Capacity development and organisational support for convergent implementation of measures to improve water security in rural India

Context India is facing an increasing water crisis due to over-extraction, climate variability, and degradation of water bodies and watersheds. Public programmes for rural development such as MGNREGS, PMKSY, and the Jal Shakti Abhiyan have taken steps to address the challenges, but implementation often remains fragmented and impact in terms of water security unclear. There is an urgent need to build data-driven, risk-informed, and integrated planning frameworks and capacities at all levels of governance. The Water Vision 2047 of the Government of India outlines a transformative agenda for water security that requires convergence of schemes, innovative solutions, and community participation. The Project The Indo-German project cooperates with the Ministry of Water (MoJS) and Ministry or Rural Development (MoRD) and aims to co-develop and demonstrate a comprehensive decision-support and planning framework to enable local planners to conduct an Integrated Water Security Assessment and Planning by using verified geospatial and non-spatial data as well as tailored evaluation tools. It leverages learnings from past initiatives to develop frameworks, tools, and institutional capacities that enable coordinated action across sectors for more effective outcomes. Ultimately, the project seeks to operationalise India"s Water Vision for the benefit of rural communities. Main Objective The convergent implementation of India's Water Vision 2047 to increase water security and climate resilience of the vulnerable rural population are improved in selected states of India. Outputs and Action Areas The project is implemented addressing the following outputs and respective action areas: Output 1: Development of framework, approaches, and instruments - Develop a Rural Water Security (RWS) Framework as basis to support new integrated approaches and guidelines for assessment, planning, convergent implementation, and impact monitoring of water security measures - Development of an index for benchmarking and impact monitoring of rural water security (RWS index) - Further develop related digital solutions and dashboards for assessment and decision support - Capacity Development on Integrated Water Security Assessment and Planning at district, block and Gram Panchayat level Output 2: Convergent implementation of measures to improve water security in demonstration districts - On-the-job training to develop local water security plans - Strengthening district-level governance mechanisms for convergent implementation - Provide handholding support for convergent implementation of measures to improve water security at Block and Gram Panchayat level - Use of existing and new incentive mechanisms for convergent implementation of measures to improve water security Output 3: Institutional mechanisms for mainstreaming - Evaluation and documentation of successful applications of the RWS framework - Preparation of materials for mainstreaming - Integration of approaches and digital solutions in programme delivery systems - Mechanisms for aligning water security plans with sector plans Intervention Area The project will be implemented in 12 demonstration districts located in the following six states: Bihar, Gujarat, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, and Karnataka.