Reforming rural water: Govt nod to NRDWP restructuring an important step

The NRDWP, a successor to the Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme, was started in 2009

At this time of debate on the 2018-19 Budget, the conversation is typically about whether funding for a particular sector or programme has increased or decreased. Perhaps a more useful discussion would be on the efficacy of government spending and whether real outcomes and results on the ground have been achieved through public funding. I would venture to suggest that the main challenge facing most centrally sponsored schemes (CSS) has not been the lack of funding but that of strengthening implementation, monitoring and, more fundamentally, linking funding to performance. The rural drinking water sector, under the National Rural Drinking Water