[Curtain Raiser] 

Marching forward with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision to make India a developed Nation by 2047, the Government is deliberating on the preparation of the Action Plan and Vision Document of India@2047. While addressing the challenges of water security as part of the India@2047 plan, the Prime Minister has proclaimed the ‘5P’ mantra which includes Political will, Public financing, Partnerships, Public Participation and Persuasion for sustainability. India’s water sector will play a significant role in achieving heights India strives to reach in the next crucial years. To take forward action plan, the Ministry of Jal Shakti is organizing the “1st All India Annual State Ministers Conference on Water’’ with the theme “Water Vision@2047” in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh on 5^th & 6^th January, 2023. The primary objective of the 2-days Conference is to gather inputs for the India@2047 and 5P vision from the different water stakeholders of the states, water being a state subject, and also to improve engagement and partnership with the states and to share the initiatives and schemes of the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

The Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the Union Minister of Jal Shakti, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat will grace the occasion. The Minister of State for Jal Shakti and Food Processing Industries, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel will also be present during the event. The Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Devendra Fadnavis will chair one of the important thematic sessions on Water Governance during the Conference. State Ministers of Water Resources, Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) and Irrigation from all States/ UTs have been invited to prepare a blue print of Water Vision@2047 and prepare a road map to address the water problems of the country.

The Senior Secretaries of Water Resources, Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) and Irrigation from all States/ UTs along with Agriculture Production Commissioners will also be attending the Conference. There will be an exhibition where young innovators/ startups will showcase on new innovations in the water sector.

With an objective to enhance the insights of this conference, there will be one Plenary Session which will set the agenda of the Conference with a focus on Water Vision@2047. The Conference will have 5 thematic sessions viz.

1. Water Security in Water Deficit, Water Surplus and Hilly Regions;
2. Water Use Efficiency including Reuse of Waste Water/ Grey Water;
3. Water Governance;
4. Climate Change Resilient Water Infrastructure, and
5. Water Quality.

The 1^st Thematic Session addresses the various aspects of “Water Security in Water Deficit, Water Surplus and Hilly Regions” The 2nd Thematic Session is on “Water Use Efficiency including the Reuse of Waste Water/Grey Water” focusing to make the objective of community participation successful at grassroots level. The 3rd Thematic Session on “Water Governance” aims to break the silos in the water sector by bringing various states together facilitated by the Centre. The 4th Thematic Session addresses the present scenario of climate change in the country and the measures that need to be taken to reduce the effects of Climate Change. The 5th Session on Water Quality deals with the problems of water quality of drinking water, surface water, and groundwater.

The Thematic Sessions have been devised so that we can together work towards the bigger vision of making India a Developed Nation by 2047

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AS