India’s Ministry of Jal Shakti, the government body responsible for water resources & the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have signed a memorandum of understanding to place satellite based observation, remote sensing and geospatial intelligence at the core of India’s water governance. Under the agreement, the two agencies will collaborate across 24 specific research areas where space-based tools offer particular value: reservoir monitoring, river-flow analysis, water-spread assessment, satellite-derived water quality measurement and flood forecasting. Village-level mapping through remote sensing is also expected to strengthen planning at the most local scale.
The MoU was one of several outcomes of a National Workshop on R&D in Water. Also launched at the event was the MAHA Water programme (Mission for Advancement in High-Impact Areas for Water), a broader research initiative developed under the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), the government’s statutory research body. Where the ISRO agreement focuses on space-based data & monitoring capability, MAHA Water is designed to provide the institutional ecosystem to translate those and other innovations into scalable solutions. It brings together universities, laboratories, startups, industry & government agencies around five thematic pillars: water resource assessment & sustainable management; drinking water access; water quality and ecological health; water-use efficiency and circular economy; and climate resilience and adaptation.
Projects under MAHA Water will be structured as multi-institutional consortia, with artificial intelligence & digital governance tools among its stated priority areas.
The workshop also saw the announcement of an open call for proposals under the Bharat Water Innovation Network (Bharat-WIN), inviting startups & small businesses to develop products and prototypes for the water sector, alongside a citizen-facing portal to support community-led water conservation across the country.
