Progressing Towards the Sustainable Development Goal: Evaluating India’s Clean Water and Sanitation Policies

In 2019, India reached the milestone of being declared open defecation-free, which contributes significantly towards the achievement of SDG 6 on clean water and sanitation. This article examines how India has aligned with SDG 6 through transformative interventions such as the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) and Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), with a focus on their impact on improving access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities across states and Union Territories. The analysis identifies some key drivers including resilient institutional arrangements, substantial investments needed for water security, and effective community participation in the process that have empowered local communities to take charge of their lives. However, within social-economic complexities and climate change implications, sustainability issues are ongoing challenges thereby requiring enhanced regulatory frameworks, integrated governance systems as well as climate-sensitive infrastructure investments. A combination of comprehensive research together with data driven decisions is important for sustaining achievements made so far and advancing towards the full realization of all aspects of SDG 6 by 2030. It was also revealed that there are linkages between this goal (SDG6) with other development objectives while stressing over the role played by new technologies plus multi-stakeholder engagement in sustainable water.