Prof. Meera Mehta received the 2025 IWA Water and Development Award for Practice  

Professor Meera Mehta was honoured for her pioneering leadership in transforming water and sanitation governance and finance in low- and middle-income countries.

Over her five-decade career, she developed India’s Service Level Benchmarks and the Performance Assessment System, now used in over 800 cities to improve WASH services for more than 115 million people. Her innovative financing models, including municipal bonds, microfinance, and performance-linked sanitation funding, have expanded access for low-income communities and strengthened accountability. At CEPT University’s Centre for Water and Sanitation, she has built lasting institutional capacity and advanced evidence-based policymaking in the sector.

Professor Mehta is a long-standing supporter of the GSGS, currently active in the GSGS Regional Hub India as part of the CEPT University team.