Environment and Disaster Management › Pollution
हिन्दी — Read in HindiGroundwater and water conservation
Groundwater and water conservation: the assessments that grade India's aquifers, the rules on drawing water, and the schemes that recharge wells and harvest rain. Prelims has asked about the Central Ground Water Authority and which body was constituted under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
Foundation note: Groundwater: the assessment, the four grades and who may regulate a well
Showing 2 of 5 articles, those that changed from 1 to 31 July 2026.Show all
Atal Bhujal Yojana
Copy link to Atal Bhujal YojanaPrelims and Mains
Atal Bhujal Yojana was a central scheme for community led groundwater management in water stressed blocks of seven States, in which every gram panchayat prepared a water budget and a water security plan.
What changed
30 Jul 2026New
- The scheme closed on 15 October 2025 and will not continue as a central scheme.
- The government calls it a completed pilot for States to replicate.
Mains: it is the evidence that community water budgeting on the demand side can lift water tables.
PIB, 30 Jul 2026: Implementation and Impact of Atal Bhujal Yojana (opens in a new tab)
Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0
Copy link to Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0Prelims and Mains
The Jal Jeevan Mission is the central scheme for a functional tap water connection to every rural household.
- Each household is to get 55 litres a person a day of water meeting the Bureau of Indian Standards specification IS 10500.
- JJM 1.0 built pipes and taps; JJM 2.0 shifts to sustained service of adequate quantity and prescribed quality, under reform linked memoranda with the States.
- Village Water and Sanitation Committees run in village supply, and district missions certify Panchayats.
Who runs rural water under JJM 2.0
State Water and Sanitation Mission
Signs the reform linked MoU and sets the State's policy for operation and maintenance
District Water and Sanitation Mission
Prepares Village Action Plans and certifies Gram Panchayats as capable
Gram Panchayat and Village Water and Sanitation Committee
Runs in village supply as a service of adequate quantity and prescribed quality
What changed
27 Jul 2026
- The Cabinet has extended the mission to December 2028 and raised the total outlay from ₹3.60 lakh crore to ₹8.69 lakh crore.
- As on 18 July 2026 about 82 per cent of rural households had tap water, against about 17 per cent in August 2019.
PIB, 27 Jul 2026: 15.89 Crore Rural Households Connected to Functional Household Tap Connections Under JJM (opens in a new tab) · PIB, 30 Jul 2026: WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT UNDER JAL JEEVAN MISSION (opens in a new tab)
Show history (1 other update)
16 Jun 2026BriefUnder the 16th Finance Commission, 50 per cent of basic grants to local bodies are tied to water and sanitation. Completion of Gram Panchayat Development Plans by 15 August 2026 is a condition for release, and panchayats fund maintenance through user charges. PIB, 16 Jun 2026: DDWS Organises 9th District Collectors' Peyjal Samvad (opens in a new tab) · PIB, 25 Jun 2026: Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation hosted the 8th edition of Sujal Gram Samvad (opens in a new tab)