S Viswanath

As the Indian economy grows at a rapid 9 per cent, the use of water by industries will also grow at 9 per cent. While agricultural use of water will continue to remain the largest consumer, it is expected that the demand from industries will show a rapid increase. Industries demand water at a point and also discharge water at a point and therefore sustainable management of water by industries is not only crucial to the industry itself but to the neighbourhood where the ind ustry is located. The Confederation of Indian Industries , CII , recently organised its National Award for Excellence in Water Management 2007 competition in the Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre in Hyderabad (http://www.ciionline.org/, www.ciigbc.org) . A range of industries participated in the competition organised in two categories - 'Within the fence' and 'Beyond the fence'. The way many industries highlighted their projects was an indication on how serious they consider the management of water resources. That it is identified as one of the key resources, apart from energy to be looked at as a critical input for sustaining growth, doesn't come as a surprise. Source to sink

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