India is an agrarian country where more than 70% of its population depends on agriculture and allied sectors for food and livelihood. With the tremendous increasing population, the food production needs to be increased for which water plays an important role. In India, spatial and temporal variation of precipitation has been boundless varying from 11000 mm to 90 mm. The average annual per capita water availability has declined from 5000 cubic metre in year 1950 to 1545 cubic metre in year 2011 and estimated to reduce further to 1341 and 1140 cubic metre in year 2025 and 2050, respectively. In India, rainfall is seasonal which is limited to only 4 months. Moreover, some crops need more water which cannot be met by the rainfall. For addressing low and varied rainfall-associated risks to agriculture and allied occupations, it is important to promote the advances in efficient water application technologies that could support agriculture in low rainfall zones. Under the guidance of Mission Director, National Water Mission and Department of Water Resources, RD & GR, Mission Directorate is working towards achieving the target of enhancing water use efficiency by 20% by 2030. Also, under the flagship programme PMKSY of Government of India, every relevant sector is promoting Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) through micro irrigation systems such as drip and sprinkler irrigation. In India, micro irrigation system will continue to grow in both highly technical commercial food and fibre production and subsistence farming. In today’s world, new innovative technologies like loT, smart irrigation technologies, etc., which improves irrigation efficiency thereby minimizing waste of irrigation water are also becoming popular. 

Keeping the above context in background and considering the need of this nation, North Eastern Regional Institute of Water and Land Management (NERIWALM), an organization under DoWR, RD & GR, Ministry of Jal Shakti in collaboration with Central Water Commission, Central Ground Water Board, Brahmaputra Board, National Water Academy, Rajiv Gandhi National Ground Water Training and Research Institute, National Institute of Hydrology and Irrigation Department, Government of Assam, is planning to organize a National Seminar on ‘Advances in Irrigation Technologies and Management” with major focus on North Eastern and other states of India during 29th -30th November 2024.