Mumbai: The world is facing a severe water shortage, and organisations the world over have risen to find solutions to this challenge. According to the World Wildlife Fund, two-thirds of the world will be facing severe shortage by 2025. In response to this dire need, the Network18 Group launched Mission Paani in 2019. The campaign was, today, declared the Best Media Campaign (Print & Electronic) under the 3rd National Water Awards (NWA) 2020. The announcement was made by The Ministry of Jal Shakti, formed by the Government of India in 2019. Jal Shakti Minister Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat announced winners of 57 awards across 11 categories including Best States, District, Panchayat and Best Industries.
The National Water Awards were instituted to recognize and encourage exemplary work and efforts by States, Districts, individuals and organizations across the country towards attaining the vision of a Jal Samridh Bharat. The objective behind instituting the Awards was to encourage stakeholders including Grassroot Organisations, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Urban Local Bodies, Corporates and enterprises, and Individuals to adopt sustainable and responsible water conservation and management methods. This becomes especially relevant in a time when India is home to more than 18% of the world’s population, but has only four percent of the world’s renewable water resources.
Taking a definitive step towards solving this water crisis, Mission Paani was launched to create awareness about saving water and sustaining it for the generations to come. The aim is to change attitudes and behaviour to improve water use efficiency through high decibel media campaigns across the length and breadth of the country deploying the compounded strength of Network 18’s robust media presence. Towards this end, Mission Paani hosted a Waterthon earlier this year where India’s leading policymakers, celebrities and corporates came together to deliberate on a Water Curriculum for school children. The event also witnessed the launch of a first-of-its-kind Coffee Table Book 101 Stories of Inspiration that showcased stories of hope and inspiration among sanitation workers in India. In 2020, the channel observed JalPratigyaDiwas and World Toilet Day with a renewed message of ‘Swachhta aur Paani’ under the campaign.
