How do you develop a water policy for a state like Karnataka, and how do you implement it well? How can you bring the best of science, engineering and citizen engagement to water management in government? What does it mean to build a think tank within the government?

Dr Somasekhar Rao has a wide-ranging discussion with host Veena Srinivasan on the first episode of Season 2 of the Water Data Podcast.

Dr Somasekhar Rao is Director (Technical) of the Advanced Centre for Integrated Water Resources Management (ACIWRM), Government of Karnataka and helped the state government start the institution in 2015. Working with the Netherlands government and later with the Food and Agriculture Organisation, Dr Rao created and ran large-scale groundwater management programmes in Andhra Pradesh: APWELL and APFAGMS. He has also worked with the Asian Development Bank, and has spent the last 15 years modernising and reforming water management in Karnataka and mainstreaming river basin management and integrated water resources management in the state. He also helped the government bring in a new Karnataka State Water Policy 2022. The episode features an expansive conversation exploring all this and more. 

For all references and further readings related to the episode, visit https://bit.ly/waterdatapod-psrao

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Recording by Vraj Acharya, Ritik Pathak and Nabina Chakraborty. Video editing by Vraj Acharya and Nabina Chakraborty. Graphics and artwork by Aparna Nambiar. Audio mixing and mastering by Vijay Doiphode. Podcast production and management by Nabina Chakraborty and Pavan Srinath.