The 9th India International Water Week-2026 concluded at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, with the Valedictory Ceremony bringing together leaders, policymakers, experts, researchers, industry representatives and delegates around the theme of Climate Resilient Water Management. Chaired by the Hon’ble Union Minister for Jal Shakti, Shri C. R. Patil, the session featured Shri V. Somanna and Shri Raj Bhushan Choudhary, Ministers of State for Jal Shakti; Shri Ashok K. K. Meena, Secretary, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation; Smt. Archana Varma, Secretary, DoWR, RD & GR, Shri Rajeev Kumar Mital, Director General, NMCG; Shri Kamal Kishore Soan, Additional Secretary & Mission Director, Jal Jeevan Mission; and Shri Baleshwar Thakur, Director General, NWDA. The Valedictory Ceremony also saw the release of key publications, reports and protocols, presentation of IIWW 2026 exhibition awards, and the unveiling of important recommendations emerging from the four-day Water Week. With 7,224 delegates, 227 exhibitors and 119 paper presentations, IIWW 2026 concluded with a shared call to turn partnerships into action, innovation into solutions and recommendations into meaningful outcomes for a resilient and sustainable water future.

25 September 2026 (Friday), the 9th India International Water Week 2026 featured Practitioner ‘s Forum-10 on the theme “From Field to Framework: Women Shaping Water Governance” at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The session was chaired by Dr. Benno Böer, Chief of Natural Sciences, UNESCO South Asia Regional Office, New Delhi, with Ms. Anupama Madhok Sud, Director and Editor, Water Digest, as Co-Chair. The session brought together experts to discuss the role of women in water governance, highlighting their experiences, perspectives and contributions towards shaping inclusive and effective water management frameworks.

25 September 2026, the 9th India International Water Week 2026 featured Side Event-5 on the theme “Sustainable Groundwater-Based Piped Water Supply Systems under Jal Jeevan Mission” at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The session featured remarks by Mr. Anand Shekhar, Chief Executive, WaterAid India, followed by remarks from Mr. Muralidharan Ardhanareswaran, Deputy Advisor, NITI Aayog, and Mr. Shyam Naryan Dave, Former WASH Specialist. The session also featured addresses by Mr. Bharat Lal, Former Secretary General, National Human Rights Commission; Mr. Kamal Kishore Soan, Additional Secretary, Jal Jeevan Mission, Jal Shakti; Dr. Vinay Sahasrrabuddhe, Former MP and Former President, Indian Council for Cultural Relations; and Shri Raj Bhushan Choudhary, Union Minister of State, Jal Shakti.

25 September 2026 (Friday), the 9th India International Water Week 2026 featured Thematic Forum-20 on the theme “Water and Human Health” at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The session was chaired by Dr. Javed Ahsan Quadri, Co-Founder, Clinical Ecotoxicology Facility, AIIMS, New Delhi, and President, Clinical Ecotoxicology and Interventions, with Dr. Ramesh Kumar, Scientist-F, CSIR-NEER, as Co-Chair. The session brought together experts to discuss the linkages between water and human health, with a focus on water quality, environmental health and approaches for protecting public health. #IIWW2026 #EveryDropCounts

25 September 2026 (Friday), the 9th India International Water Week 2026 featured Thematic Forum-19 on the theme “Sustainable Environmental Flows (e-flows) for Healthy Rivers” at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The session was chaired by Dr. Sandeep Tambe, IFS, Principal Secretary, Department of Science & Technology (DST), with Mr. Balraj Joshi, Former Chairman and Managing Director, NHPC Ltd., as Co-Chair. The session brought together experts to discuss environmental flows, river health and approaches for maintaining sustainable water flows to support healthy and resilient river ecosystems.

25 September 2026 (Friday), the 9th India International Water Week 2026 featured World Leaders’ Forum-9 on the theme “Inter State Cooperation for Challenges in Shared Water” at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The session was chaired by Dr. Syamal Kumar Sarkar, Former Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, with Mr. Anupam Prasad, Chairman, Central Water Commission, as Co-Chair. The session brought together experts to discuss challenges related to shared water resources and the importance of inter-state cooperation for effective and sustainable water management.

25 September 2026(Friday), the 9th India International Water Week 2026 featured Side Event-4 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, with two discussions focusing on wetland resilience and community-led restoration. Discussion 1: “Wetlands for Climate Resilience: Policy and Planning” was moderated by Ms. Zeenat Niazi, Chief Advisor, Development Alternatives, with Smt. Rashi Sharma (IPoS), Executive Director, National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG); Dr. Nidhi Pundir, SVP, Global CSR, HCLTech and Director, HCLFoundation; Dr. Debolina Kundu, Director and Professor, National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA); and Shri Anand Mohan Singh, In-Charge Director, Horticulture, Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA), as panelists. Discussion 2: “Community-led Restoration for Water Security and Sustainable Development” was moderated by Dr. Santanu Basu, Project Director, HCLFoundation, with Mr. Chetan Jha, Director, Thematic Engagement & Innovations, Foundation for Ecological Security (FES); Dr. Shiraz Wajih, President, Gorakhpur Environmental Action Group (GEAG); Mr. Manu Bhatnagar, Principal Director, Natural Heritage Division, INTACH; and Mr. V. Venkatesan, Program Leader, DHAN Foundation, as panelists. The discussions brought together perspectives from government, civil society, academia and development organisations on strengthening wetland conservation, community-led restoration, climate resilience and water security.

25 September 2026 (Friday), the 9th India International Water Week 2026 featured the Thematic Forum: 17 session on the theme “Water Quality and Cost-effective Technologies” at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The session was chaired by Prof. Indumati Nambi, Professor, IIT Madras, with Prof. Pawan Labhasetwar, Professor of Practice, IIT Madras, as Co-Chair. The session focused on cost-effective technological approaches for improving water quality and strengthening sustainable water management.

25 September 2026(Friday), the 9th India International Water Week 2026 featured Thematic Forum-18 on the theme “Aquifer Mapping and Management” at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The session was chaired by Mr. Sushil Gupta, Former Chairman, Central Ground Water Board, with Prof. A. K. Keshari, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Delhi, as Co-Chair. The session brought together experts to discuss aquifer mapping, groundwater assessment and management approaches for sustainable water resource planning.

25 September 2026, the 9th India International Water Week 2026 featured the Water Leaders' Forum-8 session on the theme “Rural Water Supply Governance and Implementation Frameworks” at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The session was chaired by Shri Sujoy Mozumdar, Senior WASH Specialist, UNICEF, with Mr. Bishwadeep Ghose, Managing Trustee, Water for People, and Ms. Ruchika Shiva, Director, Global and Asia Regional Programme, IRC, as Co-Chairs. The session discussed governance approaches and implementation frameworks for strengthening rural water supply systems.

25 September 2026 (Friday), the 9th India International Water Week 2026 featured the Practitioner's Forum -9 session on the theme “Digital Public Infrastructure in the Water Sector” at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The session was chaired by Mr. Kamal Kishore Soan, Additional Secretary & Mission Director, NJJM, DoDW&S, with Mr. William Rex, Program Manager, World Bank, as Co-Chair. The session explored the role of digital public infrastructure in strengthening data-driven and efficient water sector management.

25 September 2026(Friday), the 9th India International Water Week 2026 featured the Thematic Forum-15 session on the theme “Water Use Efficiency & Conservation: Best Practices & Success Stories” at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The session was chaired by Mr. Ch. Srinivasa Rao, Director, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, with Shri Chandramouli Kasina, Executive Director (SSEA - Safety, Sustainability, Environment and Ash), NTPC Limited, as Co-Chair. Shri Sumant Narain, Joint Secretary and Managing Director, National Water Mission, was the Session Incharge. The session highlighted best practices and success stories in water use efficiency and conservation.

25 September 2026, the 9th India International Water Week 2026 featured the Youth Forum session on “Nukkad Natak - Water Conservation / Rain Water Harvesting” at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The session was graced by the presence of Shri Anupam Prasad, Chairman, Central Water Commission; Shri Raj Bhushan Choudhary, Hon’ble Minister of State for Jal Shakti; and Shri Harvir Singh Sengar, Chief Engineer, Yamuna Basin Organisation, Central Water Commission. The Nukkad Natak presented the message of water conservation and rainwater harvesting through an engaging youth-led performance.

25 September 2026(Friday), the 9th India International Water Week 2026 featured Side Event-3 on the theme “Unlocking Investment for a Water-Secure India” at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The first part of the session was moderated by Mr. James Varghese Abraham, CEO, CEEW, with Mr. Nalin Kumar Srivastava, Deputy Director General, NMCG, and Ms. Theresa Beltramo, Head of Research and Development Impact, AIIB, as speakers. The second part was moderated by Dr. Nitin Bassi, Fellow & Team Lead, CEEW, and featured Mr. Sanjay Dubey, Additional Chief Secretary, Urban Development and Housing Department, Government of Madhya Pradesh; Mr. Ajith Radhakrishnan, Country Coordinator, Water Resources Group, World Bank; Mr. Kedar Sawant, Senior Portfolio Manager; Mr. Dhruv Bhavsar, Centre for Water and Sanitation, CEPT University; Ms. Theresa Beltramo, Head of Research and Development Impact, AIIB; and Mr. Kiran Avadhanula, Senior Specialist, Sustainable Urban Development, KfW India.

25 September 2026, the 9th India International Water Week 2026 featured the Practitioner's Forum-8 session on the theme “Rural-Urban Water Grids and Innovations in Water and Used Water Management” at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The session was chaired by Smt. Isha Kalia, Joint Secretary, AMRUT, with Ms. Dr. T.K. Sreedevi, Secretary, Municipal Administration Department, Government of Telangana, as Co-Chair. The session explored innovative approaches to strengthening rural-urban water systems and advancing efficient water and used water management.

25 September 2026, the 9th India International Water Week 2026 featured the Water Leaders' Forum -7 session on the theme “River Basin Management” at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The session was chaired by Mr. Rajeev Kumar Mital, Director General, National Mission for Clean Ganga, with Mr. Gottfried Von Gemmingen, Minister-Counsellor & Head of Economic Cooperation & Development Division, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, New Delhi, as Co-Chair. The session brought together perspectives on integrated approaches to river basin management for sustainable and climate-resilient water management.

25 September 2026, the 9th India International Water Week 2026 featured the THEMATIC FORUM-16 session on the theme “Sediment Management and Recoupment of Storage” at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The session was chaired by Shri Rakesh Kashyap, Chairman, NDSA, with Capt. Divakar, MD & CEO, Dredging Corporation India Ltd., as Co-Chair. The session focused on sediment management approaches and strategies for recoupment of storage capacity.

A bilateral meeting between Hon’ble Minister of Jal Shakti, Shri C R Patil and H.E. Mr. Jaap Slootmaker, Vice Minister for Infrastructure and Water Management, Netherlands, held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, on the sidelines of the 9th India International Water Week (IIWW) 2026. Sh. Raj bhushan Chaudhary H’ble MoS of Jalshakti,Shri Ishwarsinh Patel, Hon’ble Minister of State for Water Resources and Water Supply, Govt of Gujarat, and the Ambassador of the Netherlands and other delegates joined the event. The discussions were held in further strengthening India–Netherlands Strategic Water Partnership, cooperation in the water sector, particularly in advancing technical cooperation on the Kalpasar Project in Gujarat. During the event, MoUs for cooperation on the Kalpasar Project signed between the Central Water Commission (CWC), Kalpasar Department, Government of Gujarat, and Dutch knowledge institutions, namely TU Delft and Deltares. The MoUs will facilitate technical collaboration through sharing of Dutch expertise and advanced engineering practices for the planning, design and implementation of the project. The cooperation with Deltares, inter alia, covers technical review, hydraulic and hydrological modelling, coastal and structural engineering, climate resilience, capacity building, knowledge transfer and digital applications.

On 24 September 2026, the 9th India International Water Week 2026 featured the Thematic Forum-14 session on the theme “Policy for Water User Charges”, at MR-7, Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The session was chaired by Mr. Sanjay Marwah, Member, Haryana Water Resources Authority, with Mr. Subrata Singh, Executive Director, Foundation for Ecological Society, as Co-Chair, followed by insightful discussions on policy approaches to water user charges and their role in water-sector financing. The discussions highlighted the importance of sustainable financing approaches and effective policy frameworks for supporting water infrastructure and services. 📍 Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi