INFORMATION, EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION

Publish Date: January 10, 2023

Brief on the objectives of IEC Section

The objectives of the scheme are as under:-

To create awareness for optimal sustainable development, maintenance of quality and efficient use of country’s water resources to match the growing demands on this precious natural resource with active involvement of all stakeholders in order to achieve accelerated, equitable, economic development of the country.
To create awareness for urgent need for mutual cooperation and adopting integrated planning and participatory approach in management.
To create awareness among the people about necessity of water conservation.
To promote advocacy on the tenets of National Water Policy with focus on learning, documenting and dissemination of knowledge of water science and technology and issues concerning sustained development of water resources.
To create awareness about necessity of adopting measures for rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge of ground water to meet present and future needs of water.
To strengthen awareness infrastructure specially campaign mechanism and support structure.

Mode of operation of IEC

The mass awareness activities viz. Seminar/Workshop/Conference on water related topics are carried out primarily through various organisations of the Ministry such as CWC, CGWB, CSMRS, NIH, NWDA, WAPCOS etc.

The following main activities were undertaken by Information Education and Communication (IEC) Section during the financial year 2023-24 in order to achieve the targets of the scheme:

National Water Awards:

The Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti organizes the National Water Awards every year since 2018 with the objectives to encourage various stakeholders including the States, Districts, Schools, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Gram Panchayats, Urban Local Bodies, Water User Associations, Institutions, Corporate Sector, etc to adopt a holistic approach towards water resource management in the country. These awards would recognize exemplary work done by the people in this arena. National Water Awards is solely an initiative that focuses on incorporating and adopting innovative practices of groundwater augmentation by rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge, promoting water use efficiency, recycling & re-use of water through citizen participation. The National Water Awards (NWAs) focus on the good work and eﬀorts made by individuals and organizations across the country in attaining the government’s vision of a ‘Jal Samridh Bharat’.

The 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th National Water Awards were successfully organized by the Department in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2023 respectively, and winners in diﬀerent categories were felicitated with awards & cash prizes.

5th National Water Awards for year 2023 have been launched to create awareness among the people about the importance of water and attempts to motivate them to adopt the best water usage practices. The event will also provide an occasion for all people and organizations to further cement a strong partnership and people engagement in water resources conservation and management activities. The 10 categories under 5th NWA, 2023 are Best State, Best District, Best Village Panchayat, Best Urban Local Body, Best Institution (other than School/College), Best School or College, Best Civil Society, Best Water User Association, and Best Individual for Excellence and Best Industry.

Publicity through Print media-Publishing of bi-monthly magazine “Jal Charcha” and “10 years achievement Pocket Booklet” of Ministry of Jal Shakti:

The Department has been publishing bi-monthly magazine to engage with the stake holders to help in informed decision-making at the central level. The magazine in its new format has the objective to bring best practices and good work done by the Department & its organisations in the field of water sector to the national stage, and move ahead in the direction of creating water consciousness in the minds of the people. Given the vastness of the subject, while the theme of the magazines would change with diﬀerent editions, eﬀective water resources conservation and management in an integrated manner will remain the central theme.

A pocket booklet showcasing 10 years achievement of the Ministry of Jal Shakti has been published. The booklet has an objective of providing a comprehensive overview of the Ministry’s achievements in the water sector over the past years. Highlighting achievements is not only a means of disseminating information, but also a way of celebrating the success and milestones attained by the Ministry of Jal Shakti. It will serve as a tangible representation of progress made in the water sector.<

Electronic Media Campaign – Production of videos/films:

Various videos spots/documentary films on successful work done by the Department, animated videos/short videos/ films are produced for awareness on water conservation and rain water harvesting techniques, videos for National Water Awards were produced through NFDC. These videos are shared/ uploaded on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and twitter (now X) etc. to spread awareness among general public about water conservation and management practices.

Social Media campaign:

The Department’s social media team is currently running a series of thematic campaigns on various platforms like X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Koo App and YouTube for creating awareness and to spread the message of water conservation among the people. Some of the campaigns are mentioned below:

1.Did You Know:

Sharing interesting facts and trivia related to MoJS schems and initiatives.

2.Trivia Tuesday:

A weekly interactive quiz testing knowledge about water, making learning fun.

3.HomeH2O Care:

Tips and advice on water conservation practices at home.

4.Wisdom Wednesday:

Sharing ancient water saving techniques and how can they could be beneficial at present.

5.Hydro Humor:

Using humor to engage and educate the public on water-related issues etc.

In addition to these ongoing campaigns, we have launched dedicated campaigns on special occasions and themes like Plant 4 Mother, Mission Life, International Day Of Yoga, World Environment Day etc.

Internship in Mass Communication:

DoWR, RD & GR initiated an internship programme to engage students pursuing Under Graduate / Graduate / Post Graduate Degrees or Research Scholars enrolled in recognized University/Institution in the field of Mass Communication in India, as “interns”. The Internship Programme aims to allows short term exposure to “selected candidates” to be associated with the Department’s work related to media/social media activities. The programme will well acquaint the “Interns” with the working of the Department in field of media/social media related activities etc. as well as supplement the process of mass publicity of this Department to create awareness about importance of development and management of water resources in holistic manner. In the first phase of internship, 03 interns have successfully completed their tenure in the Department as interns. Also, the Department had recently launched 2nd phase of internship of Mass communication Internship programme, the last date of submission of applications was 29th June, 2024.

Logo Support and participation:

<p class="text-justify"During the year, the Department has provided logo support for the various events like 8th World Water Summit 2024, 6 IPA Neerathons, Conference on enhancing water use efficiency, High level policy dialogue on Integrating multi speaker action for building back biodiversity, Plumbex India 2024etc.

<p class="text-justify"These events help in spreading the best & innovative water conservation and management practices among the masses.