Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday shared an article examining India’s water-governance experience and the evolution of reforms in Gujarat into wider national programmes. The article, titled “From India to Global South, a Gujarat water-governance model”, presents India’s approach as a potential reference for countries in the Global South. Modi emphasised that water security requires more than infrastructure and depends on planning, strong institutions and community participation.

The article was authored by former Union water resources secretary Parameswaran Iyer, Council on Energy, Environment and Water fellow Nitin Bassi and George Mason University assistant professor Daniel W Smith. It examines water-governance reforms in Gujarat and India between 2001 and 2026, arguing that water security is as much a governance and institutional challenge as an engineering one. Modi said India’s experience could offer practical lessons to countries dealing with rising water demand.

The authors identify Gujarat’s water reforms during Modi’s tenure as Chief Minister from 2001 to 2014 as an early setting for measures that were later expanded through national programmes. These include the Jal Jeevan Mission, Swachh Bharat Mission, Jal Shakti Abhiyan, Namami Gange, Atal Bhujal Yojana and Per Drop More Crop. The article identifies four broad lessons, including prioritising governance alongside infrastructure, managing water resources and services together, involving communities and designing programmes that can operate at scale.

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The study also outlines a “4 Ps” framework involving political leadership, public and private financing, partnerships across levels of government and institutions, and people’s participation. It cites Gujarat’s Chintan Shivirs between 2001 and 2014 as an example of bringing stakeholders together to discuss water governance and develop solutions aligned with community needs. The authors also point to a similar approach at the national level, including the Departmental Summit on Water organised by the Ministry of Jal Shakti in September 2026.

The article further examines the need to align water-resource planning with growing demand from cities, industry and agriculture. It highlights greater reuse of treated water, particularly for non-potable purposes, and estimates that annual market revenue from treated used water in India could reach around Rs 73,000 crore by 2047 at current prices. It also points to local institutions such as Pani Samitis and programmes focused on water conservation, harvesting and groundwater recharge as examples of community participation.

The authors note that the world remains off track on Sustainable Development Goal 6, which seeks universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation and sustainable management of water resources and ecosystems by 2030. They estimate that an additional $500 billion in annual investment is required globally. The article concludes that India’s large-scale water programmes demonstrate the importance of political commitment, financing, institutions and community participation in implementing water-governance reforms.

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