United Nations

India's water management initiatives have emerged as a model for developing countries, a senior World Bank official said, while lauding the country's efforts to improve access to drinking water, restore rivers, and strengthen dam safety.

Global Director for Water at the World Bank Group Saroj Kumar Jha described India's progress as a "remarkable success story", saying developing nations were looking at its experience for solutions to their water challenges.

"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 in response to a question during a virtual press briefing on Friday ahead of the 2026 United Nations Water Conference.

The conference, co-hosted by the United Arab Emirates and Senegal, will be held in Abu Dhabi from December 8 to 10, bringing together world leaders, policymakers and other stakeholders to strengthen international cooperation on water security and sanitation. Jha highlighted several Indian initiatives, including the Jal Jeevan Mission, Namami Gange and Swachh Bharat Mission, saying they offered practical solutions that other countries could replicate.

"We are looking at the entire system of water management in India," he said, acknowledging that the country still faced challenges and had considerable work to do.

"What they have done in this field is really remarkable, at the state level and the central government level,” he said. Jha said during his most recent visit to New Delhi and in meetings with Government of India officials, he has encouraged them to use the UN Water Conference as a “platform and to extensively share these experiences with other countries because India has done what other countries are now trying to work on, and India offers the how-to part of the water solution.”