ANRF MAHA Water Program

Indian citizens or OCI holders with a PhD in Science/Maths/Engineering/relevant Social Sciences or MD/MS/MDS/MVSc. Lead PI must hold a regular position at an academic institution or National Research Laboratory. Consortium of 1 Lead PI plus 1-6 PIs across institutions; one mandatory Startup/MSME/Industry partner.

The MAHA Water Program, run by ANRF in collaboration with the Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS), supports priority-centric, solution-based research in mission mode to address India's water challenges through R&D-based technological solutions synergic with policy, governance and entrepreneurship. Projects are multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional and multi-investigator with mandatory industrial partnership, targeting TRL 6-7.

Thematic areas:

• Water Resource Assessment and Sustainable Management (hydrogeological mapping, aquifer recharge, precision modelling, integrated surface-groundwater systems, snow/glacier monitoring, submarine groundwater discharge, sea water intrusion)
• Drinking Water (low-cost potable water through piped supply)
• Water Quality, Human and Ecological Health (water-food-energy nexus, treatment technologies, social hydrology, gender equity, community-led innovation)
• Water Use Efficiency and Circular Economy (water reuse and circularity, grey water management, agriculture and ET-based water management)
• Climate Resilience & Adaptation (climate impact on water, AI/ML-enabled decision support, digitization and environmental surveillance)
• Any other mutually decided topic

Support: Up to Rs. 20 Crore per project covering recurring and non-recurring heads as per ANRF norms. Proposals with high capital cost are not supported. Minimum one Startup/MSME/Industry partner is mandatory, contributing 10% (in cash) of the total project budget; no ANRF financial support is provided to industry partners.

Consortium structure: One Lead PI plus at least one PI, maximum six PIs, with at least one PI from a collaborative institution. Proposals submitted in pre-proposal format online, evaluated by a Mission Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC).