SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation | SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure | SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
Institutions: NITI Aayog | Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs | Government of Karnataka
NITI Aayog, in collaboration with the Government of Karnataka and Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), organized a two-day National Workshop on “Reuse of Treated Wastewater in India” on November 6–7, 2025, in Bengaluru. The workshop reached a consensus that scaling up wastewater reuse represents a transformative opportunity to achieve India’s circular water economy, ensuring water security and strengthening climate resilience for the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.
Policy Mandates Urged: Participants, including NITI Aayog Member Dr. Vinod K. Paul, stressed the need for robust State-level policies by 2030 and the adoption of enforceable common standards for multiple end-use applications, covering applications in agriculture, industrial use, and domestic non-potable needs.
New Applications: The reuse of treated water was advocated for meeting emerging, high-demand requirements, specifically citing data centers.
Implementation Enablers: Key actionable recommendations included establishing grid infrastructure, deploying real-time quality monitoring systems (essential for health assurance), developing cost-effective technologies, and building capacity within utility services for effective implementation.
Best Practices: The workshop featured best practices from several states, showcasing models such as Gujarat’s scalable reuse systems, Delhi’s revenue-generating initiatives, and Karnataka’s pioneering use of treated water for lake rejuvenation and industrial demand.
This national consensus marks a pivotal shift in India’s water management strategy, moving treated water from a waste product to a core solution for the emerging freshwater crisis. The call for mandated State policies and common standards by 2030 directly supports sustainable growth and climate resilience, integrating water planning with future industrial demands like the digital economy.
What is the ‘Circular Water Economy’ ?→ The ‘Circular Water Economy’ is a strategic framework that treats all forms of water as a valuable resource. It aims to close the water loop by minimizing freshwater extraction and dependency, maximizing the collection and treatment of used wastewater, and reusing that treated water for non-potable purposes like agriculture, industry, and environmental rejuvenation.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: What central government incentives and financial mechanisms must be deployed to overcome the capital cost barriers for States to immediately establish the grid and monitoring infrastructure necessary for large-scale, safe wastewater reuse?
Follow the full news here: NITI Aayog Pushes for Mandatory Reuse of Treated Wastewater