18 September 2026, Dehradun
An interaction meeting was held at the ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Dehradun, between Dr Shakir Ali, Director, ICAR-IISWC, scientists of the Institute, and Dr Chandra Shekhar Kumar, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), National Rainfed Area Authority (NRAA), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India.
Dr Shakir Ali, Director, ICAR-IISWC, subsequently presented an overview of the Institute, highlighting its major research achievements, expertise and ongoing activities in soil and water conservation. He also outlined the prospects for strengthening future collaboration between NRAA and ICAR-IISWC in research, technology development, capacity building and evidence-based watershed management.
In his address, Dr Chandra Sekhar Kumar, CEO, NRAA, encouraged scientists and watershed practitioners to undertake critical and evidence-based thinking and to formulate innovative proposals emerging from field realities. He emphasized that strong scientific evidence, quality data and practical field experience can contribute to informed decision-making and support appropriate policy interventions in the area of watershed and natural resource management.
The session highlighted the major initiatives and field-level activities undertaken by the Watershed Department of Uttarakhand, along with perspectives on strengthening linkages between research and implementation.
The initiative to use an interactive platform for sustained engagement among researchers and watershed implementing agencies was welcomed. The importance of continued exchange of field experiences and scientific knowledge was also emphasized.
During the meeting, emphasis was placed on encouraging advanced technological interventions in projects for generation of high-quality and scientifically robust data. The participants highlighted the importance of systematic database management and integration of natural resource-related datasets on a common digital domain, which could facilitate efficient access, analysis and utilization of information for research, planning and policy formulation.
The meeting provided an important platform for interaction among scientists, policymakers and watershed practitioners and identified several potential areas for collaborative research and field-based interventions. The participants expressed the need for continued dialogue and coordinated efforts to strengthen science-based, technology-enabled and sustainable watershed development.
(Source: ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Dehradun)
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