UK, India launch joint research projects on clean water and energy

India and United Kingdom on February 19, 2018 jointly launched research projects on ‘Water Quality Research’ and ‘Energy Demand Reduction in Built Environment’.

These UK-India research projects were launched by V K Saraswat, Member of NITI Aayog; Professor Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary of Department of Science and Technology (DST) India and Daniel Shah, Director of Research Councils UK (RCUK) India.

Objective behind UK-India research projects

Both the projects will be implemented with a total joint investment of up to 15 million pounds.

These projects aim to deliver mutual benefits and research solutions the UK and India, besides addressing shared global sustainable development goals on clean water and clean energy.

Water Quality Research Programme

• The ‘Water Quality Research’ programme has eight projects. It is supported jointly by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), NERC, EPSRC and ESRC in the UK.

• The catalogue highlighting the potential impact of the project was also launched with the title as 'DST – The UK’s Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on Water Quality Research'.

• Research on water quality is extremely critical for the national missions on Ganga rejuvenation and Swachha Bharat.

• It aims to equip local communities, policymakers, regulators and businesses with the information and solutions they need to secure the provision of clean water.

• These eight collaborative research projects shall benefit people and the environment.

Energy Demand Reduction in Built Environment Programme

• The ‘Energy Demand Reduction in Built Environment’ programme has a total of four projects.

• Its catalogue is titled as 'DST - Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) programme on Energy Demand Reduction in Built Environment'.

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Following the launch of these research projects, an initiation meeting was organised for both the projects, providing an opportunity for lead researchers to present their work, understand how they can work together to deliver a coherent programme and identify any research gaps or potential overlaps.

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