New Delhi [India], October 7 (ANI): A brand new case research titled ‘From Gujarat to India: Water Lessons for the World’ traces 25 years of India’s water governance journey, from reforms undertaken in Gujarat since 2001 to their subsequent scaling up on the nationwide stage.
George Mason University, by Assistant Professor Daniel W Smith, is a key educational associate within the research. The case research has been authored by Smith together with Nitin Bassi and Parameswaran Iyer and revealed by George Mason University and the Gates Foundation.
The research identifies 4 classes for international locations within the Global South — robust governance, built-in water-resource administration, neighborhood possession, and bold implementation backed by political will and financing.
The research traces a 25-year journey that started beneath Chief Minister Modi in Gujarat in 2001, when recurrent drought and water shortage led to a mixture of large-scale infrastructure, groundwater recharge, conservation, improved water-use effectivity, institutional reform, and neighborhood participation. It describes Gujarat’s water governance reforms between 2001 and 2014 as a laboratory for approaches later scaled nationally after 2014.
The scale of the transformation is mirrored in each financing and entry. Among different classes discovered, one key discovering is that Union water-sector allocations elevated from 0.8 per cent of the full Union finances in 2001-02 to 2.2 per cent in 2025-26. Across rural India, 464 million extra individuals use safely managed ingesting water right this moment than in 2000, whereas rural family faucet protection has elevated from 17 per cent in 2019 to over 80 per cent in 2026.
Gujarat’s response mixed the Narmada-based water grid with establishments corresponding to WASMO and village-level Pani Samitis, alongside large-scale water conservation and groundwater recharge. By 2013, the state had constructed greater than 76,000 examine dams beneath the Sardar Patel water conservation programme. The research traces how components of this expertise subsequently knowledgeable nationwide initiatives together with Jal Jeevan Mission, Jal Shakti Abhiyan, Namami Gange, Atal Bhujal Yojana, Per Drop More Crop and AMRUT. In 2019, the creation of the Ministry of Jal Shakti offered a consolidated institutional framework for ingesting water, sanitation and water-resource administration.
Daniel W. Smith, co-author and Assistant Professor at George Mason University, stated, “India’s water journey offers lessons well beyond its borders. The central message is that water security at scale requires strong water governance. Countries across the world can learn from these governance lessons and adapt them to their own circumstances as they work toward universal and sustainable water security.”
The research presents India’s expertise as a supply of sensible classes and approaches that international locations can adapt and construct upon in methods suited to their very own circumstances. With its huge rural inhabitants, quickly rising cities, climatic range and large-scale improvement wants, India presents a very related expertise for international locations throughout the Global South.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared a news report on how India’s water-governance mannequin is providing helpful classes for the broader Global South. Shri Modi stated that water safety shouldn’t be solely about constructing infrastructure but additionally about good planning, robust native techniques and involving communities in managing water.
“India’s journey from water reforms in Gujarat to large-scale national programmes offers a practical example for countries looking to improve water management and meet growing water needs”, PM Modi remarked.
India’s journey from water reforms in Gujarat to large-scale nationwide programmes presents a sensible instance for international locations trying to enhance water administration and meet rising water wants. (ANI)