Universal Safe Drinking Water Access By 2030

16 Mar 2026 CW Team

Government of India has committed to provide safe and potable tap water in adequate quantity and prescribed quality on a regular and long term basis to all rural households by 2030 under the Jal Jeevan Mission, implemented with the states since August 2019. Drinking water is a state subject and State and Union Territory governments retain responsibility for planning, implementation, operation and maintenance, while the central government provides technical and financial assistance.

At the start of the mission only 32.3 million (mn) rural households, representing 16.7 per cent, were reported to have tap water connections. As on three March 2026 the mission had enabled a further 125.8 mn rural households to be provided with tap water connections, bringing the total to around 193.6 mn rural households of which about 158.2 mn, or 81.71 per cent, are reported to have tap water supply in their homes.

The Finance Minister announced an extension of the mission until 2028 in the budget speech for 2025–26. Priority in planning is given to habitations affected by chemical contaminants and states have been advised to deploy alternative safe water sources and to install community water purification plants to supply drinking and cooking needs of eight to 10 litres per capita per day until piped supply schemes compliant with mission standards are commissioned.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has reported central financial and technical support to states through schemes such as the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation and AMRUT 2.0. Under AMRUT 1,403 water supply projects worth Rs 433.79 billion (bn) have been grounded and under AMRUT 2.0 some 3,531 projects worth Rs 1.20 trillion (tn) have been approved.

The information was provided by the Minister of State for Jal Shakti, V. Somanna, in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha. The annexure records district wise details with a grand total of 11,488 quality affected habitations as reported.

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