National Water Awards

Water is one of the vital components of life. The rapid pace of irrigation growth, urbanization & industrialization has put enormous stress on water resources. Cumulative impact of increase in use of this precious natural resource has led to water scarcity in many regions of the country. Nevertheless, the climate change has also resulted in change in hydrologic cycle in the country. Hence, it is necessary that this scarce resource is protected by effective and efficient management on sound scientific methodology for its sustainable development.

The Ground Water Augmentation Awards and National Water Award were launched in the year 2007 with an objective to encourage all stakeholder including the Non - Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Gram Panchayats, Urban Local Bodies, Water User Associations, Institutions, Corporate Sector, Individuals etc. for adopting innovative practices of ground water augmentation by rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge, promoting water use efficiency, recycling & re-use of water and creating awareness through people's participation in the targeted areas resulting into the sustainability of ground water resources development, adequate capacity building amongst the stakeholders etc.

India’s current water requirement is estimated to be around 1,100 billion cubic meters per year, projected to go up to 1,447 billion cubic meters by 2050. Water as a resource is crucial to India, which is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. While India has more than 18% of the world’s population, it has only 4% of world’s renewable water resources. It is in this backdrop that the National Water Awards (NWA) were instituted to recognize and encourage exemplary work and efforts made by States, Districts, individuals, organizations, etc across the country in attaining the government’s vision of a ‘Jal Samridh Bharat’.

Details of Awards

The entries for National Water Awards are invited in 11 categories which are as follows. -

• Best State
• Best District (2 Awards each in five zones; total 10 Awards)
• Best Village Panchayat (3 Awards each in five zones; total 15 Awards)
• Best Urban Local Body
• Best Media (Print and Electronic)
• Best School
• Best Institution / Resident Welfare Association (RWA) / Religious organisations for successful campus water usage
• Best Industry for industrial water conservation.
• Best NGO
• Best Water User Association
• Best Industry for CSR Activities

Awards in the category of Best District and Best Village Panchayats will be given separately for North, South, East, West and North-East.

A total of 52 Awards will be given under 11 categories. Apart from Best State and Best District Awards, cash prize of Rs. 2 lakh, Rs. 1.5 lakh and Rs. 1 lakh for Ist, IInd and IIIrd prize winners respectively will be given for all remaining 9 categories.

How to apply

Notification for receipt of applications is released on the website of the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

Category wise procedure for submission and forwarding eligible applications for the awards will be as follows:

For Best State Awards : The Water Resources/ Irrigation/ Agriculture department of respective State/ UT Government will forward the application duly vetted by Secretary of respective department. A detailed note shall be enclosed with the application. The detailed note shall encompass the work done in the water resources conservation & management sector along with details on the points mentioned under evaluation criteria for Best State. Along with detailed note a compact disc may also be forwarded having videos of the practices promoted by the State Government or works done by them in the field of water conservation and management.

For Best District/ Best Village Panchayat/ Best Municipal Corporation, other Municipal body Awards : The District Administration/ Village Panchayat/ Municipal Corporation will forward the applications duly vetted by District Collector / District Magistrate. A detailed note shall be enclosed with the application. The detailed note shall encompass the work done in the water resources conservation & management sector along with details on the points mentioned under evaluation criteria for the category. Along with detailed note a compact disc may also be forwarded having videos of the practices or works done by them in the field of water conservation and management.

For Best Research/ Innovation/ adaptation of new technology for water conservation : In case of individual, the application along with detailed note and compact disc having videos of the research, its applications etc. shall be forwarded. In case of organisations/ institutions, the application shall be duly vetted by the head of the organization.

For Best Educative/ Mass awareness efforts : The application along with detailed note and compact disc having videos of educative / mass awareness efforts shall be forwarded. In case of organisations/ institutions, the application shall be duly vet ted by the head of the organization.

For Best TV Show : The application to be forwarded shall include the details of the parameters for the category. The compact disc enclosed with the application shall include some episodes of the TV Shows which should be focussed on water conservation and management.

For Best Newspaper (Hindi/ English) : The application to be forwarded shall include the details of the parameters for the category. The compact disc which is to be sent along with the application shall include the news items/editorials on the subject of water conservation and management which have been published in the last 6 months.

For Best School : The application to be forwarded shall include the details of the parameters for the category and shall be vet ted the principal of the school. The compact disc which is to be sent along with the application shall include the videos of the competitions held on water conservation and management in the school.

For Best Institution : The application to be forwarded sh all include the details of the parameters for the category and shall be vetted the head of the institution. The compact disc which is to be sent along with the application shall include the videos of the competitions/programmes/ other efforts on water conservation and management in the institution or by the institution.

For Best Resident Welfare Association : The application to be forwarded shall include the details of the parameters for the category and shall be vetted by the president of the Resident Welfare Association (RWA). The compact disc which is to be sent along with the application shall include the videos of the various efforts on water conservation and management by the RWA.

For Best Organisation for Religious / Recreational & Tourism Water Usage : The application to be forwarded shall include the details of the parameters for the category and shall be vetted by the president/head of the body. The compact disc which is to be sent along with the application shall include the videos of the various efforts on water conservation and management by such body.

For Best Industry (Large/ Medium and small scale) : The application to be forwarded shall include the details of the parameters for the category and shall be vetted by the head of the Industry. The compact disc which is to be sent along with the application shall include the videos of the various efforts on water conservation and management by such Industry.

Irrespective of the category, all the applications are to be submitted online at https://www.awards.gov.in/. Only online applications will be considered.

To access the complete guidelines and application form, click here.

Awardees of National Water Awards

National Water Award 2020

To access the list of winners of the third National Water Award 2020, click here.

National Water Award 2019

To access the list of winners of the second National Water Award 2019, click here.

National Water Award 2018

The first National Water Award was launched by the Jal Shakti Ministry in 2018. To access the list of winners, click here.

Source : Ministry of Jal Shakti.