ANNOUNCEMENTS
Access to reliable water infrastructure plays a critical role in promoting sustainable economic development, particularly in rural areas of developing countries. This study assesses the economic impact of India’s flagship rural water supply initiative, the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), which aims to provide Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC) to all rural households by 2024. While the program’s primary objectives relate to health, hygiene, and ease of living, this research investigates whether improved rural water access has any measurable influence on agricultural economic output, using Agricultural Gross Value Added (Agri-GVA) as a proxy for rural economic performance.
To evaluate this, a fixed-effects panel regression model was employed using state-level data from 2011 to 2023 across 28 Indian states. The key explanatory variable was the lagged FHTC coverage, representing delayed economic effects of water access, while annual rainfall was included as a climatic control. The model controlled for state and year fixed effects and used robust standard errors clustered at the state level to address heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation.
The results indicate that while rainfall has a statistically significant negative impact on agricultural output—possibly due to climatic extremes and infrastructure vulnerabilities—the lagged FHTC coverage under JJM does not show a significant short-term impact on Agri-GVA. This suggests that while water access is vital for household welfare, its economic spillover into agriculture may be indirect, delayed, or moderated by other structural factors such as irrigation coverage, landholding patterns, and market access.
The study contributes to the infrastructure and development literature by evaluating a centrally implemented policy in a diverse federal setting. It concludes with policy recommendations for integrating household water access with agricultural infrastructure and calls for broader indicators to capture long-term welfare gains.
Keywords: Jal Jeevan Mission, Functional Household Tap Connections, Agricultural GVA, Water Infrastructure, Fixed-Effects Model, Panel Data, Rural Development, India, Rainfall, Public Policy Evaluation.
