance of decentralised treatment systems, circular water economy approaches and
integration of advanced treatment technologies for ensuring safe and sustainable water access.
Highlighting the role of academia, he stressed that research must move beyond laboratory innovation
toward scalable field-level implementation, particularly in urban and peri-urban contexts facing acute
water scarcity.Prof. Ligy Philip (IIT Madras) highlighted scientific and systems-based approaches to water
sustainability. She emphasised the urgency of remediating pollution due to new emerging chemicals in
water.
In his address, H.E. Dr. Philipp Ackermann, Ambassador of Germany to India, highlighted the
deepening Indo-German partnership in science, sustainability and climate resilience. He noted that water
management is a shared global challenge and stressed the importance of bilateral collaboration in research,
innovation and policy frameworks. Emphasising Germany’s commitment to joint technology development
and knowledge exchange, he reaffirmed support for strengthening Indo-German cooperation through
platforms such as IGSTC, particularly in areas of climate adaptation, environmental technologies and
sustainable infrastructure.
Delivering the closing remarks, Dr. Arindam Bhattacharyya, Department of Science and Technology
(DST), highlighted the strategic importance of integrated water resource management in the context of
climate change, rapid urbanisation and increasing industrial demand. He emphasised that water challenges
are multi-sectoral and require interdisciplinary approaches combining technology, governance and
community engagement. He underlined the need for translational research, pilot deployments and policy
integration to ensure that technological solutions effectively address ground-level challenges.
The Conclave reinforced the importance of international collaboration in advancing sustainable water
technologies and resilient water governance frameworks. Through this conclave, IGSTC make it clear that
it views integrated water management as a priority area under climate resilience and sustainability
missions, focusing on technology development, system integration and scalable demonstration projects.
Through IGSTC and other bilateral platforms, DST aims to foster joint research initiatives, promote
industry-academia partnerships, and accelerate the deployment of innovative water solutions that support
environmental sustainability, public health and long-term resource security. The discussions underscored
that integrated approaches combining scientific excellence, community participation and international
cooperation will be critical in ensuring water security for future generations.*****
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