New Delhi, Oct 6 (IANS): In a step toward providing groundwater solutions in arid regions of the country, Union Minister of State for Earth Sciences Jitendra Singh on Tuesday launched state-of-the-art Heli-borne survey technology for groundwater management.

"The water technologies of CSIR (Council of Scientific & Industrial Research), from source finding to water treatment, will benefit millions of people across the country and positively contribute to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Har Ghar Nal Se Jal' as well as 'doubling farmers income' goals. The latest state-of-the-art technology is being employed by CSIR for mapping groundwater sources in arid regions and thus help utilise groundwater for drinking purposes," he said at the inaugural function in Jodhpur, Rajasthan in the presence of Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.

As per an official communique, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana are being taken up for this latest heli-borne survey.

A memorandum of agreement with CSIR-NGRI (National Geophysical Research Institute) was also signed for executing a very important project "High Resolution Aquifer Mapping & Management in Arid Regions of North Western India".

The earth sciences minister further said that the technological wealth of CSIR will be a great asset for the various programs of the Ministry of Jal Shakti and this is the right time to join hands to take up bigger challenges of the country in the Water sector.

"CSIR, along with National Geophysical Research Institute NGRI, have undertaken High-Resolution Aquifer Mapping and Management in Arid Regions of North-Western India to augment the groundwater resources. The Heli-borne geophysical mapping technique of CSIR-NGRI provides a high-resolution 3D image of the sub-surface up to a depth of 500 meters below the ground," Singh added.

The project is aimed at mapping potential groundwater sources and its management for providing safe drinking water to millions of people living in the water-scarce arid regions of our country, the minister said, adding that the project is expected to bring high visibility to CSIR in implementing the Government of India's most ambitious project Jal Jeevan Mission.

A mega project of Rs 150 crores, this project is to be implemented in two phases in collaboration with the Ministry of Jal Shakti as a part of the National Aquifer Mapping Project.

Arid areas in north western India spread over parts of the States of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab cover nearly 12per cent of the total geographical area of the country and are home to more than eight crore people.

"With annual rainfall in the range of less than 100 to 400 mm, this area faces an acute shortage of water throughout the year and it is proposed to take up high-resolution aquifer mapping and management to augment the groundwater resources," he added.