The water and wastewater sector saw strong public funding and policy support, with flagship programmes expanding water supply, wastewater treatment and desalination capacities. Under Union Budget 2026-27, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs received Rs 855.22 billion, while the Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) was allocated Rs 948.08 billion, including Rs 199.13 billion for the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and Rs 748.95 billion for the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation
Budgetary and fund allocations and policy initiatives
- The budget allocation for 2026-27 includes Rs 676.7 billion for the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), Rs 80 billion for the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), Rs 71.92 billion for Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM)-Grameen, Rs 31 billion for Namami Gange Mission II, and Rs 25 billion for SBM-Urban.
- In March 2026, the central government approved the extension of JJM as JJM 2.0, with a total outlay of Rs 8,690 billion.
- In June 2026, the MoJS launched the Missions for Advancement in High-impact Areas (MAHA)-Water Mission, with a planned investment of Rs 2 billion over the next five years to promote research, innovation and technology adoption in the sector.
- In February 2026, the Urban Challenge Fund was approved with Rs 1,000 billion in central financial assistance, aiming to catalyse around Rs 4,000 billion in urban investment by 2030-31, including water and sanitation projects.
Tracking progress under key government programmes
- As of July 2026, AMRUT and AMRUT 2.0 have collectively provided 27 million household tap connections and 112,000 km length of water pipeline network, and created 5,611 million litres per day (mld) of water treatment, 7,380 mld of sewage treatment and 1,457 mld of recycle/reuse capacity.
- As of August 2026, JJM achieved around 82 per cent of functional tap water connections for rural households.
- As of August 2026, over 564,361 villages have arrangements for liquid waste management under the SBM-Grameen 2.0, while around 1,110 sewage treatment plants (40,703 mld) and 1,130 faecal sludge treatment plants (55,371 kilolitres per day) are operational under SBM-Urban.
- As of July 2026, a total of 176 water pollution abatement projects have been completed under the National Mission for Clean Ganga.
Key water supply-related milestones
- The top three big-ticket water supply projects completed during the past one-year (based on India Infrastructure Research) are the Dehradun Drinking Water Supply Project in Uttarakhand worth Rs 54.5 billion (completed in November 2025), the Karanjavan (Manmad) Water Supply Scheme in Maharashtra worth Rs 3.16 billion (December 2025), and the Dwarka Water Treatment Plant Project in Delhi worth Rs 2.8 billion (March 2026).
- The top three big-ticket under-construction projects are the Andhra Pradesh Water Grid Scheme worth Rs 576.22 billion, the Yettinahole Drinking Water Supply Project Phase II in Karnataka worth Rs 232.51 billion, and the Mor Sagar artificial reservoir and Bisalpur-Mor Sagar artificial reservoir feeder worth Rs 57.81 billion.
- The segment is addressing high non-revenue water through smart metering initiatives like ISO/ISI certified meters mandated in Gurugram, smart meter replacement planned in Goa, and over 6,000 meters installed in three weeks under the Pune 24×7 Equitable Water Supply Project.
Key wastewater management-related achievements
- The top three big-ticket wastewater projects completed during the past one year are the Hyderabad Sewerage Improvement Project (Package II – South of Musi) in Telangana worth Rs 7.62 billion (April 2026), along with the Hyderabad Sewerage Improvement Project (Package I – North of Musi) and the Hyderabad Sewerage Improvement Project (Package III – Hussain Sagar-Kukatpally nala catchment) in Telangana worth Rs 6.48 billion each (April 2026).
- The top three big-ticket under-construction projects are the Nashik Sewage Project (tied to the broader Godavari Pollution Abatement Project) in Maharashtra worth Rs 58.09 billion, the Strategic Nala Development Programme Phase II in Telangana worth Rs 50 billion, and the Dharavi Waste Water Treatment Facility worth Rs 46.36 billion in Maharashtra.
- Several innovations are being introduced, including HMWSSB’s pilot of Japan’s Bio-Lace technology through a 1 mld sewage treatment project, its plans for a 2,000 mld greywater bank in Hyderabad, and deployment of cured-in-place pipe-liner technology to rehabilitate Chandigarh’s ageing sewer network.
Key developments in the desalination segment
- The top three big-ticket under-construction desalination projects are the Perur Water Desalination Plant Project (Package CP1) worth Rs 42.76 billion, the Tuticorin Desalination Plant worth Rs 22.17 billion in Tamil Nadu, and the Gundiyali Village Desalination Plant worth Rs 10.22 billion in Gujarat.
- The segment is also heading towards sustainability. In line with this, IIT Guwahati researchers have developed an MXene-based material for solar-powered seawater desalination in March 2026, enabling efficient seawater evaporation to produce potable water
