- Water vision 2047 is an important dimension in the next 25 years of Amrit Kaal for country’s development
- Lack of efficient skills and labour in Water and Sanitation contributes to estimated leakage of 30 percent of total withdrawal of fresh water
- Need both Technical and Soft skills. Technical skills are required for water treatment distribution, wastewater management, conservation and hydrology
IndiGlobal Bureau
Water is the driving force for growth and development, stressed Ms. Archana Varma (IAS), Mission Director, National Water Mission under Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India. Emphasis on water resource management is key as water plays in important role in creation of jobs. Shortage of water leads to unemployment crisis and an insecure future, the senior bureaucrat said.
According to the 2016th edition of UN World Water Development Report a startling fact that 3 out of 4 jobs that make the global work force  are heavily or moderately dependent on water. Also, 1.5  billion jobs in the entire world are from water and natural resources industries, Ms Archana said in her virtual address on the second day of the IndiGlobal Bharat Summit held in IIT Guwahati on February 28.
Northern India suffers from water crisis due to lack of capital and resources while water crisis in South India is due to hard rock terrain, low percolation rate and lack of adequate storage structures. Therefore Skilling of work force is essential
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a recent conference with respective ministers of all States, has pointed out that Water vision  2047 is an important dimension in the next 25 years of Amrit Kaal for country’s development, she added.
It is estimated that lack of efficient skills and labour in Water and Sanitation contributes to estimated leakage of 30 percent of total withdrawal of fresh water and that is not a meagre amount. And there is also increased pressure on the existing Water Resources with the agricultural land and domestic demands and hence it is very important that we work on improving the Water Resource  Management.
Coming to India, statistics show Northern India suffers from water crisis due to lack of capital and resources while water crisis in South India is due to hard rock terrain, low percolation rate and lack of adequate storage structures. Therefore Skilling of work force is essential. So even in skills we require a more cross-disciplinary integration and Technical knowledge and at different levels.
“We need both Technical and Soft skills. Technical skills are required for water treatment distribution, wastewater management, conservation and hydrology. Soft skills are required like in any other sector for communications, stakeholder engagement and most importantly leadership management. A skilled Workforce cannot be built in a day. It needs education, it needs training, it needs development initiatives, but most of all it also needs partnership, because government alone cannot create skilled workers. We need to invest in Education, we need to invest in Innovation, but most of all we need to invest in Collaboration,” Ms Archana Varma said.