National Water Awards:
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It was first launched by the Jal Shakti Ministry in 2018.
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Award has been given under 11 different categories : Best State, Best District, Best Village Panchayat, Best Urban Local Body, Best Media (Print & Electronic), Best School, etc. Winners will be awarded a citation, trophy and cash prize.
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Under the 3rd National Water Awards, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu enlisted as top three under the Best State category.
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Objective of the National Water Awards:
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It was introduced to recognize and encourage meritorious work and efforts made by States, individuals, organizations, etc across India in attaining the government’s vision of a ‘Jal Samridh Bharat’. Under this, stakeholders are encouraged to adopt a holistic approach towards water resources management in the country.
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National Water Awards strives to create awareness among the people about the importance of water and attempts to motivate them to adopt best water usage practices.
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Significance of water for India:
India has more than 18% of the world’s population but has only 4% of the world’s renewable water resources. India’s current water requirement is estimated to be around 1,100 billion cubic meters per year, which can go up to 1,447 billion cubic meters by 2050.