IIT Madras launches water management, policy centre to solve water issues in India

NEW DELHI: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has launched an interdisciplinary water management and policy centre with the objective to solve chronic water issues in India by providing models that can be implemented across India. The new IIT Madras centre is called ‘AquaMAP’.

Mahesh Panchagnula, dean of alumni and corporate relations at IIT Madras thanked alumni Parasuram Balasubramanian, CEO of Theme Work Analytics, and Krishnan Narayanan, president of IIT Madras Alumni Association (IITMAA) and president of Itihaasa Research and Digital for their contribution. Both have committed to a seed grant worth Rs 3 crore for a period of two years.

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IIT Madras AquaMAP centre aims to develop the capability to solve real-life water problems by providing viable solutions developed through scientific study. The centre will conduct studies in six water innovation villages or towns. The successful models will be used for water management and policy-making across the country, said a statement from IIT Madras.

The IIT Madras water management and policy centre aims to develop solutions for at least three water issues in the country. The centre will also set up a hydro-informatics lab, the statement said.

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The governing body of AquaMAP centre will be chaired by the director of IIT Madras. The principal investigator of AquaMAP is Ligy Philip, who is a professor at the civil engineering department, and also the dean (Planning) at IIT Madras. About 20 faculties from different departments with implications in water issues will be working with her “We wish to do our best to solve the pressing water challenges in our country. AquaMAP will collaborate with other IIT Madras water research centres such as Sutram, International Centre for Clean Water (ICCW) - IIT Madras, and PCoE on Water and Sustainability, and other partners in this endeavour. We hope to create referral sites that are global benchmarks in water security, water quality and sustainable water management,” she said.