India

The Government has instituted Ground Water Augmentation Awards (Bhoomijal Samvardhan Puraskar) and National Water Award (Rashtriya Jal Puraskar).

Awards will be given for significant contribution for encouraging Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) / Gram Panchayats / Urban Local Bodies (for population upto 1 lakh) / Institutions / Corporate Sector and Individuals for adopting innovative practices of Ground Water Resources augmentation through rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge, promoting water use efficiency and re-use of water and awareness creation through people's participation in the targeted areas resulting in the sustainability of the resources and development of adequate capacity amongst the stakeholders.

Categories of Award: The awards have been categorised into four sections:

• For the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Gram Panchayata, Urban Local Bodies, Institution, Corporate Sectors and Individuals for adopting innovative practice of Ground Water Resources Augmentation through Rain water Harvesting and Artificial Recharge.

• New Water Policy by 2011
  Nine years after the last document, work is on to put in shape a new water policy for India that will by the end of the year not just lay down a framework for the allocation of water but also take into account the impact of climate change and the remedial steps that need to be taken.

• Japan will extend Rs 2,557 Crore aid
  Japan is to extend an aid of Rs. 2,557 crore to India for three projects through its Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) window. The projects pertain to cleaning the river Yamuna in the national capital Delhi, crop diversification promotion in Himachal Pradesh and biodiversity conservation and greening in Tamil Nadu

• Access and behavioral outcome indicators for water, sanitation, and hygiene by USAID Hygiene Improvement Project
  The document highlights the evidence that has accumulated based on the reliable assessment and validation of hygiene practices – practices that are critical for the prevention of diarrheal diseases and the reduction of child morbidity and mortality.

The panel discussion was held to further the idea of commons by extending the idea of autonomy in some of the discussions on commons to the Indian idea of Swaraj or Self-Rule.

Discussions in the panel drew the existing ideas of resource sharing, establishing institutions for governance but extend this to a broader discussion on knowledge and democracy. The panel draws from a recent examination of Gandhi’s Hind Swaraj from a knowledge perspective, an attempt by a network of knowledge commons - the Knowledge In Civil Society or KICS – to posit an Indian science and technology manifesto for 21st-century India and the world. Knowledge Swaraj suggests a new social contract of science in India, based on the principles of plurality, sustainability and justice and a closer look at expertise and knowledge in India. The panel began with a view from civil society on knowledge by M V Sastri looking at Gandhi’s ideas of Hind Swaraj and oceanic circles and the need for the commons debates to relook at ideas from Hind Swaraj from the viewpoint of the present day discourses of human rights also. This was followed by  papers that suggest how these ideas can be explored in practice.