Water under pins civilisation, prosperity, food security, social equity and ecological well-being. Yet it is under growing strain. Climate change is disrupting rainfall patterns, intensifying floods and droughts, accelerating glacial melt and increasing the frequency of extreme hydrological events. Recent floods, cloudbursts and landslides in neighbouring Nepal show that water-related risks are no longer distant.

As New Delhi prepares to host the 9th India International Water Week (IIWW-2026) from 22 to 26 September under the theme “Climate Resilient Water Management,” the question is not whether water systems need to adapt to climate change. It is how rapidly and comprehensively they can do so. For India, water security is inseparable from the journey towards Viksit Bharat @2047. Inclusive prosperity cannot endure if water resources remain fragile, polluted or inefficiently managed.

The task is integrated stewardship – from catchment to consumer and source to safe reuse. India’s water challenges are interconnected. Erratic rainfall brings both scarcity and destructive excess, sometimes in the same region. Groundwater depletion threatens farms and drinking-water supplies; rapid urbanisation adds demand while reducing recharge areas; and pollution reduces the volume of water that is safely usable. Ageing infrastructure, competing demands and uneven capacity add to the pressure. No single intervention can address this challenge. Water needs to be managed as a connected system of catchments, rivers, aquifers, reservoirs, farms, cities, industries and communities.

That calls for aligning conservation, augmentation, efficiency, infrastructure, data, regulation and public participation. India has already begun this transition. Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari: Catch the Rain places communities at the centre of water conservation, rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge and water-body rejuvenation. Its message – “Catch the Rain, Where It Falls, When It Falls” – recognises that durable........

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