Image credit: IIT Madras
New Delhi:
International Centre for Clean Water (ICCW) at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras is working with the Tamil Nadu Government and postgraduate students of Stella Maris College, Chennai, to map the groundwater quality of the city, the institute said. The Centre, dedicated to research and development of clean water technologies and incubating startups, celebrated its second anniversary today. April 22 is World Earth Day.
ICCW is working with startups to develop technologies, which have the potential to save millions of litres of groundwater every year, an official statement said.
Addressing the celebrations virtually, Dr Shekhar C Mande, Director General, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), said, “The total water available on earth is 1,360,000,000 km3, of which 97.2 per cent is ocean water. Freshwater availability is only 0.02 per cent…this actually highlights the importance of conservation of water. It is our collective duty.”
Appreciating the work being done by the centre, Dr Mande said, “Water is extraordinarily important. It is good to see IITs efforts in all fronts, not only in generating the next level of human resources and extraordinary translational work.”
Speaking on the occasion, Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras, said, “IIT Madras Research Park has many things. It is a place where several companies have set up their research centres and collaborate with IIT Madras. It is a place where we incubate all our startups and also a place where some of these translational research centres have been set up, including the ICCW. Such efforts to take ideas more quickly to the market and the field have benefited a lot from the IIT Madras Research Park.”
Funded by HT Parekh Foundation the ICCW is the brainchild of Prof T Pradeep, a Padma Shri Awardee and Professor at IIT Madras. The centre, dedicated to sustainable clean water technologies, works closely with the industry and academia.
Source: https://www.ndtv.com/education/iit-madras-centre-tamil-nadu-government-working-map-groundwater-quality-of-chennai
