India has stepped up its efforts to improve and upgrade water supply and wastewater treatment systems in response to growing water scarcity and pollution. Recognising the critical need for resilient water infrastructure, the government is driving targeted interventions and investments.
Indian Infrastructure takes a look at some of the key developments in the water sector over the past year…
Policy-level and budgetary support
- The budgetary allocation for 2025-26 includes Rs 670 billion for the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), Rs 100 billion for the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), Rs 71.92 billion for SBM-Grameen (SBM-G), Rs 50 billion for the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U) and Rs 34 billion for the Namami Gange Mission II.
- In March 2025, the sixth edition of the Jal Shakti Abhiyan, Catch the Rain 2025, was launched.
- In order to achieve 100 per cent tap water coverage in rural households, the JJM has been extended till 2028.
- In October 2024, the Liquid Waste Management Rules, 2024 were notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Mapping the progress under key government programmes
- As of August 2025, 586 sewerage projects with 6,964 million litres per day (mld) of sewage treatment capacity (including 1,939 mld for reuse) and 3,571 water supply projects have been approved under AMRUT 2.0.
- As of July 2025, under AMRUT and its convergence with other schemes, 18.9 million new and serviced tap water connections, and 14.9 million new and serviced sewer connections have been provided. In addition, 21,753 km of sewer networks and 73,519 km of water networks have been laid. Further, 890 sewerage projects have been completed, adding 4,622 mld of sewage treatment capacity (including 1,437 mld for reuse), and 4,933 mld of water treatment capacity has been developed.
- As of August 25, 2025, the JJM has achieved around 81.02 per cent of functional tap water connections .
- As of August 25, 2025, over 534,900 villages have put in place liquid waste management systems under the SBM-G 2.0.
- As of July 2025, 156 water pollution abatement projects have been completed under the National Mission for Clean Ganga.
- As of July 2025, around 1,545 water, sanitation and hygiene projects have been completed under the Smart Cities Mission.
- In October 2024, the Jal Hi Amrit scheme was launched. Around 860 sewage treatment plants (STPs) have been enrolled under it, as of August 2025.
Key project milestones achieved
- Key completed projects include the Bisalpur-Jaipur water supply project phase II (216 mld) in March 2025, the augmentation of the Jhansi water supply scheme (195 mld) in February 2025 and the WTP project in Bhubaneswar (130 mld) in April 2025.
- In April 2025, the Okhla STP in Delhi (564 mld) became fully operational.
- In June 2025, the Kondli STP (114 mld) in Delhi and the Digha STP (100 mld) in Bihar were inaugurated.
Major upcoming projects
- Around 75 per cent and 58 per cent progress has been achieved under the 24×7 Pune metered water supply scheme (775 mld) and the Chandrawal water supply improvement project in Delhi (477 mld) respectively.
- Under the Mumbai sewerage disposal project (Stage II), STPs in Worli (500 mld), Malad (454 mld), Dharavi (418 mld) and Bandra (360 mld) are progressing steadily.
- The Perur desalination plant (400 mld) in Tamil Nadu has achieved 42 per cent progress, as of July 2025.
- The Cauvery water supply scheme stage VI (500 mld) in Karnataka was approved in January 2025.
- A treated wastewater repurposing project (555 mld) in Punjab, the Chhatarpur and Iradat Nagar (302 mld each) WTPs in Delhi, the Behrampur STP in Haryana (100 mld) and an STP in Nashik (70 mld) are at the planning stage, as of June 2025. In addition, a desalination plant (60 mld) was planned in Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, in October 2024.
Key digital and sustainable initiatives
- On the digital front, Delhi’s under-construction Chandrawal WTP is deploying 3D visualisation and building information modelling tools to enable efficient project execution and cost reduction.
- Further, the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system is being deployed to monitor water flow and usage under the 24×7 water supply pilot project in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu.
- Under sustainability initiatives, of the 120 planned solar water kiosks, around 25 have been installed in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, as of July 2025.
- The Delhi government is also set to convert the Najafgarh drain into a 30 MW solar corridor, conserving 270 million litres annually, and to cover the Munak canal with solar panels.
- India’s first fully automated vacuum sewer system was inaugurated in Goa in October 2024.
