The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti, today culminated weeks of intensive deliberations on strengthening service delivery and sustainability at the grassroots with a demonstration of the upgraded Rural Piped Water Supply Schemes (RPWSS) module – a major stride towards digital transformation in rural water governance.

The meeting was chaired by Shri Ashok K. K. Meena, Secretary, DDWS, and attended by Shri Kamal Kishore Soan, Additional Secretary and Mission Director, National Jal Jeevan Mission (NJJM), and Smt. Swati Meena Naik, Joint Secretary, along with senior officials from the Ministry and from States/UTs like Karnataka, Punjab, Ladakh, Sikkim and Lakshadweep physically. Over 1,000 participants from all States and Union Territories, including their Mission Directors joined the session virtually.

In his address, Secretary, DDWS stated that the new RPWSS module will serve as a cornerstone of transparency, accountability, and efficiency under Jal Jeevan Mission. RPWSS will act as a Digital Registry for Rural Piped Water Supply Schemes (RPWSS) and rollout of unique RPWSS IDs — a step towards smarter and efficient O&M of rural water infrastructure. He described the RPWSS ID as a unique digital identity tag for every piped water supply scheme — enabling transparency, traceability, geo-tagged data for effective monitoring, operation, and maintenance (O&M) and data-driven governance. He urged all States and UTs to prioritize and complete the creation of RPWSS IDs by November 2025, ensuring full data integrity and coverage.

Shri Kamal Kishore Soan, Additional Secretary & Mission Director, NJJM, reiterated the importance of creating unique RPWSS IDs for each scheme to ensure transparency and accountability in implementation. He also echoed the Secretary’s vision of establishing a verified, data-driven mechanism for efficient operation and maintenance (O&M) across all levels. Smt. Swati Meena Naik, Joint Secretary-NJJM welcomed participants and highlighted the importance of establishing a structured digital backbone for rural water management.

States and Union Territories committed to ensuring that all rural water supply assets are accurately reflected on the portal, underscoring their shared responsibility in building a reliable and verifiable national database for rural water systems.

The upgraded RPWSS module represents a major leap towards building a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for the rural water supply sector. The system facilitates the creation of a GIS-based digital asset registry, capturing every component of a piped water supply scheme, right from water source and treatment plant to pipelines, distribution networks, and household tap connections, and linking them spatially through the PM Gati Shakti platform.

Empowering Panchayats and Strengthening Local Governance

Through the RPWSS framework, Panchayats and Village Water & Sanitation Committees (VWSCs) will gain access to real-time, verified data on water systems, allowing them to monitor functionality, track water quality, and make informed decisions on O&M. By empowering local institutions with digital tools and insights, the system aims to strengthen decentralized governance and ensure true community ownership of rural water infrastructure.

The new platform is also designed to create local livelihood opportunities and skill development pathways in the rural WASH sector, from data management and asset mapping to predictive maintenance and analytics. These emerging skill domains will help strengthen rural economies, enhance service reliability, and build self-sustaining systems.

Enhancing Efficiency through Technology

The upgraded module integrates real-time dashboards, predictive analytics for source sustainability, maintenance scheduling, and decision-support systems for O&M. The RPWSS ID initiative forms a foundational layer of DPI for rural water supply, enabling GIS-based monitoring, asset management, analytics dashboards, predictive maintenance, decision support, and the creation of digital twins for improved O&M efficiency.

The meeting concluded with an announcement of successive training sessions and workshops to assist States and field functionaries in adopting the new digital framework, ensuring that the RPWSS system evolves into a robust foundation for sustained service delivery under the Jal Jeevan Mission.

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MAM/SMP