India, Sept. 11 -- Water has always been more than a resource. It is a foundation for health, dignity, livelihoods and human development. For rural India, the transformation underway through the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) is one of the country's most ambitious efforts to bring reliable piped drinking water to every household.

The scale of this transformation is remarkable. When JJM was launched in 2019, only 3.23 crore rural households, 16.7%, had tap-water connections. By March 2026, this had risen to about 15.82 crore households, or more than 81% of rural households.

But as India moves from expanding access to strengthening water services, the next question is equally important. How do we ensure that the water flowing from these taps re...