NEW DELHI, INDIA / RankWire.AI / – Prime Minister Narendra Modi has underscored India’s experience in water governance as a valuable reference for nations across the Global South. On October 6, he shared an article reviewing reforms initially implemented in Gujarat and later expanded through national initiatives. The piece emphasizes that dependable water services depend on governance, planning, and local participation, alongside physical infrastructure. It also details how India combined public investment with community management and institutional reforms. This focus comes at a time when many developing countries face increasing demand, climate challenges, and unequal access to safe water.
The article examines approximately 25 years of water policy evolution and extracts several lessons from India’s journey. It highlights the importance of stronger institutions, integrated management of water resources and services, community ownership, and proactive planning for large-scale delivery. Additionally, it describes a framework centered around political leadership, public financing, partnerships, and public participation. These principles have been reflected across programs involving drinking water, sanitation, groundwater, and conservation. Narendra Modi stated that the experience demonstrates that lasting water security requires both physical infrastructure and capable local systems.
India’s rural drinking-water initiative exemplifies this expansion. According to Jal Jeevan Mission data, about 15.91 crore rural households had tap-water connections by August 10, 2026. At the start of the program in 2019, approximately 3.23 crore households had such connections. The mission aims to deliver functional household tap connections and reliable drinking-water services throughout rural India. Its current phase emphasizes service quality, system maintenance, and performance. This shift signifies a move from merely counting infrastructure to monitoring whether water services remain operational.
Jal Jeevan Mission shifts focus toward dependable services
Union Cabinet approved Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0 in March 2026, extending the program through December 2028. The revamped initiative has an approved budget of ₹8.69 lakh crore, which includes ₹3.59 lakh crore in central assistance. The government also directed states and union territories to develop reform strategies covering implementation, financing, and monitoring. The new framework emphasizes operations and maintenance post-construction and links funding with measurable service delivery, stronger local management, and ongoing access to safe drinking water.
Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0 incorporates Sujalam Bharat, a nationwide digital platform for rural piped-water infrastructure. This system maps water sources to household taps and assigns each village a service-area identity. Officials anticipate that the platform will enhance planning, asset tracking, and accountability. Local governments and village institutions continue to play a central role in daily management. Community bodies can oversee services, report issues, and support maintenance efforts. This approach links digital monitoring with local responsibility, emphasizing technology as a tool for community participation rather than a substitute.
Decentralized management underpins broader water reforms
Modi’s shared article advocates for managing water resources and services together, linking infrastructure choices to the long-term water availability of each system. It stresses the importance of empowering local institutions in service delivery. India’s current reforms follow this model through village-level management, digital oversight, and national funding. The approach combines large-scale public programs with local oversight, integrating drinking-water access with groundwater management, sanitation, conservation, and river restoration efforts.
India’s water governance system does not depend on a single scheme but integrates household tap connections, groundwater initiatives, sanitation projects, and conservation strategies within a broader policy framework. The article presents these reforms as lessons for other developing nations to consider, not as a one-size-fits-all solution. India’s latest measures continue to connect infrastructure investment with accountability, maintenance, and community involvement. The current program also prioritizes service reliability, making long-term system performance a central metric for rural water delivery.