Water and Maritime - India
A partnership to enhance the cooperation, build sustainable teamwork, and to have an engaging decision making by means of annual ministerial meeting, policy dialogue in the Joint working Group, and to broaden the bilateral cooperation in new areas of water.
The Netherlands and India are engaged in a broad range of water-related projects embracing the Sustainable Development Goals. At present the most important cooperation of scale and engagement is in the states of UP (Namami Ganga Programme), Tamil Nadu (water as leverage, water management and conservation) and Kerala (flood management).
Since 2013 a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on technical cooperation between the two countries in the fields of spatial planning and architecture, water and transport management, and sustainable building exist. Under the MoU, the Dutch and Indian ministries have set up a Joint Working Group aimed at stimulating mutual participation in projects and programmes, the organisation of conferences and workshops, and knowledge sharing for scientific and applied research educational programmes.
The Joint Working Group also focuses on encouraging public-private partnerships. In 2017 the MoU has been extended till June 2022. In December 2020, the Environment Department of the Government of Maharashtra and Mumbai Consulate General, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with an intent to cooperate on an integrated approach towards a sustainable circular economy in the water-plastics-reuse sector.
National Mission for Clean Ganga
National Mission for Clean Ganga (Namami Ganga), is an Integrated Conservation Mission, approved as 'Flagship Programme' by the Union Government in June 2014 to accomplish the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution, conservation and rejuvenation of National River Ganga.
Last year a Netherlands-India Joint Working Group with the National Mission for Clean Ganga was launched which offered an opportunity to expand the use of Dutch experience in water security and water technology in the National Mission for Clean Ganga.
Water as Leverage
The Water as Leverage program is being implemented in Chennai. Dutch private parties support local authorities to make urban areas more resilient to drought, floods and water quality. Currently they are exploring possibility of combining the programme with the National Mission for Clean Ganga.
Flood Management
Year 2018 Kerala was hit by major floods. In response to these disastrous floods, a Netherlands Disaster Risk Reduction team has advised on how to increase flood risk management at the request of the Government of Kerala. Together we are successfully working on a flood management programme and would be happy to share it with other flood-prone states.
Maritime
India’s maritime sector is a robust engine of the nation’s development and plays a pivotal role in its overall trade growth. The Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW) of India has undertaken various initiatives and formulated comprehensive policies and programmes through key interventions. The ‘Maritime India Vision (MIV) 2030’ released in February 2021 translates this vision to a blueprint with 150 initiatives, suggesting coordinated and accelerated growth over the next decade across the various maritime subsectors like Ports, Shipping, and Waterways.
As India seeks to enrich its cooperation with advanced maritime countries for collaborations, the Netherlands is willing to pose as a preferred knowledge, implementation, and co-development partner to India. Thus providing further impetus to our engagements, by leveraging expertise and offering our assistance to the Indian maritime sector in its growth trajectory towards a globally competitive maritime nation.