Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0: first regional conference at Tiruchi

13 November 2026 · English Government Schemes & Education

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Current affairs of 13 November 2026 (Shanmugam IAS Academy) – explained for UPSC, TNPSC and other competitive exams

News

The first regional conference on Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) 2.0 was held at Tiruchirappalli on 12–13 November 2026. The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti, organised it with the Government of Tamil Nadu. Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Paatil chaired the ministerial session; Tamil Nadu's Minister for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Water Resources, N. Anand, outlined the State's initiatives. Seven States/UTs took part: Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Keralam, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Puducherry and Lakshadweep. It is the first of five planned regional conferences. Paatil urged States to finish remaining works by December 2027 where feasible; the Mission's approved timeline ends in December 2028. About 16 crore rural households across India now have tap connections. The 'Sujalam Bharat' platform was cited as a digital tool for monitoring implementation.

Key facts for the exam

Background

• Jal Jeevan Mission was launched in 2019 to give every rural household a functional household tap connection (FHTC) supplying at least 55 litres per person per day (55 lpcd) of BIS 10500-quality water. The earlier National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) norm was 40 lpcd. JJM 2.0 shifts from building infrastructure to 'sustainable service delivery': operation and maintenance (O&M), panchayat-led governance, source sustainability, a skilled local workforce and digital monitoring are its reforms.
• Constitution: 'Water' is Entry 17 of the State List; 'drinking water' is also a panchayat subject in the Eleventh Schedule (73rd Amendment). When the Gram Sabha certifies by resolution that every household in a village has tap water, it becomes 'Har Ghar Jal' certified. In August 2022 Goa became the first 'Har Ghar Jal' certified state, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu the first UT.
• Sujalam Bharat app: launched by Minister C.R. Paatil in New Delhi on 10 December 2025 with support from BISAG-N. It brings every rural drinking water scheme onto one geo-referenced system. Each scheme and its service area gets a unique 'Sujalam Bharat–Sujal Gaon ID'; the public can view data on sources, assets, supply reliability and water quality.
• Science – water quality: excess fluoride in drinking water causes dental fluorosis (stained teeth) and skeletal fluorosis (bone and joint damage). As groundwater in Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts is fluoride-affected, the 'Hogenakkal Water Supply and Fluorosis Mitigation Project', using Cauvery water and aided by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), was opened in May 2013. The Jal Jeevan Mission also stresses community-level water-quality testing. At the meet, NIOT (Chennai) also presented its seawater desalination technology used in Lakshadweep.

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Sources: PIB – Ministry of Jal Shakti (12 Nov 2026, PRID 2335598); PTI (12 Nov 2026); PTI (Sujalam Bharat, 10 Dec 2025); PIB (Har Ghar Jal, Aug 2022); PTI (Hogenakkal project launch, 29 May 2013); Constitution of India (Seventh and Eleventh Schedules). Compiled by Shanmugam IAS Academy.

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