The International Conference on Dam Safety (ICDS) 2026 marked the release of key guidelines and the launch of digital platforms to strengthen dam safety governance in India. The conference brought together regulators, dam owners, engineers, researchers, policymakers and industry professionals to exchange insights on regulatory frameworks and risk-informed approaches. It aimed to support capacity building and collaboration for more resilient dam infrastructure amid changing climatic and developmental contexts.

Among the launches was DAMCHAT, an AI-powered dam safety knowledge platform developed by the International Centre of Excellence for Dams (ICED) at the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee. The platform, launched by D.K. Shivakumar, Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, enables dam owners, engineers and field officials to query regulatory documentation and receive source-cited responses in real time. It is intended to support informed decision making and improve compliance across the sector.

The Jal Shakti data management and decision support platform was launched by Raj Bhushan Choudary, Union Minister of State for the Ministry of Jal Shakti, and developed by the National Water Informatics Centre (NWIC) with technical support from BISAG-N. The platform enables visualisation and analysis of water data from multiple national and state agencies and currently hosts 59 use cases across data groups such as Water Quantity, Water Quality, Water Planning, Ecosystem and Wildlife, Infrastructure, Climate and Utilities, Studies and Surveys. It offers tools for policymakers, researchers and administrators to explore critical water issues.

Publications from the Advanced Centre for Integrated Water Resources Management (ACIWRM), Karnataka, and guidelines on design flood estimation for dams with mini and micro catchment areas developed by the Central Water Commission (CWC) were also released. The guidelines, released by Siddaramaiah, Chief Minister of Karnataka, aim to address practices that focus only on peak flood estimation by providing procedures to derive full flood hydrographs required for dam break and downstream impact studies. The framework is expected to enable uniform, transparent and technically sound flood studies and support implementation of the Dam Safety Act, 2021.