The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and Tata Trusts are celebrating 25 years of collaboration through the IWMI-Tata Water Policy Research Program (ITP), a partnership that has significantly influenced India’s water, energy, agriculture, and climate policies since 2000.
Based in Anand, Gujarat, the program combines IWMI’s scientific expertise with Tata Trusts’ extensive grassroots network to develop practical solutions for some of India’s most pressing rural development challenges. Over the past two and a half decades, ITP has played a key role in shaping major government initiatives, including the Atal Bhujal Yojana, Gujarat’s Jyotigram Yojana, and the National Dugwell Recharge Program.
The partnership has also been instrumental in advancing solar-powered irrigation across India. One of its landmark achievements was helping establish the world’s first solar pump irrigators’ cooperative in Dhundi, Gujarat, where farmers collectively operate grid-connected solar pumps and sell surplus electricity back to the grid. Similar solar irrigation models introduced in Bihar and Jharkhand have improved access to affordable irrigation for smallholder farmers while reducing dependence on diesel-powered systems. These innovations have influenced larger renewable energy programs such as Gujarat’s Suryashakti Kisan Yojana and the national PM-KUSUM scheme.
ITP’s research has consistently highlighted the close relationship between groundwater management and energy policies. Its findings contributed to the development of Gujarat’s Jyotigram Yojana, a landmark rural electrification initiative that improved power supply quality while promoting more efficient agricultural electricity use. The scheme became a model that was later adopted in several other states.
The program’s contributions have received both national and international recognition. In 2014, ITP received the UN-Water Best Water Management Practices Award for its pioneering work linking water resources, energy consumption, and food production. Its research has informed policy discussions, parliamentary debates, and development programs supported by international organizations such as the World Bank, SDC, and GIZ.
Beyond policy impact, the program has collaborated with more than 250 development partners and trained hundreds of students, researchers, and practitioners who now work across India’s development sector. It has become an important platform for nurturing young talent and promoting evidence-based policymaking through field-focused research and innovation.
As the IWMI-Tata Water Policy Research Program enters its next phase, its mission remains centered on bridging science, policy, and practice to address India’s evolving water and energy challenges. With climate resilience, sustainable agriculture, and resource management becoming increasingly critical, the partnership continues to serve as a leading example of research-driven development and policy innovation.
