NITI Aayog, in collaboration with the Government of Karnataka and the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), organised a two-day National Workshop on “Reuse of Treated Wastewater in India” on 6–7 November 2025 in Bengaluru under its State Support Mission. The workshop was graced by Hon’ble Member NITI Aayog Dr Vinod K. Paul and the Chief Secretary Govt. of Karnataka Smt. (Dr) Shalini Rajneesh and other senior officials from eighteen States. It was attended policy experts from think tanks, industry leaders, researchers, academia, UNICEF, representative of Government of Israel for South India, Singapore Water Association  and knowledge partners to deliberate on challenges, opportunities and innovations in increasing the use of treated water for applications in agriculture, domestic non-potable and industrial use, and come out with actionable recommendations to help India’s circular water economy and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In the context of emerging fresh water crisis, Dr Paul emphasized the need for optimally utilizing the potential offered by used water reuse for a win-win approach to the Viksit Bharat 2047; need for State level policies on the reuse and developing enforceable common standards for different uses; integrating the used water reuse for emerging areas of water requirement like data center; health aspects of reuse; and behavior change. Scaling up the reuse of treated wastewater, represents a transformative opportunity to ensure water security, reduce freshwater dependency, strengthen climate resilience and advance the principles of resource circularity. He also appreciated the efforts made by the Government of Karnataka in pioneering the treated water.

The Chief Secretary Government of Karnataka outlined the path breaking initiatives taken by the State utilizing the crisis situation in 2024 in the city like used water reuse for rejuvenation of lakes and meeting industrial demand. She urged the gathering to come with strategic ideas for the Nation and the State to take up actions to improve the reuse potential.

The participants urged the need for robust state-level policies by 2030 and clear common standards for multiple end-use applications. The importance of establishing grid infrastructure, real-time quality monitoring systems inter alia  from the health perspective of the user and capacity building within utilities to ensure effective implementation. The need for cost-effective technologies and sustainable operation and maintenance frameworks for de-centralised treatment systems are identified as enablers of treated water reuse.

Best practices from several states were presented by senior State functionaries. Gujarat’s scalable reuse models, Delhi’s revenue-generating initiatives, Indore’s multi-sectoral approach for popularizing reuse, Karnataka’s integrated rural-industrial reuse systems, Tamil Nadu’s tertiary treated water for industrial use and Maharashtra’s technology-enabled grey water solutions;  all of which provide possibilities for the other States to scale up the reuse. International and private-sector perspectives were shared underlining the importance of collaborative business models, innovative financing and technology partnerships to accelerate India’s transition toward a circular water economy.

The workshop concluded with a field visit on 7^th November to BWSSB’s K&C Valley Sewage Treatment Plant and Cubbon Park Treatment Plant, where participants from the States observed the advanced technologies for treatment and reuse.

The Additional Chief Secretary Urban Development Department of Karnataka, Shri Tushar Giri Nath , Smt. D Thara Additional Secretary and Mission Director AMRUT, M/o Housing and Urban Affairs, Greater Bengaluru Municipal Corporation Chief Commissioner  Shri Maheshwar Rao,   Programme Director NITI Aayog Shri Yugal Joshi and Chairman  Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board  Dr. V Ram Prasath Manohar participated in the deliberations of the workshop.

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