About this series: Tools & Tech

The people working closest to India’s rivers — volunteers, NGO staff, field researchers, and local officials — rely on a growing set of digital and physical tools to do their work. Most of these tools are powerful but poorly documented for non-specialists.

This section does not teach you to code or become a GIS expert. It explains what each tool does, who uses it, why it matters, and how to get started — so you can make informed decisions about what belongs in your workflow.

Four areas

📊 Dashboards & Portals Official and third-party online platforms where river water quality data, maps, and reports are publicly accessible — what each shows and how to read it.

🗺️ GIS for Beginners What Geographic Information Systems are, why they matter for river work, and a plain-language guide to the tools practitioners actually use — QGIS, India-WRIS, and more.

📱 Citizen Science Apps Mobile and web apps that enable volunteers to collect, submit, and access river health data. Which are active in India, what they measure, and how to join.

🧰 Field Kits & Devices The physical tools used for on-site water testing — DO meters, pH meters, turbidity tubes, and test strips. What they cost, how accurate they are, and where to source them.