Jal Shakti Minister advocates widespread reuse of treated wastewater

13 Sep 2024 CW Team

Jal Shakti Minister CR Paatil emphasised the need for widespread adoption of treated wastewater reuse during a meeting of the Empowered Task Force (ETF) on Ganga rejuvenation on Wednesday. The meeting, chaired by Paatil, included senior officials from the Ministry of Jal Shakti and representatives from key states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.

Rajeev Kumar Mital, Director General, National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), presented updates on various initiatives, including the reuse of treated water, biodiversity conservation, and the remediation of polluted river stretches.

The session also reviewed the River Action Plan and natural farming efforts to rejuvenate the river. Paatil stressed the importance of collaboration among stakeholders to ensure timely project completion under the Namami Gange programme. He urged state governments to expedite the submission of project reports for polluted river sections and ensure villages along the river achieve Open Defecation Free (ODF) Plus status.

Paatil highlighted the need to harness tourism potential along riverbanks for regional economic growth and infrastructure development. He also called for prioritising the reuse of treated wastewater in sectors such as power and construction to reduce dependency on freshwater.

A National Framework for the Reuse of Treated Water has been released by the NMCG, and all states are expected to align their policies accordingly. Paatil also advocated for Urban River Management Plans to be integrated into city-level rejuvenation initiatives and praised the development of the Smart Lab for Clean Rivers, a collaborative project with Denmark and IIT-BHU.

(ET)

Infrastructure Urban

11 Mar 2026

India Expands Semiconductor Training To 500 Institutions

Under the Chips to Startups programme of the India Semiconductor Mission, the Union minister responsible for Railways, Information and Broadcasting, and Electronics and IT reported notable progress in talent development. He indicated that over the past four years substantial steps have been taken towards a 10-year target of training 85,000 engineers in semiconductor design. World-class EDA tools have been deployed in 315 academic institutions across the country to provide students with practical exposure to chip design. These EDA tools are supported by leading global firms and are accessible t..

Delhi Institutions Support India Semiconductor Mission

The Government of India has prioritised talent development through training, upskilling and workforce development under the Chips to Startups initiative of the India Semiconductor Mission, with officials noting progress in four years towards a 10-year target of training 85,000 engineers in semiconductor design. Electronic design automation tools provided by Synopsys, Cadence, Siemens, Renesas, Ansys and AMD have been deployed in 315 academic institutions, enabling students to gain practical chip design experience. Chips have been fabricated and tested at the Semiconductor Laboratory, Mohali, a..

NHA Announces Winners Of NHCX Hackathon At IIT Hyderabad

The National Health Authority (NHA) has concluded the NHCX Hackathon under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) to stimulate innovation around the National Health Claims Exchange (NHCX). The winning teams presented their solutions at the NHCX Innovation Meet held at IIT Hyderabad during a two-day event in March 2026 that also served as the hackathon grand finale. The hackathon itself ran from 22 to 28 February 2026 and aimed to accelerate paperless, transparent claims processing across India. The event was organised with a range of ecosystem partners, including the Insurance Regulatory a..