Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), launched on August 15, 2019, completes seven years of implementation targeting functional household tap connections (FHTCs) in rural India. Coverage has surged from 16.7% (3.23 crore households) at launch to over 82% as of 2025. The mission operates under the Ministry of Jal Shakti with a target of providing safe drinking water to all 19.35 crore rural households. It follows a demand-driven, community-managed approach co-funded by Centre and States.

Jal Jeevan Mission is India's flagship drinking water scheme under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, announced by PM Modi on Independence Day 2019. It replaced the earlier National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP). The mission's core objective is 'Har Ghar Jal' — ensuring every rural household receives 55 litres per capita per day (LPCD) of potable water through a Functional Household Tap Connection (FHTC).

The financial architecture is critical for exam purposes: the Centre-State funding ratio is 90:10 for Himalayan and North-Eastern States, and 50:50 for other States; for Union Territories without legislature, 100% central funding applies.

JJM operates through Village Action Plans (VAPs) and relies on Village Water and Sanitation Committees (VWSCs) or Pani Samitis for local management — making it a decentralised, community-led model aligned with Panchayati Raj institutions.

From a NABARD perspective, JJM intersects with rural infrastructure financing. NABARD provides financial support for water infrastructure in rural areas under its infrastructure development mandate. From a UPSC lens, JJM exemplifies cooperative federalism, SDG-6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) alignment, and social infrastructure delivery. The mission also has a special thrust on quality-affected, aspirational districts, and Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe majority villages — making it equity-sensitive in design.