Professor Ramaswamy Iyer is one of those rare experts, whose scholarship and thoughts on water-related issues and themes are backed by an invaluable experience of being a practitioner in the field. As a scholar and writer, Professor Iyer has been objective, scientific and fearless in expressing his informed and deliberated views on the subject, which is such an emotive one that it invariably clouds objectivity and reason to the benefit of rhetoric, jingoism and even violence. The criticality of water to human survival and the future our planet, has been appropriately summed up by UN Secretary Ban Ki-Moon “water links the local to the regional, and brings together global questions of food security, public health, urbanization and energy. Addressing how we use and manage water resources is central to setting the world on a more sustainable and equitable path”. A UN-Water Analytical Brief 2013 defined Water Security as the capacity of a population to safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of acceptable quality water for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being, and socio-economic development, for ensuring protection against water-borne pollution and water-related disasters, and for preserving ecosystems in a climate of peace and political stability. We are also aware of the pressures that have been inflicted on our finite water resources due to indiscriminate consumption, criminal waste and man-made pollution, within the country and globally. These have serious implications for human society and its future. The question is that how do we work, individually as a nation, and collectively as the international community, towards the attainment of this comprehensive definition of water security? It is in this context that the work of Shri Iyer is authoritative and useful. In his books, papers and articles, he has offered objective analysis of the concerned issues and also provided possible solutions for the way forward. His belief that we have to move from treating the water issue as one of demand and supply problem to a proper management of water resources by all concerned is not only logical but also doable through human endeavour. The possibility of expanding the limited planetary water supply is beyond human capacity for now. He has rightly said “the crisis is not (or not mainly) one of availability, it is, in the Indian context, at any rate, a crisis of gross mismanagement, and globally, a crisis of rapacity”. He calls for a shift from supply-side engineering to restraining the increase in demand, for conservation and more equitable management. This provides us hope for a solution to the looming water crisis if we address the mismanagement and wastage. While we focus on the domestic challenges to water security, transboundary waters also pose enormous challenges for achieving water security and peace and stability. Water systems shared across internal or external political boundaries pose major challenges, which are compounded by the need to ensure coordination and dialogue between sovereign states or internal political units within a state. It is especially relevant for India, in relation to almost all our neighbours and some of our states. According to the UN, around the world, there are some 276 major transboundary watersheds, crossing the territories of 145 countries and covering nearly half of the earth’s land surface. More than 300 transboundary aquifers have also been identified, most of which are located across two or more countries. These have a potential for disputes arising in the future as growing population will increase the demand for water. Here again, Shri Iyer suggests that better and saner water resource management, cooperation and collective effort between the concerned countries could help mitigate the problems and bridge the fault lines arising out of transboundary water sharing issues. Given the scope and depth of Shri Iyer’s work, it is not possible for me to comment on every issue in such a short time. However, it is universally acknowledged that his work has made invaluable contribution to better understanding of this complex issue in all its aspects. I congratulate Professor Iyer on being recognized today for his prolific work on the water issues over the last several decades. His commitment and contribution to this important subject is valuable for all stakeholders. They would be well advised to take heed of his comments and suggestions on the subject. I wish him many more years of such productive and useful work and thank him for his services to the nation.