Overview
- - The Union Cabinet approved an overall outlay of about Rs 8.69–8.7 lakh crore, including a central share of Rs 3.59 lakh crore, adding Rs 1.51 lakh crore to the Centre’s 2019–20 allocation.
- - A national digital framework called Sujalam Bharat will map every village’s water system from source to tap via a unique service area ID to improve monitoring and transparency.
- - Governance measures include Jal Arpan for formal handover to Gram Panchayats, Har Ghar Jal certification only after verified O&M readiness, and an annual community-led Jal Utsav.
- - Officials report more than 12.56 crore additional rural households now have tap connections, bringing coverage to roughly 15.8 crore homes, or about 81.6–81.7% of rural households.
- - The Indian Express reported the approved central top-up is lower than what the Jal Shakti Ministry earlier sought, following a year of curbed releases and actions over reported implementation irregularities.