NITI Aayog with the Karnataka Government held a workshop on Reuse of Treated Wastewater in India

A two-day national workshop was held in Bengaluru for states, industry, academia, to deliberate scaling treated-wastewater reuse in agriculture, industry, non-potable/domestic use.

NITI Aayog, in collaboration with the Government of Karnataka and the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), organised a two-day National Workshop on “Reuse of Treated Wastewater in India” on 6–7 November 2025 in Bengaluru under its State Support Mission. The workshop was graced by Hon’ble Member NITI Aayog Dr Vinod K. Paul and the Chief Secretary Govt. of Karnataka Smt. (Dr) Shalini Rajneesh and other senior officials from eighteen States. It was attended policy experts from think tanks, industry leaders, researchers, academia, UNICEF, representative of Government of Israel for South India, Singapore Water Association and knowledge partners to deliberate on challenges, opportunities and innovations in increasing the use of treated water for applications in agriculture, domestic non-potable and industrial use, and come out with actionable recommendations to help India’s circular water economy and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Potential of treated water to enhance water security for Viksit Bharat 2047 highlighted

• Consensus on adopting common standards for enhancing utilisation was advocated

• The need for both urban and rural India to adopt treated water reuse was emphasised

• Using treated water for meeting the emerging requirements, like data centres, was suggested

In the context of emerging fresh water crisis, Dr Paul emphasised the need for optimally utilising the potential offered by used water reuse for a win-win approach to the Viksit Bharat 2047; need for State level policies on the reuse and developing enforceable common standards for different uses; integrating the used water reuse for emerging areas of water requirement like data centre; health aspects of reuse; and behaviour change. Scaling up the reuse of treated wastewater represents a transformative opportunity to ensure water security, reduce freshwater dependency, strengthen climate resilience and advance the principles of resource circularity. He also appreciated the efforts made by the Government of Karnataka in pioneering the treated water.

The Chief Secretary Government of Karnataka outlined the path-breaking initiatives taken by the State, utilising the crisis in 2024 in the city, like using wastewater for the rejuvenation of lakes and meeting industrial demand. She urged the gathering to come up with strategic ideas for the Nation and the State to take up actions to improve the reuse potential.

The participants urged the need for robust state-level policies by 2030 and clear common standards for multiple end-use applications. The importance of establishing grid infrastructure, real-time quality monitoring systems inter alia from the health perspective of the user and capacity building within utilities to ensure effective implementation. The need for cost-effective technologies and sustainable operation and maintenance frameworks for decentralised treatment systems is identified as an enabler of treated water reuse.

Best practices from several states were presented by senior State functionaries. Gujarat’s scalable reuse models, Delhi’s revenue-generating initiatives, Indore’s multi-sectoral approach for popularising reuse, Karnataka’s integrated rural-industrial reuse systems, Tamil Nadu’s tertiary treated water for industrial use and Maharashtra’s technology-enabled grey water solutions;  all of which provide possibilities for the other States to scale up the reuse. International and private-sector perspectives were shared, underlining the importance of collaborative business models, innovative financing and technology partnerships to accelerate India’s transition toward a circular water economy.

Best practices from several states were presented by senior State functionaries. Gujarat’s scalable reuse models, Delhi’s revenue-generating initiatives, Indore’s multi-sectoral approach for popularising reuse, Karnataka’s integrated rural-industrial reuse systems, Tamil Nadu’s tertiary treated water for industrial use and Maharashtra’s technology-enabled grey water solutions;  all of which provide possibilities for the other States to scale up the reuse. International and private-sector perspectives were shared, underlining the importance of collaborative business models, innovative financing and technology partnerships to accelerate India’s transition toward a circular water economy.