The India Water Impact Summit (IWIS) was first launched in 2012 during the evolution of the Ganga River Basin Management Plan (GRBMP) by the Consortium of 7 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) to bring clarity to the myriad scientific, technological, socio-cultural, legal, policy and governance issues pertaining to river basin management in India in the context of highly diverse and divergent stakeholder interests, perceptions and understanding of river processes. On completion of the GRBMP in 2015, six more Summits were held to further probe the unclear or contentious issues and build consensus for scientific understanding, assessment of analytical tools, data requirements, implementation and monitoring mechanisms, policy interventions, synergy and convergence in government and private efforts, and adopting technological innovations for managing India’s water environment holistically and economically.

IWIS has now turned out to be a much sought-after annual event wherein scientific experts, key stakeholders and government representatives discuss threadbare the dynamic challenges and opportunities in India’s water and related sectors. Separate sessions are held to brainstorm over key science, technology, and policy issues, elucidate the views of central and state governments, review new promising technologies, and synchronize the interests of financiers, economists, and technology providers to build a robust technological culture for comprehensive water management in India.

In consequence to the above initiatives, an imperative need has grown to incorporate climate change mitigation and adaptation for the water and environmental sector through technological innovations. Thus, the present Summit is a coupled system of twin summits – the India Water Impact Summit (IWIS) and the Climate Investment and Technology Impact Summit (CITIS), wherein the latter summit is streamlined to bind potential investors with technology providers after review and testing of new technologies and innovative business models, implementation of proven new technologies, adopting suitable financing mechanisms, and collaborating within multiple sectors such as energy, agriculture, urban management, transport, and infrastructure development that are intricately linked with climate, air, land, rivers, and water management.

The 8th India Water Impact Summit (IWIS) will present an exhibition of past achievements of IWIS and hold intensive expert discussions on the themes of “Samarth Ganga and Productive Land” (highlighting the inter-dependability of Land and Rivers), and “Lifestyle for Rivers” (in the context of the ongoing national initiative of Lifestyle for Environment). IWIS will also hold a series of in-depth discussions on specific aspects of river management where successful or promising aspects of river restoration and conservation can be shared between India and other countries for replication – the twinning of river management, tools and techniques for different river systems around the world.