ICASW 2025 jointly organised by VIPS-TC and IIPA, spanning two venues on March 19-20, 2025

New Delhi, India: The International Conference on Integrating Climate Action, AI, SDGs, and Water
Management (ICASW 2025) successfully concluded, having been jointly organised by the Vivekananda
Institute of Professional Studies-Technical Campus (VIPS-TC) and the Indian Institute of Public
Administration (IIPA), on March 19-20, 2025. The conference was sponsored by the Council of Scientific
and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU) and partnered with the Namami Gange Project. A total of 250+ participation was witnessed across the globe, out of which as per the recognised standards 67 papers were selected for presentation over two days at the conference. A total of 9 tracks and 3 plenary sessions; 6 technical & 1 plenary talk at IIPA on Day 1 and 3 technical and 2 plenary sessions at VIPS-TC on Day 2.

The inaugural ceremony at VIPS-TC on March 20, 2025, was graced by distinguished dignitaries,
including S.N. Tripathi, Director General, IIPA; Prof. C.K. Varshney, Professor Emeritus,
Environmental Sciences, JNU (Keynote Speaker); Nalin Srivastava, Deputy Director General,
NMCG; Prof. Anil Kumar Gupta, Professor & CEO, PI-ICARS (DST-GOI) and Amitabh Ranjan,
Registrar, IIPA. Representing VIPS-TC, Chairman Dr. S.C. Vats, Vice Chairman Vineet Vats,
Director General Prof. Amita Dev, and Dean of Applied Science & Humanities Prof. Nidhi Sharma
welcomed the esteemed guests. The event saw enthusiastic participation from academicians, researchers,
policymakers, students, and participants, making it a vibrant platform for insightful discussions on
sustainability, AI, and water management.

The inaugural session at VIPS-TC commenced, with Prof. Nidhi Sharma delivering the welcome address.
The programme proceeded with Dr. Shyamli Singh (IIPA) providing a recap of Day 1, which took place at
IIPA. She highlighted the key discussions from the previous day, setting the stage for the deliberations at
VIPS-TC.

Following this, Prof. Amita Dev, Director General, VIPS-TC, delivered an insightful address on the
synergy between AI and sustainability, emphasising water conservation. She shared global data
illustrating how human activities have significantly impacted natural resources, urging the need for
immediate solutions.

The Guest of Honour, S.N. Tripathi, Director General, IIPA, spoke about the urgent need to address
climate change challenges and the role of educators in shaping environmentally conscious students. He
emphasised that teachers must ignite wisdom, sensitivity, and commitment in future generations toward
cultural, ethical, and environmental consciousness.

The enriching introductory speeches were followed by the keynote addresses by the esteemed speakers.

In the first plenary session, Prof. Prosun Bhattacharya from KTH Royal Institute Sweden and Dr. Pankuj
Thakur, Associate Professor, Special Centre for NanoScience and Nanomaterial, JNU, Delhi talked about
the major challenges in the safe water supply and nanomaterials via bio sustainable and modern green
methodologies respectively.

In the next plenary session, Prof. Arun Kansal, Coca-Cola Department of Regional Water Studies, TERI
SAS elaborated on India’s Water Security and Footprint-based Benchmarking. Further, Dr. Pooja Devi,
Principal Scientist, CSIR-CISO, pressed upon the necessity of material-based advancements for the
detection of water pollutants and computational chemistry as the need of the hour.

This was followed by parallel track sessions where the theme-based papers were presented culminating
with enlightening Q&A sessions. The Valedictory Ceremony began upon the conclusion of all the events.

The Chief Guest of the Valedictory session, Prof. C.K. Varshney, Professor Emeritus, Environmental
Sciences, JNU, delivered a compelling address on water conservation. He stressed that water is the most
vital resource for sustaining life on Earth and urged immediate action to safeguard water bodies and
ecosystems.

Prof. Amita Dev, DG, VIPS-TC, then congratulated all participants, researchers, and organisers for the
success of ICASW 2025. She also highlighted the significant role of women in promoting sustainability
and environmental education. Following this, Dr. Shyamli Singh (IIPA) presented a comprehensive report summarising the discussions and key takeaways from Day 2 of the conference.

The Best Paper Awards were announced next, appreciating outstanding research contributions. This was
followed by the certificate distribution ceremony, acknowledging the efforts of participants, speakers, and organisers.

The conference concluded with a Vote of Thanks by Prof. V.K. Sharma (IIPA), expressing gratitude to all
dignitaries, researchers, and attendees for their invaluable contributions in making ICASW 2025 a
resounding success and a landmark event that fostered meaningful dialogue and cross-pollination of ideas.