India Expands Drinking Water Projects and Quality Monitoring Systems
The government is scaling water supply infrastructure, improving testing systems, and involving communities especially women in monitoring drinking water quality across states.
Government continues to extend financial and technical support to States and Union Territories through programmes such as Jal Jeevan Mission, AMRUT, and AMRUT 2.0 to strengthen drinking water supply systems. Since water is a State subject, State Governments are responsible for planning, execution, and maintenance of these systems for both rural and urban populations.
To address water quality concerns, Jal Jeevan Mission has allocated priority funding to areas affected by chemical contamination. Up to 2% of mission funds may be used for Water Quality Monitoring and Surveillance, including field testing kits and laboratory upgrades. Water testing data is being recorded on the Water Quality Management Information System (WQMIS).
States and Union Territories have been asked to train women to use field test kits for water-quality checks in villages, schools, and Anganwadi centres. Public Health Engineering Departments currently operate 2,847 laboratories capable of testing physical, chemical, and region-specific contaminants such as arsenic, fluoride, iron, nitrates and heavy metals.
Two technical reference documents have been issued: Handbook on Drinking Water Treatment Technologies (March 2023) and a Concise Handbook for Monitoring Water Quality of Piped Drinking Water Supply to Rural Households (December 2024), to support field implementation.
According to WQMIS data, around 47 lakh rural water samples have been tested so far in 2025–26 (as of December 5, 2025), including 38 lakh chemical tests and 35 lakh bacteriological tests. In 2024–25, a total of 82.68 lakh samples were tested nationwide.
Under AMRUT, States and Union Territories have started work on 1,403 water supply projects worth ₹43,359.78 crore, including development of 5,011 MLD treatment capacity. In AMRUT 2.0, 3,516 projects worth ₹1,18,226.62 crore (including O&M) have been approved, which will add another 11,160 million litres per day of treatment capacity. Water treatment plants regularly test the quality of treated water. Under the AMRUT Mitra initiative, women Self-Help Groups are engaged in activities such as water demand management and local-level testing
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