News Excerpt: 

NMCG launched the Global River Cities Alliance (GRCA) at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCC) COP28 in Dubai.

About Global River Cities Alliance:

• The GRCA led by the  National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India, was launched at COP28, the UNFCC in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. 
• The countries who committed their support for the GRCA include India, Egypt, the Netherlands, Denmark, Cambodia, Japan, Bhutan, Australia and Ghana. 
• GRCA will help to expand the reach of the existing River Cities Alliance (RCA).
• RCA was formed by NMCG in association with the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) in 2021 to foster the sustainable development of river cities. 
• Since its inception, RCA has expanded to include 143 member cities in India, including the city of Aarhus, Denmark and has emerged as a catalyst for key frameworks for sustainable urban river management. 
• GRCA is a unique alliance covering 275+ global river cities in 11 countries, international funding agencies and knowledge management partners and is the first of its kind in the world.
• Following this, partner countries are poised to coordinate post-COP activities, shaping the architecture of GRCA for effective implementation.
• The collaboration between Namami Gange and the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative (MRCTI), was marked by the signing of a Memorandum of Collaboration (MoCP). 
• Other initiatives related to the water and sanitation sector: 
• There is the world’s largest sanitation intervention of Swatch Bharat Mission in which 100 million toilets in rural areas and 6 million in urban areas were built in the 2014-2019 period.
• Namami Gange was started in  2014 to clean and rejuvenate the holy Ganga River, which has now become one of the top 10 World  Restoration Flagships 
• India launched AMRUT and smart cities projects in 2015 for the improvement in the urban water sector
• The Ministry of Jal Shakti was formed in 2019.
• Launching of “Jal Jeevan Mission” in 2019 to provide functional tap connections to every rural household and the “Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain” campaign in 2021
• Enactment of Dam Safety Act in 2021.
• Global leaders underscored the urgency for secure water supplies and sanitation worldwide through GRCA. They stressed the importance of aligning with Indian cities for mutual learning, emphasizing a holistic approach that includes water treatment plants and innovative sludge utilization.
• The event also marked the presence of multilateral institutions such as The World Bank, Asian Development Bank and Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank.