Ministry of Jal Shakti (Water Resources) is responsible for laying down policy guidelines and programmes for the development and regulation of country's water resources. It looks into the planning, policy formulation, coordination and guidance in the water resources sector. Its primary function is to provide technical guidance, scrutiny, clearance and monitoring of the irrigation, flood control and multi-purpose projects (major/medium).
The Ministry of Jal Shakti instituted Sir M. Visvesvaraya Chair in the honor of the famous architecture and Bharat Ratna Awardee, Sir M. Visvesvaraya. The aim of this faculty chair is to carry out studies on water resources with special emphasis on the assessment of the effect of climate change on it, and adaptation strategies in respect of planning, design and management of water resource systems of India in general and the Ganga basin in particular.
Prof. Sameer Khandekar, Department of Mechanical Engineering, specializes in the area of Thermal Fluid Engineering Sciences. He has authored the book Innovation, Incubation & Entrepreneurship: Case Studies from IIT Kanpur (2017, Springer). Prof. Khandekar is the recipient of the prestigious P. K. Kelkar Research Fellowship from IIT Kanpur (October 2009 - September 2012); Prof. K. N. Seetharamu Young Researcher Medal and Prize from the Indian Heat and Mass Transfer Society (2010); George Grover Young Scientist Medal from International Heat Pipe Committee (2007); Young Scientist Award by the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India (2005).