Global warming has taken the center stage and India is not insulated from its clasps. India is home to 18 percent of the world's population but has only 4 percent of the world's renewable water resources. Keeping in view the urgency of conserving water and to stop its wastage, the Indian government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has initiated various projects to better manage water resources in the country. The government has taken up several measures to make 'water governance' its priority. It has also created specific ministries for water resources. Realizing the importance of water conservation, the Ministry of Jal Shakti was created in 2019. Its objective is to ensure better management of water and provide clean drinking water to every citizen of the country. With an aim to ensure that India does not face any water crisis in the future Modi has put forward a five-point formula. First, the departments related to water were integrated. Second, in a diverse country like India, considering the ground situation of every area, emphasis was laid on deciding the nature of the plans. Third, attention was paid to the proper harvesting and distribution of the available water. Fourth, every drop of water should be used, water recycling should be given priority in the schemes, and finally, awareness and public participation. The government has taken up 'Bhagirathi resolution' and within five years took the initiative to supply tap water to every rural household of the country. The individual stories of employing ingenious ways to conserve water, the transition from water conservation to water harvesting, and the expansion of Jal Jeevan Mission in crores of homes portray an incredibly successful journey. The average annual water availability of any region or country mainly depends on hydrometeorological and geological factors. According to the Reassessment of Water Availability in the Basin through Space Input Report-2020, the total water availability through rainfall in India is 3,880 billion cubic meter (BCM) per year. The availability of usable water due to geological and other factors is limited to 1,122 BCM per year. The total requirement of the country for the years 2025 and 2050 is estimated at 843 BCM and 1180 BCM respectively. The availability of water per capita is dependent on the population. The average annual per capita water availability in the years 2001 and 2011 was estimated at 1,816 cubic meters and 1,545 cubic meters respectively. According to the study, annual per capita water availability of less than 1,700 cubic meters is considered a water scarcity situation, whereas annual per capita water availability of less than 1,000 cubic meters is considered an acute water scarcity situation. Jal Jeevan Mission mobile app has been developed for ease of doing work for all the stakeholders. Sensor-based loT solution will be used for monitoring to ensure supply of water in sufficient quantity on a real-time basis in villages on regular basis. According to data, there are about 19 crore 4 lakh rural households in the country. When prime minister announced the launch of Jal Jeevan Mission, at that time about 15 crore 80 lakh or 81 percent of these households did not have the facility of drinking water. This was also the case in about 50 percent of the households in urban areas. The condition of other sources of water, including the groundwater level, was also becoming alarming in many areas. Women in the country had to spend about 4 hours every day collecting water for the house. That is, 120 hours in a month and 60 days in a year were spent only on collecting water. They have to travel 2 to 5 miles every day. To enhance the spirit of charity for the noble cause of supplying drinking water facilities from tap to every rural household and rural institution of the country 'Rashtriya Jal Jeevan Kosh' has been started. Through this contribution can be made for the arrangement of pure drinking water in the village of choice. The Atal Bhujal Yojana keeps an eye on the future of water resources. Groundwater contributes about 65 percent of the total irrigated area of the country and about 85 percent of the rural drinking water supply. The country's limited groundwater resources are at risk due to increasing population, increasing demand for urbanization and industrialization. In such a situation, the Ministry of Jalshakti launched the Atal Bhujal Yojana in 2019 for the management of groundwater resources. It has been implemented for a period of five years {2020-21 to 2024-25) with a total outlay of Rs.6,000 crore. The goal of this scheme is to raise the level of groundwater in those areas of the country where the groundwater level has gone down significantly. This scheme covers 78 districts, 193 blocks, and 8,350-gram panchayats of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Maharashtra. Jal Shakti Abhiyan was started in 256 districts facing a water crisis in 2019 with the purpose to make Jal Sanchay (Save Water) a mass movement. The women of the country had to travel 2 to 5 km carrying a pot to collect water. But the central government has connected the people with ambitious schemes such as Jal Jeevan Mission, which is especially proving a boon for rural women. With the participation of women and villagers, the coverage of Jal Jeevan Mission has crossed 42 percent in about two and a half years. — SG
