Cultural/Context information for the jury

Background: Water situation in India over the last few years has reached an alarming level. It can be rightly assumed that the next major war can happen over water. The world's second-most populous country is running out of water, and waiting for the next monsoon isn’t the answer. About 100 million people across India are on the front lines of a nationwide water crisis. A total of 21 major cities are set to run out of groundwater by 2020, according to a 2018 report by NITI Aayog. In 2019 alone, the much-needed monsoon rains arrived weeks late, amid a heatwave that killed at least 137 people over the summer. Once the wettest place on Earth, even Cherrapunji, has faced a drought each winter for the past few years. Kerala, which got devastating floods in 2018, saw its wells run dry soon after.

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Make India Water Positive (MIWP) The Campaign: While the nation’s widespread voice arose about the gravity of the Indian Water Crisis in 2019, when the picture grew to be bleaker than it has ever been before, The Times of India (TOI) with its motto of “Change Begins Here”, had already begun sounding the warning bells in 2017 with the Make India Water Positive Initiative. TOI was not only the first one to recognize and understand the crisis, but also one of the first to address the issue, raise awareness, call for a positive and more impactful action. Make India Water Positive campaign in 2019 is a stand against wastage and mismanagement of water, by not just individuals, but also by industries. Being Water Positive means, to achieve a positive water balance, i.e. pay back more water than consumed, through various initiatives of recycling, replenishing and reusing water. The objective of the Make India Water Positive was of course to spread awareness about the water crisis in India. But in the bigger picture, the campaign also aimed to bring about a behavioural change and a conscious approach towards water usage, and to achieve a positive water balance, i.e. pay back more water than consumed, through various initiatives of recycling, replenishing and reusing water. MIWP took the water situation heads-on by taking a two-pronged approach: • On one hand, it was realized to that to solve any problem, the first step required is to identify the extent of the problem at hand. While there was a lot of noise around water conservation, most of the people did not realize the amount of water they consume everyday by using various product categories like leather shoes or by continuing with the usual practice of taking showers in bath tubs etc. To address this, we launched a Water Footprint Calculator, allowing citizens to measure their water consumption on a daily/yearly basis. MIWP also highlighted the amount of water being used to produce various products like denim jeans, leather shoes etc. These measures helped TOI sensitize its readers to make a responsible choice, not only in the way they consume water, but also in the way they consume brands and products, by influencing them to buy only from brands which are Water positive, over brands that are not. TOI also encouraged individuals to share stories of water conservation efforts done by them, and applauded them in print and digital both • On the other hand, TOI also realised that to make water campaign a success, targeting readers alone will not help, and TOI needs to steer corporates also in the right direction. TOI, executed a print campaign, where major corporates were asked to become water positive, apart from announcing their status as a socially responsible brand. Entries were invited from corporates, asking them to share all the water related initiatives done by them at plant/factory/community level and also commit to best water conservation practices for the next few years. Major corporate houses took part in the initiative making it a huge success. Additionally, the campaign also highlighted, featured and facilitated these brands for adopting Water Positive measures across the Times Group Network. Flow of the campaign, 2019: Make India Water Positive campaign in 2019, was executed on a national scale and the following activities were undertaken: - • Pledges: MIWP enabled the citizens to pledge on the website to practice and commit to practicing safer water conservation in the future by reducing their water intake and consume water positive brands. • Water Calculator: Highlighting water consumption by various product across categories and enabling readers to calculate their daily/yearly water consumption footprint – This was done to allow readers to calculate and take measures to reduce their water consumption • Change Agents - Water Positive Citizen: Calling for readers to share their water conservation stories and applauding them by amplifying their practices across the social media • Print Advertisements: Increasing awareness on the need for water conservation and high-water consumption by various products like denim shirts etc., highlighted through thought provoking images and call to action • Make India Water Positive Challenge 2019: Encouraged companies to become water positive and announce their status as a socially responsible brand. Invited contributions in form of initiatives done by Brands to reduce water related risks and intend to recognize the best water conservation practices at plant and community level. Campaign Result: Change can only be brought if everyone together joins hands to work towards a better future. MIWP appealed to the readers in a very simple manner - if we don't act now, there will be no drop remaining to fight for! #MakeIndiaWaterPositive received a positive and welcoming response from both individuals and corporates. TOI was applauded for taking up an issue which is the need of an hour, and spreading awareness through the campaign, nationally. The campaign was launched and covered exclusively in print and digital to drive engagements. The message spread across was loud and clear – that water is for all. And there will be no tomorrow if we don’t start trying today. MIWP was an editorially led campaign, with amplification in print as well as digital. Print: Multiple ads in print showcasing how brands and products extensively consume water, with an appeal to the readers to stop and access how their choices affect the environment and put a burden on the already depleting resources. The aim was to inflict a responsible thinking and behaviour among individuals and motivating them towards making water positive choices. 50+ articles with Make India Water Positive sub branding carried in the newspaper covering issues such as water scarcity/conservation/harvesting. These articles and print ads lead the readers to the digital platforms (to take pledge, calculate their water footprint levels, share their water conservation stories, and share Water Positive’s posts to voice their opinions and spread awareness). The launch of the corporate leg was through print, where TOI invited brands to share their initiatives and efforts towards water conservation, and safer water practices. TOI applauded selected brands that showed significant contribution in the form of initiatives done by them to reduce water related risks and to recognize the best water conservation practices followed by them at plant and community level. MIWP witnessed over 80+ corporates/brands participating in the effort to address the alarming issue of water scarcity and sharing their organization’s water conservation efforts. Some were small scale, and a few that have done their bit on a larger scale; influencing, improving and changing the lives of many. This campaign has already registered itself as one of the most effective print campaigns that has managed to bring together both readers and corporates to a common platform/cause. Response on Digital: MIWP received a positive response from citizens as well as corporates. With over 350+ individuals sharing their stories of efforts done and initiatives taken in the field of water conservation. Selected stories from these were applauded and published on the digital platform – MIWP’s official Facebook and Twitter handles. Through a sustained Digital campaign, individuals were urged to take a pledge on the website to do their part to conserve water. The MIWP website has received over 32K pledges, where people signed up to commit to Make India Water Positive by reducing their water intake and consume water positive brands. The website features well-known spiritual Gurus and influencers talking about importance of conserving water. MIWP’s official FB page has over 111K likes, and 178K engagements; with people from all over the country were not just made aware but also actively participated in the campaign by sharing the content and commenting their efforts on the posts. We received hundreds of individual stories on MIWP’s official e-mail ID, Facebook comments/inbox, Twitter etc. Over the course of the campaign 2019, the official website received over 45K visitors, and hundreds of people coming forward to calculate their water intake levels and adopting safer water consumption practices. Witnessing a Behavioural Change among individuals: • Received numerous transformation stories of people who have switched to using buckets instead of taking showers while bathing. • 50+ individuals shared their efforts of saving water being wasted by water purifiers/ROs. • Individuals even set-up water harvesting systems in their homes/societies to practice rain water harvesting during rainy seasons. • Citizens took small but significant steps of fixing leaky taps and turning off water when not in use, not just in homes but also at workplace. • Individuals shared that they are more cautious while choosing from Brands that are water positive and they make sure to do a thorough research before making a purchase. • Individuals shared Water Positive’s posts on social media highlighting that water conservation is the need of the hour and one must take it seriously before time runs out.