India's efforts to bring drinking water to millions of households and clean the Ganga are a model for developing nations, the World Bank's Global Director for Water, Saroj Kumar Jha, said in a virtual press briefing ahead of the 2026 United Nations Water Conference, answering a question from PTI.

Source: PTI via The Economic Times / Meridian Report

"For the World Bank Group, India is a remarkable success story. It's the water journey that every single developing country is looking at," Jha said. "India has done what other countries are now trying to work on, and India offers the how-to part of the water solution," he added.

He highlighted the Jal Jeevan Mission, the Namami Gange programme and the Swachh Bharat Mission. On the Jal Jeevan Mission, he said reaching 800 million people with improved drinking water access in less than seven years was a remarkable achievement, and described India's expansion of drinking water access in urban and rural areas as unprecedented. All India Radio reported the same figure on November 10.

Source: All India Radio via CrackTarget

Jha described the Namami Gange programme as remarkably successful in reducing pollution in the Ganga and improving the river's overall health, noting that the World Bank has supported the National Mission for Clean Ganga through various financing instruments. He also said Bank funding had helped strengthen the resilience of nearly 900 dams, and praised efforts to help creditworthy municipalities raise money from capital markets for urban water services.

India's sanitation experience is also spreading abroad, he said, citing Nigeria's 'Clean Nigeria' campaign as influenced by the Swachh Bharat Mission, and countries of the Global South looking at the Jal Jeevan Mission as a model to replicate with people's participation, strong government leadership and adequate financing.

Jha said that during a recent visit to New Delhi he had encouraged Indian officials to share this experience at the UN Water Conference, which the United Arab Emirates and Senegal will co-host in Abu Dhabi from December 8 to 10. A UN official, Stephanie Rambler, said India is expected to send a large high-level delegation and organise a side event on 'river cities'. Jha acknowledged that India still faces considerable water challenges, but said the progress at central and state levels offers valuable lessons for other countries.