The Lift Line
“Taps and canals will fail if water does not flow; that is a problem of governance before it is one of engineering.”
Why This Editorial Matters for Your Exam
In The Indian Express of 6 October 2026, Parameswaran Iyer (a former Secretary to the Government of India at the Ministry of Jal Shakti), Nitin Bassi (a fellow at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water) and Daniel W. Smith (an assistant professor at George Mason University) draw lessons from their new case study, From Gujarat to India: Water Lessons for the World. The column brings together India’s major water and sanitation missions in one frame and argues that water security is a governance problem. That is a recurring Mains theme in GS3 (water resources, irrigation, conservation) and GS2 (government policies, community participation), and India’s water diplomacy with the Global South gives it an IR angle. We discussed the India International Water Week in an editorial on 22 September 2026.
GS Paper 3: Conservation; water resources; irrigation. GS Paper 2: Government policies and interventions; role of community institutions.
Background and Context
The occasion. New Delhi hosted the ninth India International Water Week (22 to 26 September 2026) on the theme of climate-resilient water management.
The case study. The writers trace water governance in Gujarat and India from 2001 to 2026, using official data, programme records, the literature and consultations with practitioners. They describe Gujarat in 2001-2014, when Narendra Modi was Chief Minister, as a “laboratory” for reforms later taken national.
India’s national water and sanitation missions named in the column:
| Mission | Focus |
|---|---|
| Swachh Bharat Mission (2014) | Sanitation, open-defecation-free villages |
| Jal Jeevan Mission (2019) | Functional household tap connections in rural areas |
| Jal Shakti Abhiyan (incl. Catch the Rain, 2021) | Water conservation and rainwater harvesting |
| Namami Gange | Cleaning and rejuvenation of the Ganga |
| Atal Bhujal Yojana | Community-led groundwater management |
| Per Drop More Crop | Micro-irrigation (drip and sprinkler) |
The Analysis
The writers distil four lessons:
1. Lead with governance, not only hardware. Political will and institutional strength, not infrastructure alone, make water secure. The framework is the “4 Ps”, which the writers say were articulated by PM Modi and UN Secretary-General António Guterres through the Delhi Declaration of October 2018:
| P | What it means |
|---|---|
| Political leadership | Prioritising water: universal tap access, a cleaner Ganga, groundwater management, campaigns like Catch the Rain |
| Public financing | Public (and private) money for both capital and recurring costs |
| Partnerships | Among national, State and local governments, community organisations, and knowledge institutions including the World Bank |
| People’s participation | Villages resolving to become open-defecation free; village water security plans |
2. Manage the resource and the service together. A tap connection means little if the source dries up. Fast-growing cities, especially in Africa, will soon see industrial and irrigation demand rise; planning resources and services together now is cheaper than retrofitting. Reuse of treated water for non-potable uses, including data centres and semiconductor fabrication units, is part of this. The writers project India’s annual market for treated used water at about Rs 73,000 crore by 2047, at current prices.
3. Root water action in community ownership. Water access lasts where communities have effective local institutions such as Pani Samitis, where infrastructure delivers a reliable service, and where local resources are balanced with outside support. Consultation across levels matters: the writers cite Gujarat’s Chintan Shivirs and the Ministry of Jal Shakti’s Departmental Summit on Water of September 2026, which the Prime Minister addressed.
4. Go big from the start. The world is off track on SDG 6 (safe water and sanitation for all by 2030). An estimated additional $500 billion a year is needed, the writers say. The Jal Jeevan Mission shows that a country can “think big and implement big”.
Data and Institutions Vault
Prelims-grade facts:
The event:
- 9th India International Water Week: New Delhi, 22 to 26 September 2026; theme Climate Resilient Water Management.
The programmes:
- Jal Jeevan Mission: launched 15 August 2019; service norm 55 litres per capita per day; extended to 2028 in the Union Budget 2025-26.
- Catch the Rain: launched in 2021, on World Water Day (22 March).
- Atal Bhujal Yojana: community-led groundwater management, supported by the World Bank.
- Per Drop More Crop: the micro-irrigation component of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana.
The constitutional frame:
- Water is a State subject (Entry 17, State List), subject to Entry 56, Union List on inter-State rivers.
- Drinking water is in the Eleventh Schedule (Panchayats), added by the 73rd Amendment, 1992.
- Ministry of Jal Shakti was formed in 2019.
Global goal:
- SDG 6: ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2030.
⚠️ Watch the trap: The Jal Jeevan Mission counts tap connections; whether they deliver regular, adequate and safe water is assessed separately through functionality assessments. A connection is not the same as a functional supply.
The Debate
For the writers’ view. India’s experience shows that water security can improve quickly when leaders prioritise it, money follows, and communities are involved. The scale of India’s missions is itself a lesson for countries that assume progress must be slow. Planning for reuse and linking resources with services avoids costly mistakes.
The other side. The case study comes from people closely associated with the programmes it assesses, and its emphasis on political leadership can read as a narrative of success. Independent evidence is mixed on outcomes: many tap connections do not deliver regular or safe water; groundwater over-extraction continues in several States, including parts of Gujarat; and operation and maintenance often lack funds once construction ends. Gujarat’s model also leaned on large canal networks, which many countries lack. Other countries need principles adapted to their hydrology and institutions, not programmes copied.
The balanced verdict. The four lessons are sound and widely shared in water policy. Their test is functionality and sustainability, not the number of connections or campaigns. India’s credibility as a model for the Global South will rest on publishing independent data on service quality and groundwater health.
How to Think About This
Inputs, outputs, outcomes. For any scheme, separate inputs (money spent), outputs (connections, toilets, structures built) and outcomes (water actually flowing, health improved, aquifers recovering). Officials often report outputs; examiners reward answers that ask about outcomes. Use the writers’ own line, “taps and canals will fail if water does not flow”, to show that you understand the difference.
Diagram-in-Words
Takeaway Box
- Thesis: water security is as much governance and institutions as engineering.
- Four lessons: lead with governance; manage resource and service together; root action in communities; build for scale.
- The “4 Ps”: political leadership, public financing, partnerships, people’s participation; set out by PM Modi at the Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention, New Delhi, October 2018 (the writers call it the Delhi Declaration).
- Numbers: treated used water market about Rs 73,000 crore a year by 2047; SDG 6 needs about $500 billion more a year (writers’ figures).
- Test: functional, safe supply and healthy aquifers, not connections alone.
Sources: The Indian Express, column by Parameswaran Iyer, Nitin Bassi and Daniel W. Smith, 6 October 2026
Source: From India to Global South: A Water Governance Model — Ujiyari.com | Free UPSC & State PCS Editorial Analysis
