India join hands with European Union to work on 7 research and innovation projects that would cost around 320 crores to address the immediate challenges related to water in the country.
It could be termed as one of the most welcoming moves taken by the government considering the rapid shift in climate change and summer season being just a few months away.
Summers in India is hard to deal with, as the country has got diverse problems related to water. Irrespective of finding a fix, the problems never cease to amaze us.
But, this time, a proactive approach from the government is appreciated widely across and was great to see as many as 130 entities including the Indian Institute of Technology (IITs), universities and municipal corporations coming together and working closely for improving the quality of drinking water, waste water management and real-time monitoring of water systems.
The European project aims to support ganga rejuvenation, an initiative by government of India. And, as part of the project, it allows EU to transfer their technologies to India which would require them to be tested, demonstrated and customized to suit Indian needs, at an affordable cost.
This project with European Union also plays a crucial role in bringing the trust factor ensuring that the technology can be deployed which can benefit citizens in the first place.
“Many of these water challenges are common to India and the EU. The selected research and innovation projects will aim at addressing these key water issues together with India and in doing so, will contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals to which both Europe and India are committed,” the statement quoted Tomasz Kozlowski, EU Ambassador to India, as saying.
Source: Business Line
In the next four years, the project plans to develop innovative decentralized water treatment technologies for urban and peri-urban areas. And, the costs for the projects are being taken care by The Department of Science and Technology and The Department of Bio-Technology.
This partnership with European Union looks promising on paper. We will have to wait for the project to kick-off and expect the results to be seen in 3 years’ time.