Arghyam at 25: Reflecting on India’s water journey and reimagining the future

Water has always shaped India’s story. It determines livelihoods, public health, food security, ecosystems and economic growth. Yet for decades, the country’s water challenges were often treated as isolated technical problems, addressed through infrastructure projects or short-term interventions.

The reality has always been more complex. Water is inseparable from governance, community participation, ecological stewardship and public accountability. It is a question not only of access but also of how societies manage a shared resource amid competing demands and growing climate uncertainty.

Few organisations have witnessed this transformation as closely as Arghyam. Founded in 2001 by philanthropist Rohini Nilekani, Arghyam entered a sector that received relatively little philanthropic attention despite its central importance to everyday life. Over the next twenty-five years, the organisation would help shape conversations around groundwater governance, sanitation, community participation, water security, knowledge sharing and increasingly, digital public infrastructure for public service delivery.

To mark its twenty-fifth anniversary, Arghyam convened practitioners, researchers, government officials, community leaders, civil society organisations, philanthropists and long-standing partners in Bengaluru on April 20. More than a celebration, the gathering became a collective reflection on India’s changing water landscape, the lessons learned through decades of experimentation, and the opportunities that lie ahead in a world increasingly defined by climate change and technological transformation.

Through keynote addresses, community voices, partner reflections and the launch of new digital tools, the event offered a reminder that lasting change rarely comes from infrastructure alone. It emerges through relationships, trust, learning and the ability to adapt.

Learning From the Ground: Building Knowledge, Inclusion and Systems Thinking

Arghyam Chairperson Sunita Nadhamuni used her opening remarks to reflect on the lessons accumulated through years of engagement with communities across India. From the beginning, she explained, Arghyam wanted to be more than a grant-making institution. “We didn’t want to just write cheques; we wanted to build our implementation muscle,” she said.

The organisation chose to work alongside partners in the field, learning through experimentation and practical engagement. Failure was treated as a valuable source of insight. “Failures, we had an entire conference dedicated to failures. What leads to failure in the water sector and how to support it,” said Sunita Nadhamuni.

One of the earliest lessons concerned groundwater, the invisible resource that sustains much of rural India. She said, “Communities cannot manage what they cannot see.” Working with organisations such as ACWADAM Advanced Centre for Water Resources Development and Management, and groundwater practitioners across the country, Arghyam supported efforts to simplify hydrogeology so that villagers could understand aquifers, monitor groundwater levels and participate in decisions regarding extraction and recharge. Inclusion became another foundational principle. “Every individual has to be included – no exemptions.”

Drawing on experiences such as Gram Vikas’s work in Odisha, Nadhamuni emphasised that sustainable outcomes depend not merely on infrastructure but on collective ownership and participation. The organisation’s work in sanitation, watershed management and urban water systems also reinforced a broader insight: water challenges cannot be addressed in isolation. Water, sanitation, wastewater, livelihoods and ecosystems are deeply interconnected.

Knowledge sharing became equally central. “Knowledge that is shared openly can just multiply," she says. Platforms such as India Water Portal, conferences, practitioner networks and learning exchanges helped create a knowledge commons where ideas could move across regions and institutions.

Around 2017, Arghyam began confronting a difficult question: how could successful local innovations reach millions more people? “The problems were outpacing solutions,” Nadhamuni observed. The answer led the organisation towards systems-level engagement through digital tools, public systems and scalable governance models. Collaborations involving platforms such as CLART, mGramSeva, AVNI and GIS-based planning systems explored how technology could strengthen accountability and decision-making without replacing community agency.

An Offering Becomes a Movement

The emotional centrepiece of the event came through the reflections of Arghyam founder Rohini Nilekani, who recounted the organisation’s origins with characteristic honesty and humility. “There was no grand blueprint,” she acknowledged. Arghyam began as a vehicle for learning and engagement. Even the organisation’s name was suggested by her mother. Arghyam means an offering.

The defining moment arrived in 2005 when Nilekani was exploring where to direct a larger philanthropic commitment. After examining multiple sectors without finding clarity, she experienced what she described as a sudden moment of conviction. “I felt like I heard a voice saying, it is the water. That's what you must work on. You must work on water,” she said.

That deeply personal insight would shape one of India’s most influential water-focused philanthropies. Throughout her address, Nilekani challenged purely technical understandings of water. She said, “Water is not just a resource. It’s a relationship.”

The statement captured a philosophy that has guided Arghyam’s work for twenty-five years: sustainable water management depends as much on stewardship, governance and collective responsibility as it does on engineering solutions. Her reflections were equally notable for their candour. “Oh my God, we made so many mistakes,” recalls Rohini. One example involved an early national survey that failed to adequately capture gender dimensions, exposing institutional blind spots and reinforcing the importance of learning through failure.

She also reflected on how Arghyam’s understanding of scale evolved over time. “I don’t think scale is a repetitive cookie-cutter idea of scale,” she said. Instead of replicating standardised models, she argued for creating what she called a “distributed ability to solve,” in which communities, institutions and governments develop the capacity to address local challenges in locally relevant ways.

Partnerships emerged as another defining theme. Recalling a formative conversation with one of Arghyam’s earliest collaborators and a former member of the Planning Commission and co-founder of Samaj Pragati Sahayog, Dr Mihir Shah, Nilekani remembered being told, "We are not your grantees. This is an equal relationship. We are partners.” That principle would become foundational to Arghyam’s approach and was echoed repeatedly throughout the day by organisations that have worked alongside the institution for decades.

Climate Change and India’s Unfinished Water Agenda

The keynote address by environmentalist Sunita Narain placed the day’s reflections within the wider context of climate change and water security. Drawing on recent meteorological trends, Narain delivered a stark warning. “India has seen one extreme weather event almost every day in 2025,” she says. Individual disasters may dominate headlines, she argued, but the cumulative picture reveals the true scale of the crisis. She adds, "The full picture tells you the scale of the crisis.”

Climate change is altering India’s hydrological reality. Sunita says, "You will see more rain because the heating of the oceans will lead to more rain, but in fewer hours.” The consequences include more intense flooding, reduced groundwater recharge, prolonged dry spells and greater vulnerability for agriculture and drinking water systems. Yet Narain’s central message was not about inventing new solutions. “We are not talking about a newfangled agenda. We are talking about the scale and speed of the old agenda,” she says.

Rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge, watershed restoration, water-efficient livelihoods, wastewater reuse and local stewardship remain the right answers. The challenge is implementing them at the pace demanded by climate change. Reflecting on the evolution of India’s water sector, she noted, "Rain is decentralised; so is the supply of water.”

Narain highlighted several achievements, including more than 100 million water-related assets created under MGNREGA, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, around 70,000 rejuvenated water bodies under the Amrit Sarovar initiative, nearly 158 million household tap connections under the Jal Jeevan Mission and more than 120 million rural toilets constructed under the Swachh Bharat Mission.

“The government policy has been dynamic. It has learnt from what I call the development laboratory.” But she cautioned against complacency. “Groundwater is still treated as minor irrigation,” she said. Among the priorities she identified were stronger local institutions, improved groundwater governance and better convergence between sectors responsible for land, forests, water and ecosystems.

Her critique of urban water management was equally sharp. “Cities do not consume water. They take water and, they give back waste.” The future, she argued, demands accountability not only for water supply but also for pollution and ecological stewardship. Her final message resonated throughout the hall. “The pilot project phase is over.”

Frontline Voices: Lived Experiences Shaping India’s Water Future

Moderated by Uzra Sultana of Arghyam, the panel on Lived Experiences of Frontline Workers brought together community leaders, water practitioners and local champions from diverse geographies across India. Representing the Himalayas, floodplains, drought-affected regions, saline landscapes and groundwater-stressed areas, the speakers demonstrated how local knowledge and persistence are transforming water security on the ground.

Introducing the session, Uzra noted that although participants are known by different titles such as Jal Mitras, Bhujal Jankars, Gram Kaayaka Mitras, community resource persons, and para hydrogeologists, they are united by a shared commitment to strengthening local water systems.

The stories revealed how water challenges shape lives from childhood. Roki Ray, an Assistant Engineer from Assam’s Public Health Engineering Department, reflected on growing up in a state rich in water resources, only to realise later that “quality of water is also a big issue.” His posting in the remote hills of West Karbi Anglong exposed him to communities, particularly women, walking long distances to collect water despite living in a water-abundant state. The experience transformed his understanding of water access and equity.

Several speakers described overcoming social and economic barriers. Shashikala MS from Kolar, Karnataka, moved from being an MGNREGA worker to becoming a Grama Kaayaka Mitra and community resource person. C Bakka Reddy, an Associate Director at WASSAN from Telangana, recounted walking 16 kilometres daily to attend school in a village without bus connectivity before dedicating his career to watershed development and participatory groundwater management. Deo Kumar Singh, Grama panchayat mukhiya from Bihar, recalled a childhood marked by severe water scarcity, when a single village well often ran dry, shaping his later commitment to public service.

From Gujarat, Hirbai Ben Devandhbhai Gadhavi, a Bhujal Jankar, described how worsening groundwater depletion affected generations of her family. Recalling stories from elders, she observed that each generation had to draw water from increasing depths and asked what future generations would inherit. This concern inspired her work in groundwater stewardship.

Khashti Koranga, a field coordinator from Uttarakhand, spoke about growing up in a remote village lacking roads, electricity, healthcare and a reliable water supply. She walked long distances to school carrying water vessels and later witnessed women spending hours each day fetching water after marriage. Determined to create change, she joined the People’s Science Institute to work on water and women’s empowerment.

The discussion also highlighted innovation. Roki Ray shared how collaboration with Arghyam enabled digital tools such as Jal Sarthi, Jal Soochak, and AI-enabled monitoring systems that simplify reporting by Jal Mitras and strengthen service delivery. These initiatives help track thousands of rural water supply schemes while ensuring citizen feedback informs decision-making.

Together, the panel illustrated how lived experience often becomes the foundation for leadership. Across regions and contexts, the speakers demonstrated that sustainable water management depends not only on infrastructure and technology but also on empowered local champions who understand community realities and drive change from within.

Partnerships, Learning and Community Action Shape 25 Years of Water Work

Partners from across India reflected on how long-term collaboration, trust and shared learning have helped shape water security efforts in diverse landscapes, from the floodplains of Bihar and the deserts of Kutch to the springs of the Himalayas.

Opening the session, moderator Eklavya Prasad of Megh Pyne Abhiyan urged participants to look beyond achievements and focus on “what actually triggered the impacts". He invited partners to revisit the journeys, relationships and ideas that enabled lasting change.

Ghazala Paul from Samerth Charitable Trust recalled her first interaction with Arghyam in 2006, when a simple concept note on water challenges in post-earthquake Kutch led to a partnership that transformed the organisation. “Arghyam did not give us a project. It gave us an opportunity,” she said. Through mentorship, technical training and support for village-level water security planning, Samarth strengthened its work in Kutch and later expanded to Chhattisgarh. Today, the organisation supports vulnerable communities across regions and has leveraged over ₹272 crore through MGNREGA for water conservation. Reflecting on the relationship, Ghazala noted, “The donors and partners became real partners. They became friends.”

Dr Sazina Bhimani of ACT Arid Communities and Technologies from Gujarat highlighted how Arghyam’s support enabled pioneering work on participatory groundwater management in Kutch. Early efforts produced village-level drinking water security plans for 183 settlements and led to groundwater protection guidelines, monitoring systems and aquifer-based planning. “Without monitoring and measuring, groundwater management is not possible,” she recalled from early discussions that shaped the approach. The work evolved into a recognised model for managing deep aquifers, influenced policy initiatives, supported the creation of more than 300 recharge structures and contributed to a formal diploma programme on participatory groundwater management through Kutch University.

Representing the Himalayan region, Dr Vinod Kothari of Himotthan Society described how technology and scientific mapping strengthened spring management efforts in Uttarakhand. With more than 94 percent of mountain water needs dependent on springs, systematic mapping and monitoring became critical. Partnerships with government agencies helped establish institutional mechanisms for spring rejuvenation and decision support systems. According to Kothari, the effort demonstrates how data, community stewardship and technology can improve water security and quality of life.

Ravindra from WASSAN Watershed Support Services and Activities Network reflected on how engagement with participatory groundwater management shifted the organisation’s perspective from water conservation alone to questions of equity and access. Recognising that many rainfed farmers remain excluded from groundwater benefits, WASSAN developed “water collectives” that enable farmers with and without water access to share resources and secure crops during droughts. “The people worst affected are the people who do not have access,” he said, emphasising the importance of inclusive water governance in a changing climate.

Together, the speakers highlighted a common lesson: meaningful water security emerges not only from infrastructure and funding but also from relationships, local knowledge, data-driven decision-making and sustained community participation.

JalSoochak and the Future of Water Governance

A major highlight of the event was the launch of JalSoochak, a digital platform developed through collaboration between Arghyam and the Government of Assam. Speaking virtually, IAS officer, Mission Director of Jal Jeevan Mission, Assam, and Secretary to the Govt of Assam Public Health Engineering Department, Kailash Karthik, described Assam’s ambitious strategy under the Jal Jeevan Mission. He said, “Our focus in terms of bridging this access problem was to build a lot of single village schemes. So we ended up building nearly about 25,000 of them.”

Each scheme operates as a decentralised community-managed system. “The design per se was to make this a community-orientated scheme where the operations and maintenance is also to be run by the community,” he says.

But monitoring thousands of schemes presented a major challenge. “It was becoming like a black box where we were not aware of which scheme worked today and which scheme did not work,” says Karthik.

JalSoochak addresses this challenge by enabling pump operators to upload photographs of flow metres. Artificial intelligence extracts readings and converts them into actionable operational data. “We reached out to Arghyam to help us build out a machine learning model using computer vision to extract the digits that are available in the bulk flow metre device.”

Deepak Gupta, Director of Digital Infrastructure and Urban Partnerships at Arghyam, described the initiative as an example of public-purpose-driven innovation. He says, “Innovation does not happen under the fear of failure. It needs patience, commitment and trust.” After developing a customised model, the team achieved remarkable accuracy. “We have built a successful AI vision model with a precision of 97 per cent,” he adds.

The larger ambition extends beyond technology itself. Rather than forcing the user to go towards the data, can data be moved towards the user? For Gupta, scalable innovation requires common public infrastructure. “Solutions like JalSoochak cannot actually replicate across the country until you have a common digital rail on which the solution can be replicated,” he says.

Twenty-five years after it began as an offering, Arghyam’s journey mirrors the evolution of India’s water movement itself. What started with local experiments and community partnerships has expanded into a broader effort to influence policy, strengthen institutions and build systems capable of serving millions.

The anniversary gathering demonstrated that India already possesses many of the ideas required to secure its water future. Groundwater literacy, community stewardship, ecological restoration, knowledge sharing and public accountability are no longer fringe concepts. They have become central to national conversations and public programmes.

The challenge now is different. Climate extremes are intensifying. Water insecurity is becoming more complex. Citizens increasingly expect reliable services and responsive institutions.

Meeting these challenges will require more than infrastructure. It will demand stronger local institutions, deeper partnerships, better data, thoughtful use of technology and a continued commitment to learning from the people closest to the problem.

As Sunita Narain reminded participants, the era of small experiments is over. The task ahead is not discovering new solutions but ensuring proven ones reach every community at the scale and speed the moment demands.

If the past twenty-five years have shown anything, it is that meaningful change begins when knowledge, trust and collective action flow together. India’s next chapter in water governance will depend on sustaining all three.