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How Intel India is advancing Intel’s global water restoration goal

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Nivruti RaiNivruti Rai is Country Head of Intel India and Vice President, Data Platforms Group. Based in Bengaluru, she provides overall engineering and business unit leadership and leads operations for the site, driving innovation, cross-group efficiencies and execution for engineering teams delivering global products and roadmaps. She also leads engagements with national and local governments and policymakers, as well as collaboration with ecosystem players to enable innovation and entrepreneurship.

 

Living in Bengaluru for the last fifteen years, I have always been fascinated by its beautiful network of lakes. Water is the lifeline for the millions of people from all over the country who call this city home, making it one of the fastest growing technology hubs in the world. But the lakes that once made our city famous are drying up. On World Water Day, let’s all make a commitment to take action on water conservation and climate change. These two are inextricably linked and each one of us has a role to play.

Nanjapura-Aerial-View-Jan-2020-300x165.jpg Aerial view of Lake Nanjapura, January 2020

I’m proud to share that Intel’s first water restoration project outside of the United States is right here in the State of Karnataka – the restoration of Lake Nanjapura on the outskirts of Bengaluru.

Through our journey of over 20 years in the country, we have invested and grown significantly in Bengaluru. The site is deeply engaged in cutting edge design and innovation across emerging technologies such as AI, 5G, autonomous systems for SoC, core and graphic IPs, software, platform in the segments of cloud, edge computing, server, client and IoT.

While the engineers and developers at Intel India are experts in artificial intelligence, software and firmware design, analytics, and much more, Intel India has also been deeply committed to environmental responsibility and sustainability. That’s why we are partnering with nonprofits CLEAN International and Bengaluru-based SayTrees to complete this essential work.

Just south of Intel’s state-of-the-art campus on Sarjapur Ring Road, Bengaluru, Lake Nanjapura, once a vibrant resource for its neighboring communities, now sits empty. Over time, the lake has filled with sediment, preventing it from capturing the monsoon and other rains that farmers rely on for agriculture.

Nanjapura-Restoration-Jan-2020-300x190.jpg Desilting of Lake Nanjapura began in February 2020

To restore the lake, SayTrees and CLEAN will desilt 16 acres of the lake, create surrounding walking paths, and plant thousands of new trees that will help to restore about 34 million gallons of water each year to the environment. The project, which broke ground in February, is part of a broader effort to restore the lakes of Bengaluru and recharge groundwater in the region.

The restoration of Lake Nanjapura also advances Intel’s goal to restore 100% of our global water use, joining 21 other projects we’ve funded that are focused on protecting and restoring our environment.

At Intel India, we have unwavering focus on sustainability and conservation efforts. All new buildings in the last three years are LEED Platinum-certified, our sites are almost zero-waste water discharge facilities and our on-site energy conservation efforts save millions of kilowatts hours of power each year. Our employee volunteers contribute to a number of environment and conservation projects through the Intel Involved program.

In the four years I’ve led Intel India I’ve encouraged our team here to focus on the technology inflections that will define our data-driven world, strengthening India’s technology ecosystem as we’ve invested billions in our India operations.

Now, we’re expanding our focus to strengthen our natural ecosystem – and I hope other leaders in Bengaluru and across the country will join us.

Learn more about Intel’s water restoration efforts at intel.com/water.
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