IIT-Delhi on Monday said it has entered a £20-million international collaboration with UK Research and Innovation to develop new approaches to tackle challenges and barriers to water security and sustainable development.
“A major project has been launched under the aegis of Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer [FITT], IIT-Delhi, to bring together leading global experts from academia, industry and government to understand the true value of water and address the challenge of water security for all,” IIT-Delhi said in a statement. .
The project is funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) through the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF). And the new UKRI GCRF Water Security and Sustainable Development Hub is one of the 12 hubs being set up to tackle some of the greatest challenges facing today’s society.
A.K. Gosain, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT-Delhi, and the lead researcher for the hub in IIT Delhi said, “The water security of India is at stake because of the ever-increasing demands for water, not only for irrigation but also for industrial and domestic sector. Water security in India is going to undergo enhanced threat in future. Hence, this is the most opportune time to judiciously look into the reasons as to why the present water stress has been created, and to work towards appropriate and sustainable solutions. It should also serve as a good guide to adaptation options under the future conditions.”
Starting in March 2019, the Newcastle University-led GCRF Water Security Hub will run for five years and will bring together research partners from Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, School of Planning and Architecture Delhi and institutes from Colombia, Ethiopia, Malaysia, UK, and the International Water Management Institute.