PM Modi's water scheme to assure 55 litres per day per person to every rural Indian household by 2024, says report

Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government is expected to set a threshold limit of promised household water supply and also fix a dedicated fund for this ambitious plan to supply piped water to every rural Indian household by 2024.

The government is likely to model this water fund on a similar one for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan called the Swachh Bharat Kosh (SBK).

The SBK has been set up to attract Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds from the corporate sector, individuals and philanthropists towards the cause of sanitation.

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Meanwhile, the water fund is expected to be named Rashtriya Jal Jeevan Kosh. The officials are in the process of giving final touches to the modalities of "Nal Se Jal" (water from taps), which involves supplying clean water to households. After this, the scheme will be placed before the cabinet for clearance.

The suggestions comprise assured water supply in the range of 43-55 litre per capita per day (LPCD), depending on the season, along with a minimum proposed limit for lean periods, officials told the Hindustan Times.

A rural development ministry official told the news daily that the work done by the rural ministry on water body restoration and the water supply for Nal Se Jal is in conjunction with each other.

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"The water conservation projects funded and undertaken in MGNREGS will provide the base for the Nal Se Jal scheme," the official told the news daily.

The Jal Shakti ministry aims to supply piped drinking water to 19.5% of rural households during 2019-20 under the Jal Jeevan mission, as per the targets set in the Union Budget 2019-20, another official added.

The government has to ensure piped drinking water to rural households which is crucial for attaining universal access to safe drinking water in India. According to the NGO WaterAid, 163 million Indians could not get clean water in the year 2015, the highest for any country.

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