By the time we reach January 2026, the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) will have positioned itself as one of India's most remarkable social infrastructure projects, as it has completely changed the rural water scenario. The mission, which started in 2019 with the lofty target of installing Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC) for every rural household, has now more or less eliminated the infrastructural barrier created over decades. However, the "2025 post-perspective" picture is mixed: while access to water has become unprecedentedly easy, the national Water Quality Index (WQI) rankings are still affected by the environmental and monitoring problems that are pervasive in the system.
The Infrastructure Milestone: From 17% to 81%
The massive leap of the Jal Jeevan Mission is most evidently seen in the widespread addition of piped water supply. In the very beginning, at the time of the launch in August 2019, only 3.23 crore or about 17% of rural households had water supply connections. And by the date of January 15, 2026, this number will have dramatically increased to more than 15.78 crore households, thus covering nearly 81.53% of the country.
It is definitely a stimulation to find out that eleven states and union territories, such as Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Telangana, and Himachal Pradesh, have reached a phenomenal milestone of connecting their rural areas with tap water supplies—100% of the rural population has thus been benefited. This marvellous step taken towards attaining the basic need of clean water has not only reached the households but also over 9.23 lakh schools and 9.66 lakh Anganwadi centers for their daily requirements. Just think of the deep and positive influence this will cause on the health and hygienic practices of the huge number of child population and on the future health of the children, as they will have better hygiene practices and hence, will be medically treated less.
Assessing the Impact on Water Quality Ratings
Notwithstanding these infrastructural improvements, India's position in the worldwide water quality assessment still poses a challenge. As early as 2026, India is frequently referenced at the lowest part of global scales like the Environmental Performance Index (EPI), where it was assigned 116th place out of 180 nations concerning the exposure to unsafe drinking water.
The contribution of JJM to these rankings could be described as a mixed bag:
ACHIEVEMENT IN THE REMOVAL OF SELECTED CONTAMINANTS
The scheme has identified "quality-affected habitation" as one of its priorities.
Up to the middle of 2024, JJM was able to get rid of almost all of the places where targeted contaminants like arsenic and fluoride were found; however, these places are now all equipped with Community Water Purification Plants. The health impact of this development, which is considerable, is reflected in an estimate by the WHO that granting universal access to safe water in India would cut down diarrheal deaths by hundreds of thousands and would also save millions of years of life adjusted for disabilities. The only problem remaining is that water sources need to be kept up for the long run.
A lot of the tap water is drawn from the ground, which is liable to run dry and get contaminated during the rainy season. JJM's initiatives to properly and routinely test the water have also included setting up testing infrastructure and training a lot of women to operate Field Testing Kits. However, the audits for 2025-26 showed that there were differences in the frequency of testing and the actions taken in response, particularly in the case of smaller habitations.
Apart from that, the contamination incidents in cities such as Indore, where the sewage infiltrated the municipal lines, are indications that even the best infrastructures are subject to the problems of aging pipes and poor oversight, hence the "Clean City" paradox, which requires constant attention.
Digital Governance: The WQMIS and Jal Mitra
The government has changed its strategy for data transparency to get a better WQI rank. The Water Quality Management Information System (WQMIS) portal now gives access to the public to view the test results of more than 38.78 lakh water samples under the test conducted during 2025–26. The application 'Jal Mitra' is one of the digital tools being used for the real-time registration of service delivery and community administration.
The Path to 2028: Quality Over Quantity
While the mission is gradually moving to its new target of complete coverage by the year 2028, the main concern is changing from “counting pipes” to “ensuring safety”. The efficacy evaluation for the next phase will rely on:
A multi-pronged approach is really necessary to protect our water resources, which are our treasure. Above all, the installation of advanced graywater management systems should be made to prevent untreated sewage from infiltrating our local water sources and thus keep them pure.
On the other hand, we can utilise smart technologies for monitoring, installation of IoT devices that will automatically measure and send real-time data about water supply and quality to us, so that we can have an instant and correct picture.
More than that, we have to change our mindset from merely taking water out to proactively supporting its sustainability and thus the enforcement of rainwater harvesting and the encouragement of groundwater recharge will make it possible to have a healthier water future for everyone.
There's no doubt about it, the Jal Jeevan Mission has achieved its main goal of equalising the distribution of infrastructure. The mission has improved the lives of millions of rural women by eliminating the need to spend an estimated 5.5 crore hours daily in the process of fetching water, thus bringing dignity to them, along with saving time and effort. However, in order for India to advance in the Global Water Quality Index, the mission will now have to deal with the more difficult "software" issues of prolonged water safety, autonomous quality control, and climate-resilient source management which are all linked to the hard human-related practices.
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