The main objective of the National Water Mission is ‘conservation of water, minimizing wastage and ensuring a more equitable distribution both across and within states through integrated water resources development and management’. The five identified goals of the mission are as follows:

• Comprehensive water database in the public domain and assessment of the impact of climate change on water resources
• Promotion of citizen and state actions for water conservation, augmentation and preservation
• Focused attention on vulnerable areas including overexploited areas
• Increasing water use efficiency by 20%
• Promotion of basin-level integrated water resources management

Quarterly compilation of progress report under national action plan on climate change for National Water Mission are published on its portal. The National Water Mission document consists of two volumes. Volume one of the National Water Mission document gives an overview of the context, objectives, goals & strategies, monitoring and evaluation mechanism and institutional setup, plan of action/timelines, research development training, capacity building plan and fund requirements. It also gives details of the structure of various advisory boards, high-level steering committee, technical committee, and secretariat being set up to operate the mission. Volume two of the National Water Mission document deals with the reports generated by six different subcommittees. The subcommittees are as follows:

• Surface water management committee
• Efficient use of water for various purposes committee
• Domestic and industrial water management committee
• Policy and institutional framework committee
• Groundwater management committee
• Basin-level planning and management committee

The National Water Mission strategies include an integrated plan for sustainable development and efficient management of water resources, with active participation from stakeholders. The mission will identify and evaluate several development scenarios and management practices based on dependable projection of the impact of climate change on water resources backed by reliable data and information. It will also emphasize on integrated water resources planning and convergence between various water resource programmes.

On July 7, 2023, the Bureau of Water Use Efficiency (BWUE) of the National Water Mission (NWM) signed an MoU with the Indian Plumbing Association (IPA) to promote water efficiency initiatives. This collaboration aims to achieve a Water Positive India through rainwater harvesting, low-flow fixtures, and greywater treatment. Additional Secretary & Mission Director of NWM, Ms. Archana Varma emphasized the MoU's importance in enhancing water use efficiency. Mr. Gurmeet Arora, National President of IPA, committed to reducing domestic water use by 50-60%, from 135 lpcd to 60 lpcd. The MoU supports Goal-4 of NWM and focuses on public education, water stewardship, and circular water economy practices like greywater reuse and rainwater harvesting. This partnership is poised to drive significant progress in water conservation efforts nationwide.

Functioning of the National Water Mission is undertaken at the ministry level and inter-sectoral groups have been constituted, combining resources from other pertinent ministries, industry, academia, and civil society, along with a dedicated mission secretariat.

Jal Jeevan Mission

The central government’s assistance to states for rural water supply commenced in 1972, with launch of the Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme. It was renamed as the National Rural Drinking Water Mission (in 2009), which is a centrally sponsored scheme with fund sharing between the centre and the states. Under the National Rural Drinking Water Mission, one of the objectives was to ‘enable all households to have access to and use safe & adequate drinking water within premises to the extent possible’. It was proposed to achieve the goal by 2030, coinciding with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. The Jal Jeevan Mission was launched in 2019 to provide functional household tap connection to every rural household by 2024. It subsumed the National Rural Drinking Water Mission. The total estimated cost of Jal Jeevan Mission is Rs 3.6 lakh crore (US$ 51.50 billion).

At the launch of the Jal Jeevan Mission in August 2019, only 3.23 crore (16.8%) rural households had access to tap water connections. As of August 5, 2024, States and UTs have reported that an additional 11.81 crore rural households have been provided with tap water under the mission. Currently, over 15.04 crore (77.87%) of the 19.32 crore rural households in the country have access to tap water at home.

A total of 2,163 drinking water quality testing laboratories have been established at various levels across the country. To ensure safe drinking water, States and UTs have made these labs accessible to the public for testing water samples at a nominal rate.
Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman announced an allocation of Rs. 70,163 crore (US$ 8.40 billion) for this scheme. The mission, in partnership with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), launched an innovation challenge to develop portable water testing devices. Through this exercise, the government wanted to develop an innovative, modular, and cost-effective solution that can be used at the village/household level to instantly, easily, and accurately test the quality of drinking water. Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Goa, and Telangana have achieved the 100% target of providing functional tap water connection to every rural household.

Jal Shakti Abhiyan

Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi launched the Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain campaign (with a tagline ‘Catch the rain, where it falls, when it falls’) on World Water Day, which was observed on March 22, 2021. This programme focuses on collecting and conserving rainwater. It will be implemented from March 22, 2021, to November 30, 2021, covering the pre-monsoon and monsoon periods across urban and rural areas in the country.

The government launched the Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain campaign as a Jan Andolan (mass movement) to encourage water conservation at the grassroot level via active participation of people. Rainwater—collected in the 4-5 months of monsoon—is the only source of water for most parts in the country. So, this scheme is aimed to mandate all stakeholders to build rainwater harvesting infrastructure, according to the climatic conditions and subsoil strata in a particular area, to ensure proper storage of rainwater.

The Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA), introduced in 2019 and later renamed as 'Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain' Campaign, has been instrumental in driving water conservation efforts across 1592 blocks in 256 water-stressed districts since its inception. Despite disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the campaign has been annually executed since 2021, containing both rural and urban areas nationwide. Under the JSA initiative, approximately 1.20 crore water-related projects have been undertaken, complemented by the establishment of 661 Jal Shakti Kendras and the formulation of District Water Conservation Plans in 527 districts. While water conservation measures primarily fall under the purview of state governments, the central government provides vital technical and financial support. Various initiatives such as the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), Atal Bhujal Yojana (ATAL JAL), and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) have been deployed to enhance water use efficiency and promote rainwater harvesting. Additionally, monitoring efforts by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) reveal promising trends, with over 60% of monitoring stations reporting water levels within 0-5 meters below ground level and a majority of monitored wells showing a rise in groundwater levels compared to the decadal mean.