At the World Economic Forum 2025 in Davos, India showcased its achievements in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) through a session titled “India’s WASH Innovation: Driving Global Impact in Climate and Water Sustainability.” Union Minister of Jal Shakti, C.R. Patil, delivered the keynote address highlighting India’s progress through the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) and Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).
Patil emphasized that under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership, rural household tap water coverage has increased from 17% in 2019 to 79.66% currently. This has resulted in rural India saving 55 million hours daily on water collection. According to WHO, improvements in sanitation over the last decade have prevented 3 lakh deaths of children under five years old.
The session included two panel discussions: “Bringing Global Impact in Water Sustainability” featuring experts from NMCG, UNICEF, and WaterAid; and “Innovation in Global Health Through Sanitation” with participants from the Gates Foundation, Riseberg Ventures, BCHAR, Capgemini, and actor Vivek Oberoi.
Key achievements highlighted included the elimination of open defecation and construction of over 95 million toilets under SBM.
The discussions focused on India’s scalable models for sustainable water management, climate-resilient practices, and public-private collaborations. The session concluded by emphasizing India’s role in advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and SDG 13 (Climate Action), while highlighting the need for collaborative action to address global water challenges.