10-Nov-2020: 2nd National water Awards

Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, is organising the 2ndNational Water Awards(NWAs)for the year 2019. The Award Distribution Ceremony is on 11th& 12th November, 2020 (11 am to 1 pm) through virtual platform. The awards are given to motivate individuals/organizations who are doing commendable work in the field of water resources conservation and management. Also, it strives to create awareness among the people about the importance of water and motivate them to adopt the best water usage practices. The award winners in different categories will be given a citation, trophy and cash prize.

The NWAs focus on the good work and efforts made by individual and organisations across the country, and the government’s vision for the path to ‘Jal Samridh Bharat’. The event provides a good opportunity to start-ups as well as leading organisations to engage and deliberate. The event also provides an occasion for all people and organisations to further cement a strong partnership and engender stakeholders’ engagement in water resources conservation and management activities.

The National Water Awards 2019 was launched in September, 2019 through MyGov portal and CGWB email. A total of 1112 valid applications were received by the end of deadline i.e. 31st December, 2019. A Jury Committee was constituted under Chairmanship of Shri Shashi Shekhar, Former Secretary, DoWR, RD & GR. Two Screening Committees with members from CGWB and CWC assisted the Jury Committee in studying the applications and selecting the winners. A total of 98 winners were selected in 16 different categories - Best State, Best District, Best Village Panchayat, Best Urban Local Body, Best Research/ Innovation/ New Technology, Best Education/ Mass Awareness effort, Best TV show, Best Newspaper, Best School, Best Institution/ RWA/ Religious Organisation, Best Industry, Best Water Regulatory Authority, Best Water Warrior, Best NGO, Best Water User Association, and Best Industry for CSR Activity. Few of these categories have sub-categories in different zones of the country. The winners will be felicitated with trophies/citation. Except for three categories i.e. ‘Best State’, ‘Best State’ and ‘Best Water Regulatory Authority’, winners from the rest thirteen categories will be awarded cash prizes, too.

On the first day, i.e. 11th November 2020, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, Hon’ble Vice President of India is the Chief Guest. He will inaugurate the awards distribution ceremony. Hon’ble Minister for Jal Shakti, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Hon’ble Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Shri Rattan Lal Kataria, and other dignitaries will also be present on the occasion.

On the second day, i.e. 12th November 2020, Shri Prakash Javadekar, Hon'ble Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change will be the Chief Guest. Hon’ble Minister for Jal Shakti, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Hon’ble Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Shri Rattan Lal Kataria, and other dignitaries will also be present. Leading Environmentalist Anil Joshi (Padma Awardee) will also grace the occasion as special guest on both the days.

National Water Awardees, delegates and the audience will be joining LIVE through virtual platform. The event is being organised in Hall No.5 at Vigyan Bhawan. The award will also be telecast live on the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mowrrdgr/live.

13-Sep-2018: Ministry of Water Resources invites entries for National Water Awards 2018

In view of the importance of water resources management in India, the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation has instituted National Water Awards with the objective to encourage all stakeholders to manage their water resources efficiently and create a water consciousness in the country.

The entries for National Water Awards 2018 are now invited in 13 categories which are - Best State, Best District, Best Village Panchayat, Best Municipal Corporation, Best research/innovation/adaptation of new technology for water conservation, Best educative/mass awareness efforts, Best TV show for promoting water conservation, Best Newspaper, Best School, Best Institution for successful campus water usage, Best Resident Welfare Association (RWA), Organizations for Best Religious/Recreational & Tourism Water Uses and Best Industry for industrial water conservation. Within the Best District category, three awards each will be given in North, South, East, West, North- East and aspirational district sub-categories for encouragement of officials at the district level. Also, at the district level, the entries could be submitted on three important themes of Ground Water Recharge, Revival of River and Rejuvenation/Creation of Water Bodies like lakes/ponds etc. Apart from Best State and Best District awards, cash prize of Rs. 2 lakh, Rs. 1.5 lakh and Rs. 1 lakh for Ist, IInd and IIIrd prize winners respectively will be given for all remaining 11 categories.

The objective of the awards is to encourage all stakeholders including Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Gram Panchayats, Urban Local Bodies, Water User Associations, Institutions, Corporate Sector, Individuals etc. for adopting innovative practices of ground water augmentation by rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge, promoting water use efficiency, recycling & reuse of water and creating awareness through people's participation in the targeted areas resulting into the sustainability of ground water resources development, adequate capacity building etc.