Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today launched state-of-the-art Heli-borne survey technology for ground water management, developed by CSIR-NGRI Hyderabad. Minister for Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekawat graced the occasion with his presence.

To start with, the States of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana are being taken up for this latest heli-borne survey and the beginning was made today from Jodhpur in Rajasthan.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Jitendra Singh said that the water technologies of CSIR from source finding to water treatment will benefit millions of people across the country and positively contribute to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Har Ghar Nal Se Jal” as well as "doubling farmers income" goals. He said, the latest state-of-the-art technology is being employed by Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) for mapping groundwater sources in arid regions and thus help utilize groundwater for drinking purposes.  

Dr Jitendra Singh said, the technological wealth of CSIR will be a great asset for the various programs of the Ministry of Jal Shakti and this is the right time to join hands to take up bigger challenges of the country in the Water sector. He was speaking after inauguration of the Heli-Borne Survey for Groundwater Management in Arid Regions in the presence of Union Minister of Jal Shakti Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in Jodhpur.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, CSIR, along with National Geophysical Research Institute NGRI, have undertaken High Resolution Aquifer Mapping & Management in Arid Regions of North Western India to augment the groundwater resources. He said that the Heli-borne geophysical mapping technique of CSIR-NGRI provides a high resolution 3D image of the sub-surface up to a depth of 500 meters below the ground.

The Minister said that he is very pleased to note that the Ministry of Jal Shakti is trying to use this technology for providing ground water solutions in the arid and semi-arid regions of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana states and signed a Memorandum of Agreement with CSIR-NGRI for executing a very important project “High Resolution Aquifer Mapping & Management in Arid Regions of North Western India”.  

Dr Jitendra Singh informed that the project is aimed at mapping potential groundwater sources and its management for providing safe drinking water to millions of people living in the water scarce arid regions of our country. This is a mega project of Rs. 150 crores to be implemented in two phases in collaboration with the Ministry of Jal Shakti as a part of National Aquifer Mapping Project.  This project is expected to bring high visibility to CSIR in implementing the Government of India`s most ambitious project Jal Jeevan Mission. 

Dr Jitendra Singh said that Arid areas in north western India spread over parts of States of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab cover nearly 12% of the total geographical area of the country and are home to more than 8 crore people. He said, with an annual rainfall in the range of less than 100 to 400 mm, this area faces an acute shortage of water throughout the year and it is proposed to take up high-resolution aquifer mapping and management to augment the groundwater resources.

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