The sustainable water programme at The Council focuses on informing policy-making for the sustainable development of water resources and their effective management through research. We closely look into river basin planning, water-energy nexus, water use efficiency, wastewater treatment and reuse, and climate-resilient water systems.

Our work on water includes the 584-page National Water Resources Framework Study for India’s 12th Five Year Plan; irrigation reform for Bihar; Swachh Bharat; supporting India’s National Water Mission; collective action for water security; mapping India’s traditional water bodies; modelling water-energy nexus; circular economy of water; participatory irrigation management in South Asia; domestic water conflicts; modelling decision making at the basin-level; multi-stakeholder initiatives for urban water management; and study on the need to strengthen the existing data and information system on drinking water services in rural areas. The National Water Resources Framework Study was ranked among the world’s top policy studies produced by a think-tank by the 2013 Global Go To Think Tank Index.