23 March 2023
National Statement
Mr.Chairman,
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
As we have gathered here for a midterm review and to reiterate our commitment to the Water Action Agenda under International Decade for Action, allow me to highlight the priorities, policy and actions of India that are organically linked to achieving the SDG6 targets.
To give greater coherence and synergy to water management in India, a unified Ministry of Jal Shakti was created in 2019 by our Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The five principles that form the bedrock of our actions are political will, public financing, partnerships, people’s participation and persuation for ensuring sustained behavioural change. We have committed investments of more than 240 billion dollar in the water sector through government resources, in partnership with private innovators, start ups, and water-user associations.
India is implementing two flagship missions to ensure universal access to sanitation and drinking water.
Jal Jeevan Mission or Water Life Mission which is synonymous with the SDG goal 6.1, aims to achieve safe and affordable drinking water in the rural household by 2024, manage own in-village water supply systems, developing robust institutions and assist capacity building of stakeholders on significance of water for improvement in quality of life. With a commitment to successfully implement this ambitious 50 billion dollar program in mission mode, we are poised to achieve SDG 6.1 well before 2030.
India’s Swachh Bharat mission or Clean India Mission milestone was reached in 2019, when the country was declared open defecation free. In our journey to achieve SDG 6.2, since 2014 we have built over 105 million toilets, and transformed sanitation habits through mass scale behaviour change of more than 600 million Indians. This campaign continues through our efforts at ensuring sustainable solid and liquid waste management solutions in all 600 thousand villages and communities in India.
Our ambitious National Mission for Clean Ganga or Namami Gange is recently recognised by the UN in Convention of Biodiversity conference COP15 at Montreal as one of the top 10 World Restoration Flagships to revive the natural world. This mission has created a paradigm shift in river rejuvenation, pollution abatement, conservation of ecosystems and holistic approach to river basin management. Arth Ganga, a model of circular economy fully aligns with SDG goals 6.3 and 6.6 with 6(b) in creating environmentally friendly sustainable practices of resource management by local communities for water security.
India is also implementing the largest dam rehabilitation programme in the world, to build climate resilience critical water storage infrastructure.
Due to our unique geography, India is among the largest users of groundwater in the world. However, today we are making efforts to restore groundwater level and creating mindful communities by combining demand and supply side interventions through village Water Security Plans, inculcating behavioural changes on water usage and conservation at the grass-root level, financing these plans through incentives and convergence of existing programmes. This has led to creating greater community ownership in the equitable management of water at local level.
To make water conservation a national campaign, Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi launched the Jal Shakti Abhiyan in 2019, a national call of action to promote water conservation and recharge, including rainwater harvesting. This is an annual campaign and communities are encouraged and supported in the restoration of traditional water bodies and rejuvenation of rivulets, water conservation & rainwater harvesting; reuse and recharge of bore wells; watershed development and intensive afforestation.
At COP 26, Prime Minister Modi introduced the concept of LiFE or “Lifestyle for Environment”. This concept was translated into an action agenda with the launch of “Mission LiFE” by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and PM Modi in October 2022. The initiative is aimed at encouraging people to pick pro-planet sustainable choices in their daily lives, to live sustainably and reduce our environmental footprint, and is driven by the concept of ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’. Water is at the heart of Mission LiFE. I appeal all the delegates to successfully adopt mission LiFE in this international decade for action on water.
Today, as this august UN Water Conference brings to focus once again the objectives of Sustainable Development Goals, let me assure you of India’s commitment, support and partnership in our collective endeavor to achieve the important goals of the Water Action Decade.
Thank you.