VP Radhakrishnan Opens 9th India International Water Week 2026

Vice-President C. P. Radhakrishnan inaugurated the 9th India International Water Week (IIWW) 2026 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Tuesday, opening a five-day gathering organised by the Ministry of Jal Shakti around the theme "Climate Resilient Water Management." The event runs from September 22 to 26.

In his address, the Vice-President described water as the foundation of life and civilisations and called for its judicious use, conservation and effective management. Recalling his childhood in Tamil Nadu, he said he had witnessed water scarcity first-hand and remembered the priority given to supplying potable water to people. "Saving water is of paramount importance for humanity and the globe," he said.

He recalled a 19,000-km Ratha Yatra he undertook across Tamil Nadu more than two decades ago, one aim of which was to spread awareness about river interlinking, water conservation and the proper management of water resources. River interlinking, he said, could help address situations in which some regions face floods while others face drought.

Highlighting India's civilisational ties with its rivers, the Vice-President said communities had developed rich traditions for conserving, sharing and managing water over centuries, and that this traditional wisdom offered valuable lessons for today's challenges. He noted that India holds about 2.4 per cent of the world's land area and 18 per cent of its population but only around 4 per cent of global freshwater resources, adding that the country's water-use requirements could not be compared with those of nations with greater availability and smaller populations.

Urging behavioural change, he asked citizens to adopt simple daily water-saving practices. "We can take a bath using two buckets or twenty buckets. The choice is ours. We can close the tap while brushing our teeth. These may appear to be small things, but within these small actions lies the interest of humanity and the world," he said.

Climate change, rapid urbanisation and population growth, he said, were making water management increasingly complex, and he stressed the need for an integrated approach covering river-basin management, groundwater recharge, rainwater harvesting and efficient irrigation. He called for cooperation among States on water-sharing issues and appreciated the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, noting that 10 inter-State MoUs have been signed for water sharing. He singled out the Kishau Multipurpose Project agreement among six States as an important example of inter-State cooperation.

With India aiming to become a developed economy by 2047, the Vice-President said efficient and sustainable water management would be critical. He recalled the Prime Minister's call for "Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari" and urged citizens to turn water conservation into a mass movement. Greater water-use efficiency, recycling and reuse were needed, he said, given the substantial demand from agriculture and the growing requirements of industry, and he called for a shift from reactive to predictive, technology-enabled water management.

Water challenges, he said, cannot be addressed by any single institution, sector or State, and he expressed confidence that the deliberations at IIWW 2026 would generate innovative technological, policy, socio-economic and environmental approaches. "Jal Suraksha will lead to Jan Suraksha and Rashtra Suraksha," he said, asking participants to share knowledge, build partnerships and commit to conserving water.

On the occasion, the Vice-President launched the Sustainable Urban River Management (SURM) Framework and an AI/ML-driven Integrated Reservoir Sediment Management initiative.

Union Minister of Jal Shakti C. R. Patil, Ministers of State V. Somanna and Raj Bhushan Choudhary, Jal Shakti secretaries Archana Varma and Ashok Meena, Central Water Commission chairman Anupam Prasad, and delegates and experts from India and abroad were present.