India
The strategic sector cooperation between Denmark and India on water 2021-2024
Components
The activities of the programme are arranged in 7 thematic tracks:
- Distribution
- Source Identification and Protection
- Policy and Planning
- Awareness
- Water Challenge
- Training and Study trips
- Sharing and Upscaling
The Distribution track cover a number of activities on e.g. capacity building and small demonstration projects on non revenue water, water meters, energy efficiency and digitalization etc. 3VAND is the manager of this track, and is also responsible for setting the team of the right experts for on-the-ground work based on Danish water management practices. TWAD board is the main Indian partner in this track.
The Source Identification and Protection track cover practical demonstration of and training in relevant geophysical mapping methods like tTEM and walkTEM/sTEM, chemical groundwater monitoring and modelling, and hydrogeological modelling with the purpose of resource estimation and identifying areas for managed groundwater recharge and prevention of salt water intrusion. GEUS is the manager of this track, and Department of Geophysics of Aarhus University provides expertise on geophysics. TNWRD is the main Indian partner in this track.
The Policy and Planning track covers support to regulatory aspects of sustainable water supply. In 2023 the Danish Environmental Protection Agency provided recommendations to a forthcoming Water Act of Tamil Nadu.
Awareness forms an important part of sustainable water supply management in both India and Denmark, and will form a small but important part of the SSC Work Plan.
Another smaller but still important track in the work plan is support in 2022 and 2023 of a ‘competition’ (Water Challenge), where Indian teams of students and young entrepreneurs competed with teams from other countries in finding innovative answers on a number of predefined ‘problem statements’. The activity is part of a larger initiative, led by the Technical University of Denmark, called Next Generation Water Action. The 2022 activities culminated at the IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition in Copenhagen. The 2023 activities culminated at the UIA World Congress of Architects, also in Copenhagen. The work is led by Innovation Center Denmark (ICDK), placed in Bangalore, together with Indian partners.
The Training and Study Trips track covers a wast variety of activities, including the embedded training component, which is always part of testing Danish technologies and approaches in water distribution and groundwater mapping, as well as participating in Danish Fellowship Center (DFC) courses, and study trips to Denmark. In August-September 2023 , high-level representatives from the Ministry of Jal Shakti and eight Indian states visited Denmark, meeting multiple stakeholders and learning more of the Danish approach to Sustainable Water Supply Management.
In the Sharing and Upscaling track, findings from the more technical tracks are shared to the rest of India. In 2023 the first two webinars on different areas within Water Distribution marked the successful initiation of activities in this Track