The Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) is an initiative of the Government of India’s Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, which aims to provide safe and adequate drinking water across all rural households through individual tap connections. The JJM is one of the largest drinking water programmes globally, providing around Rs 3.6 trillion for the development of drinking water infrastructure in rural India.

Digital initiatives under JJM

Digitalisation under the JJM encompasses several activities such as designing cost-effective schemes, constant monitoring, maintaining transparency, enabling gram panchayats to become local water utilities and run their own systems, and integrating databases on quality and quantity. There are eight broad digital platforms being im­plemented under the JJM, namely, the JJM Integrated Management Information Sys­tem (IMIS), the JJM dashboard, the JJM Water Quality Management Information System (WQMIS), an internet of things (IoT) platform, a mobile application, analytical tools, a public finance management system (PFMS), the JJM website, and the Rashtriya Jal Jeevan Kosh (RJJK) portal.

Digital platforms

JJM IMIS

The JJM IMIS helps in creating inventories of all assets required for water supply. It also maintains the database of beneficiaries and brings together all project-relevant data, such as information regarding tap connections provided to households, and details of village action plans and district action plans.

JJM dashboard

The JJM dashboard captures all the essential monitoring parameters that are of interest to the public, such as the number of functional household tap connections provided on a daily basis since the launch of the mission at the national and state levels; coverage status in states, union territories (UTs), districts, blocks, panchayats and villages that provide 100 per cent tap water connections; a grievance redressal system; and real-time sensor-based measurement and monitoring. The dashboard is powered by the IMIS database.

JJM WQMIS

The JJM WQMIS provides details of all functional laboratories in the country, to help identify the closest water testing lab to a given location. It helps with the registration of water samples with location and date stamps, and uploading the lab results onli­ne. This system has be­en approved by the National Accredi­tation Bo­ard for Testing and Calib­ration Laboratories.

IoT platform

This is a cloud-based system built to monitor a mission’s key performance indicators and ensure quick response, minimum service delivery outage and minimum water loss, while optimising efficiency and monitoring the quantity and quality of water in a sustainable manner. The Ministry of Jal Shakti, alongside the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, plans to provide IoT-based systems for monitoring water supply in selected villages in the country. The ministry has installed IoT systems across 100 villages in its pilot stages.

Mobile application

The JJM mobile application enables data collection for Paani Samitis/village water sanitation committees, gram panchayats and officials using mobiles. It helps in capturing details regarding infrastructure, beneficiaries, financial collections, work progress, water pipe maintenance, addition or deletion of water connections, and other water-related information at the village and block levels.

JJM website and RJJK portal

The JJM website and the RJJK portal provide information about general policy formulation, planning, financing and coordination for the JJM. The RJJK portal allows individuals and organisations to donate towards enabling provision of unpolluted water at the village level. The databases available on the IMIS are going to be utilised by the JJM mobile and web applications to aid rural water supply and public health engineering department.

Analytical tools

The analytical tools being used for the mission support data analysis, predictive analytics, monitoring and preparation of dashboards, etc. These tools will be integrated with the JJM dashboard to generate useful insights.

PFMS

Through the PFMS, all disbursements and expenditures under the JJM are tracked online. This helps maintain transparency and ensure the judicious use of public money. All transactions related to the mission, from the ministry level to the lowest panchayat level, are recorded on the PFMS, with details of the finances of states and UTs.

In sum

The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, in collaboration with states and UTs, is working towards achieving the JJM’s goals by 2024. The idea is to have a robust digital platform including IMIS, WQMIS, an IoT platform, a mobile application and web po­r­tals to maintain transparency in the sy­s­tem; monitor progress on a real-time ba­sis; enable data collection, collation, handling and analysis to ensure the quantity and quality of water supply and service de­livery; provide grievance redressal; etc. Additionally, the digital vision will enable the integration of mission data with the water resources database of the Central Ground Water Board, and the disease surveillance programme database of the National Centre for Disease Control.