Jal Shakti Ministry Departmental Summit on Water Governance
Source:PIB ↗
Why It Matters
It highlights institutional mechanisms and departmental initiatives aimed at fostering cooperative federalism and joint action between the Union and States in crucial sectors like water resource management.
Summary
The Ministry of Jal Shakti is hosting the First Departmental Summit to promote cooperative federalism, bringing together central ministries and state/UT stakeholders to streamline water governance, share best practices, and deliberate on national water management strategies.
Key Points
- The Ministry of Jal Shakti is hosting its First Departmental Summit focusing on cooperative federalism and collaborative water governance.
- The summit aligns with the Prime Minister's vision of cooperative federalism to enhance coordination between the Centre and States.
- Discussions center around integrated water resources management, drinking water security, sanitation, and effective implementation of central flagship schemes.
Important Terms
Ministry of Jal Shakti
A ministry under the Government of India tasked with formulating policy, guidelines, and schemes for the development and regulation of India's water resources and sanitation infrastructure.
UPSC context
Important for UPSC CSE Mains GS Paper II and III (Polity and Governance, Water Resources Management, and Environmental Conservation).
Prelims Trap
Water governance falls under the Union List due to overarching central funding and national departmental summits.
Aspirants often assume water is entirely a Union or Concurrent List subject because of central schemes like JJM, whereas 'Water' is primarily a State List subject with specific Union legislative powers for inter-state rivers.
Static Concepts Connected
What are the constitutional provisions governing water resources and inter-state water disputes in India?
- State List:: State List Entry 17 deals with water, including water supplies, irrigation, canals, drainage, embankments, water storage, and water power.
- Union Power:: Union List Entry 56 empowers Parliament to legislate on the regulation and development of inter-state rivers and river valleys.
- Article 262:: Article 262 empowers Parliament by law to provide for the adjudication of any dispute relating to the use, distribution, or control of inter-state river waters.
Cross-Topic Patterns
Water Governance & Constitutional Federalism
Cooperative federalism in water governance directly intersects with Article 262 (inter-state river water disputes) and the legislative competence of states under Entry 17 of the State List.
Fiscal Federalism & Centrally Sponsored Schemes
Centre-state alignment in flagship sanitation schemes reflects fiscal federalism trends where conditional central grants shape state-level public goods delivery.
Centre-state water governance mechanisms + constitutional provisions on water (Entry 17 / Art 262) likely to feature in polity MCQs.
Linked PYQs · 2
Linked PYQs · 2
- 2024MainsGS2
What changes has the Union Government recently introduced in the domain of Centre-State relations ? Suggest measures to be adopted to build the trust between the Centre and the States and for strengthening federalism.
- 2015MainsGS2
The concept of cooperative federalism has been increasingly emphasized in recent years. Highlight the drawbacks in the existing structure and the extent to which cooperative federalism would answer the shortcomings.
