ICID has taken a visionary initiative to document the irrigation and drainage schemes at the global level to highlight the development of the irrigation infrastructure across the world. This Register of World Irrigation and Drainage Schemes will serve as a global repository of information for projects having the registered GCA of 5000 hectares or more. This global initiative is being implementing as a collaborative effort of National Committees of ICID and other interested entities dealing with irrigation and drainage. This exercise would help guide in the systematic management of irrigation and agricultural water.

ICID primarily works through the mechanism of representative National Committees (NCs). These National Committees are organized under the Ministry/Department responsible for irrigation, drainage or agricultural water management. The wide mandate calls for the engagement of multi-disciplinary professionals such as planners and policymakers; water managers; irrigation and agriculture engineers; research scientists, educationists working in the related areas, private business players, individuals etc. The Indian National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (INCID) is India’s representative National Committee under ICID.

During the first part of the 2nd meeting of INCID, Sh. A. B. Pandya, Secretary General (ICID) made a presentation on “World Register of Irrigation Projects” and emphasized upon the need of such register, as no such database exists at the world level.This initiative is on the lines of the World Register of Dams being maintained by the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD). The authenticity of the schemes in the register will be obtained through ICID National Committees.

India,with the 2nd largest global share of the irrigated area, shoulders a huge responsibility in this initiative. INCID is supporting ICID in creation of the web portal to collect & integrate data of irrigation and drainage projects.