·       Launched in 2019 under the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

·       Aims to create water supply infrastructure for rural households, ensuring every household has Functional Tap Connection (FHTC) by 2024.

·       Focus Areas: Recharge and reuse through grey water management; Water conservation initiatives; and Rainwater harvesting to ensure sustainable water supply.

Arsenic (As)

·       Naturally occurring trace element found in many minerals, usually in combination with sulphur and metals.

·       Highly toxic in its inorganic form.

·       Long-term exposure linked to cancer, skin lesions, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes.

·       In-utero and early childhood exposure linked to negative impacts on cognitive development and increased deaths in young adults.

·       In Taiwan, arsenic exposure linked to “Blackfoot disease,” a severe vascular disease leading to gangrene.

·       World Health Organization’s provisional guideline value for arsenic in drinking water: 0.01 mg/l (10 μg/l).

·       India’s permissible limit in the absence of an alternative source: 0.05 mg/l (50 μg/l).

·       Arsenic in groundwater first reported in 1980 in West Bengal, India.

·       Maximum number of arsenic-affected habitations exists in the Ganga and Brahmaputra alluvial plains.