Sustainable Growth Pillar under India–US Strategic Energy Partnership, Under Jal Jeevan Mission- 7 States achieved more than 10% of the target of 2020-2021
1. Sustainable Growth Pillar under India–US Strategic Energy Partnership
- India and the US have a long-standing energy collaboration.
- In June 2017, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump reinforced the strategic importance of bilateral energy cooperation, through the announcement of a new US–India Strategic Energy Partnership (SEP).
- The first ministerial meeting was held in April 2018.
- The India–US Strategic Energy Partnership has four pillars: Oil and Gas, Power and Energy Efficiency, Renewable and Sustainable Growth.
- The Sustainable Growth pillar is being co-chaired by NITI Aayog and USAID.
- Key achievements and future action plan of the Sustainable Growth pillar were highlighted during the ministerial dialogue of the SEP held on 17 July 2020, under the co-chairmanship of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette.
- This pillar brings together Indian and American researchers and decision-makers to collaborate in three focal areas: energy data management, energy modeling and promotion of low-carbon technologies.
Considerable progresses in all three areas of the Sustainable Growth pillar were noted as below:
Energy data management: An India Energy Dashboard, which was launched in 2015, has been revamped with the provisioning of data input online and through API integration. To enrich the exercise, NITI Aayog created eight sub-groups on energy demand and supply sectors. India and US agencies will cooperate to build a robust energy dashboard.
Energy modelling: Two exercises carried out on energy-water nexus and decarburization of transportation sector have highlighted key issues and provided policy advice. NITI Aayog and USAID jointly launched India Energy Modeling Forum on 2 July 2020. The forum will engage US and Indian researchers, knowledge partners, think tanks, both national and international, and government agencies and departments for modeling and long-term energy planning exercise.
Low carbon technologies: Both sides agreed to engage through concerned Government, related agencies, and private players for the promotion of low carbon technologies in India.
- The Sustainable Growth pillar will support the India Energy Modeling Forum by facilitating collaborative engagement with the Modeling Forum at Stanford University and will also initiate new multi-team joint research studies to support energy and environmental decision-making under the forum.
- Both sides will adapt and continue to focus on sharing best practices and new solutions under the sustainable growth pillar for the benefit of India and the US.
- This has set the stage for building on the successful strategic energy partnership between India and the US.
2. Under Jal Jeevan Mission, 7 States achieved more than 10% of the target of 2020-2021
- Launched in August 2019, in 7 months of implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in 2019-20, around 85 lakh rural households were provided with tap connections.
- Further, amidst CoVID-19 pandemic, since Unlock-1, about 55 lakh tap connections have been provided so far in the year 2020-21.
- Thus, daily about 1 lakh households are being provided with tap connections.
- As of Now, 7 States- Bihar, Telangana, Maharashtra, Haryana, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Mizoram have achieved more than 10% of the target household tap connections they had fixed for themselves.
- States like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Odisha and Manipur have shown good progress during the corresponding period.
- This shows the commitment of the States to provide the basic services to the people residing in rural areas as envisaged under the flagship programme, Jal Jeevan Mission, as well as the speed and scale with which the States are making efforts to provide tap connections.
- Out of 18.93 Crore rural households in the country, 4.60 Crore (24.30%) households are already provided tap connections.
- The objective is to cover remaining 14.33 Crore households in a time-bound manner while ensuring the functionality of all tap connections.
- With this goal in mind, States/ UTs are providing tap connections at the rate of more than one lakh connections daily.
- In 2020-21, a sum of Rs. 23,500 Crore has been allocated for the implementation of JJM. Further, 50% of 15th Finance Commission grants to Rural Local Bodies, i.e. Rs. 30,375 Crore have also been earmarked for water supply and sanitation.
- 50% of this amount has been released to the States already, which will help in better implementation, management, operation and maintenance of drinking water supply systems in villages to ensure people get potable water on regular and long-term basis.
- The Ministry of Jal Shakti has been implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in partnership with States with an aim to provide potable water in adequate quantity of prescribed quality on regular and long-term basis through tap connections to every rural household in the country by 2024.
- All out efforts are being made by the National Mission under Ministry of Jal Shakti to handhold the States/ UTs for the implementation.
- The progress of the mission is being monitored on day-to-day basis.
- Various States/ UTs have committed to achieve the goal of the Mission well before 2024.
- In 2021, Bihar, Goa, Puducherry and Telangana have planned for complete saturation.
- Similarly in 2022, States/ UTs of Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Meghalaya, Punjab, Sikkim and Uttar Pradesh are planning for 100% coverage.
- While Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura have planned for full saturation in 2023.
- States like Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and West Bengal have planned for 2024.
- In line with the appeal of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to further improve ‘ease of living‘ in rural areas by providing facilities like financial inclusion, houses, road, clean fuel, electricity and toilets, the Jal Jeevan Mission is providing drinking water in every rural household, which will certainly improve the lives of rural population especially women and girls and save them from drudgery as well as water-borne diseases.
