About MAHA Scheme, ANRF ANRF, a statutory body of the Government of India, has been established to provide high level strategic direction for research, innovation and entrepreneurship in fields of natural sciences and scientific and technological interfaces of humanities & social sciences to promote, monitor and provide support as required as per recommendations of the National Education Policy. Mission for Advancement in High-impact Areas (MAHA) is a program under ANRF to support priority-centric, solution-based research in Mission mode focusing at some key areas in alignment with nation’s prime requirements. It is envisaged to be multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional and multi-investigator projects with industrial partnerships in the best sorted areas of immediate concern. In this direction, ANRF had identified the "MAHA Water Program" in collaboration with the Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS), GoI to accelerate innovation, design, develop, and promote high-priority adaptable solutions related to water problem(s) and increasing stress, which is due to demands on surface and groundwater for drinking, irrigation, industrial, and ecosystem use by involving researchers, institutions and various stakeholders. It also emphasizes capacity building and intellectual property generation. The aim of this mission is to address and combat India's water challenges, through R&D-Based Technological Solutions synergic with Policy, Governance and Entrepreneurship. This initiative is aligned with national goals for availability of water and its sustainable management in the country. About R&D Scheme, Ministry of Jal Shakti The Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS), a Central Ministry of the Government of India, to ensure comprehensive water management in India by integrating the efforts of water resources, river development, and drinking water/sanitation. The ministry is structured with two main departments with specific mandates: Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR, RD & GR): Focuses on national water planning, policy, and development. Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS): Focuses on providing safe drinking water and improved sanitation in rural areas. Aim and Objectives of Water Research program Aim To ensure sustainable, equitable, and resilient water security by conserving and augmenting water resources, improving water quality, enhancing efficient water use across sectors, and strengthening governance and community participation to meet present and future needs in the context of climate change and growing demand. Objectives To accelerate innovation in the water sector by connecting science, entrepreneurship, global and domestic institutes, and grassroots action towards accessibility and affordability. To navigate and mitigate the critical challenges of water in the country through technological innovation pathways from TRL-2 to TRL-6-7 by supporting field assessment, validation, prototype and technology development, high-priority adaptable solutions, involving multiple institutions and stakeholders' research. Thematic Areas This mission is to foster holistic, interdisciplinary, and scalable R&D solutions reaching TRL levels of 6-7 by connecting science, entrepreneurship, global and domestic institutes, and grassroots action towards accessibility and affordability. The scope is proposed to be structured into five major focus areas. The major five themes with illustrations of sub themes are as follows: Water Resource Assessment and Sustainable Management: Hydrogeological mapping, aquifer recharge and forecasting of aquifer response, and precision modelling, integrated surface-groundwater systems and forecasting of their interdependency, snow and glacier monitoring for groundwater recharge zones, submarine groundwater discharge (SGD), sea water intrusion and its solutions. Drinking Water: Low-cost solutions for potable water to households through piped water supply systems across the country. Water Quality, Human and Ecological Health: Water-food-energy nexus, treatment technologies for water, social hydrology, gender equity, and community-led innovation. Water Use Efficiency and Circular Economy: Water reuse & circularity, new technologies for grey water management (industrial waste, fecal waste), agriculture &; ET-based water management, potential usage of water in allied sectors of agriculture, mining, industry, etc. Climate Resilience & Adaptation: Climate change impact on water resources, AI/ML-enabled decision support system, digitization of information and environmental surveillance. Any Other Topic: Mutually decided to replace or be added. Duration and Eligibility Duration: The duration of the project will initially be three (3) years, extendable up to five (5) years (3+1+1), subject to intensive milestone evaluation and demonstrated impact.Eligibility: A detailed outline of the eligibility criteria for the consortia members are: Project proposals are invited in consortium mode, bringing together multiple Principal Investigators (PIs) and institutions/laboratories from academia, research organizations, DSIR-SIRO registered research organizations and Section 8 companies (whose object clause is aligned with the program). Each proposal must be submitted by a lead institution and will be headed by a lead PI. The lead PI will be from the academic institution or a National Research Laboratory, and must hold a regular position in the institution. The PIs can also be from Section 8 Companies (whose object clause is aligned with the program) and DSIR SIRO registered entities including above. Applicants must be Indian citizens or OCI holders. Applicants must have a Ph.D. in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, or relevant Social Sciences or M.D./M.S./M.D.S./M.V.Sc. degree holders. Lead PIs nearing superannuation may apply if supported by a PI from the same institution with at least six (6) years( 5+1) of regular service remaining. Fellows under INSPIRE, Ramanujan, and Ramalinga swamy schemes may participate as PIs. Each proposal must have one Lead PI and at least one PI, with a maximum of six PIs. These PIs may belong to the same institution as the Lead PI (not all) or may be drawn from multiple collaborating institutions. At least one PI should be from collaborative institute(s). This provision is intended to support the formation of strong, interdisciplinary, and multi-institutional research teams, to achieve target outcomes. The roles and responsibilities of each PI must be clearly defined, including budget allocation, specific responsibilities, deliverables, collaboration plan, and other relevant aspects. The person from Industry, startups, international faculty/researcher/industry can formally be a "Honorary Investigator" in collaboration with a lead PI in India, but the role of Honorary Investigator should be defined in the proposal. Nature of Support Maximum research grants will be up to Rs. 20 Crore per project. Funding will cover Non recurring and recurring heads. Under recurring-research personal (JRFs, SRFs, RAs/National Post Doctoral Fellows (NPDFs), Project Scientists, etc., other than JRF/SRF/RA will be as per ANRF norms), consumables, travel & field work, contingency, other costs, and institutional overheads as per ANRF norms. Proposals with high capital cost requirements will not be supported. The lead institution will be responsible for the financial and administrative management of the project. Post selection of the project, funds will be allocated to lead institution, which will be further allocated to the associated PI's institutions by the lead institution. Collaboration: Startups and Industry partners are invited to participate in the mission as a collaborating partner with academic institutions/ R&D labs and can aim to leverage open-source outputs of the mission to drive their innovation. No financial support will be provided for industry/MSME/startups by ANRF in this mission. Minimum one Startup/MSME/Industries is mandatory (10% in cash) for the project. They will have to contribute 10% (in cash) of the total budget of the project. They may also contribute in kind but it will be over and above of mandatory 10% cash contribution. The role and responsibility of the contributors should be defined. There must be credible and compelling translational plan for scaleup and impact. For more details, visit MAHA Water Program Source: MAHA Water Program