More than 50% of rural households are reported to have functional household tapwater connections under the Jal Jeevan Mission. But does this translate into availability of water for the rural poor?
The union budget 2021 is a crucial one as the country and economy rebounds after an unprecedented pandemic. Expert volunteers of the IET and the Country Head and Director of IET India react to the budget and its provisions.
Welcoming the provisions of Union Budget 2021, Shekhar Sanyal, Country Head and Director, IET India said, There is no doubt that the past year was one of the toughest years in post-independence history and therefore this budget is a crucial step in building a post-pandemic India. The 6 pillars presented by the honourable finance minister - Health & Well-being, Inclusive Development, Human Capital, Innovation and R & D are areas of national importance and the underlying thread of self-reliance in these areas is noteworthy.
In a series leading up to the budget, we explain how critical sectors and important schemes are being funded by the government. In this fourth part of the series, we explain how funds have been allocated to drinking water and surface water schemes such as river cleaning, conservation and irrigation over the last five years, and what more needs to be done.
Water is crucial for agriculture, industry and homes, but in this explainer, we focus mostly on drinking water and sanitation, which gets the bulk of the allocation. The government is running a
mission-mode project to ensure that piped water reaches all villages in India by 2024.