India’s participation in water of continued importance as President visits Sweden

Hosted by Stockholm City earlier today, discussions focused on sustainable urban development.

The President’s visit will broadly focus on innovation, sustainable development, science and research and strengthening Sweden’s presence in the Indian market.

In recent years, SIWI has worked closely with Indian environmental actors and other practitioners to encourage and reward innovations in water management. This year’s Stockholm Water Prize Laureate is from India.

2015 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate
Rajendra Singh of India was named the 2015 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate, for his innovative water restoration efforts, improving water security in rural India, and for showing extraordinary courage and determination in his quest to improve the living conditions for those most in need. The announcement was made during this year’s World Water Day ceremony in Delhi (read more about the celebrations here!).

SWAR
The Sustainable Water Resource Management (SWAR) project is the result of a cooperation between Swedish fashion brands, their Indian suppliers, SIWI, Sida, and India-based consultancy cKinetics. The project aims to  build capacity in India for sustainable water and waste water management in supply chains. The project trained more than 13,000 factory workers and managers in the past two years. Swedish state television SVT’s news program Rapport reported (in Swedish) from our work in India, as part of this pilot project.

SIWI also conducts research on groundwater in India, among other issues. Some of Dr. Jenny Grönwall‘s (SIWI) work focuses on ultimately improving the understanding of how groundwater regulation in India can evolve. For more information, read this blog from Dr. Grönwall or this publication on electricity access in rural India.