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Asit K. Biswas

Asit K. Biswas

Distinguished Visiting Professor, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore

Prof. Asit K. Biswas is universally acknowledged as one of the world’s leading authorities on water and environmental management. He is co-founder of the Third World Centre for Water Management in Mexico and currently the Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School for Public Policy in Singapore. Formerly Professor in UK, Canada and Sweden, he was member of the World Commission on Water, and a founder of the International Water Resources Association and World Water Council. He has been senior advisor to 20 governments, six Heads of United Nations Agencies, two Secretary-Generals of OECD, and many other major international and national organizations. He is Past President of the International Water Resources Association and is founder and co-chair of the Club of Tokyo.

Among his numerous awards are Crystal Drop and Millennium Prizes of the International Water Resources Association; Walter Huber Prize of the American Society of Civil Engineering. He received the Stockholm Water Prize, considered to be the Nobel Prize for area of water, for ‘his outstanding and multi-faceted contributions to global water resource issues;’ Person of the Year Award from Prime Minister Harper of Canada; Aragon Environment Prize of Spain; ‘Excellence Award for Achievements’ from New Global Indian Foundation; ‘Hind Rattan Award’ (Jewel of India). Reuters named him as one of the top 10 water trailblazers of the world. He was selected by the Impeller magazine as a ‘true global water hero’, and was named the world’s second most influential water industry leader by Water and Wastewater International of UK.

Prof. Biswas was a member of the Global Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum and is currently member of the International Advisory Board, Pictet Investments, Geneva; member of the Advisory Board, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur; and Strategic Advisor, Singapore International Water Week.

He advises Chairman of the Board or CEOs of three major multinational companies which are listed within the first 50 of the Global 500 companies, on corporate strategies, technological issues and social responsibilities.

Prof. Biswas is the founder of the International Journal of Water Resources Development and was its Editor-in-Chief for its first 29 years. He has authored or edited 84 books and has published well over 650 scientific and technical papers. His work has now been translated into 38 languages. He is regular contributor to many national and international newspapers on resource and development related issues and also is a television commentator in three continents.

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Why smart policies are key to solving the world’s clean water problems

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Around 2.5 to 3 billion people worldwide dont have access to clean water. There are at least another 1.5 billion in developed countries who may have access to clean water but dont trust its quality. A number of widely...

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Sep 27, 2017 08:52 am UTC| Insights & Views

Facing declining markets in Western countries, multinational food companies are targeting Africa, Asia, and Latin America as new consumers of packaged foods, in a move that may worsen the global epidemic of chronic illness...

New Delhi is running out of water

Jul 11, 2017 20:08 pm UTC| Insights & Views Economy

As summer temperatures soar above 40C in New Delhi, acute water shortages are gripping parts of Indias capital. Signs of water stress are now everywhere, and residents in southern and western parts of the city have not...

India's wells are running dry, fast

Jun 17, 2017 16:23 pm UTC| Insights & Views Nature

Over the past three years, the monsoon the rainy season that runs from June through September, depending on the region has been weak or delayed across much of India, causing widespread water shortages. With the onset...

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