In his address to the joint sitting of both houses of the new Indian Parliament on 7 June 2004 the new Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam referred several times to water and sanitation. Here are excerpts:

• A substantial portion of government’s investment will be channeled to the villages, with special emphasis on improving basic infrastructure such as roads, power and drinking water in rural areas.

• Village women and their associations will be encouraged to assume responsibility for all development schemes relating to drinking water, sanitation, primary education, health and nutrition.

• The government is concerned that a significant portion of [the] population does not have access to safe drinking water. [It] will work with the state governments to draw up innovative schemes including harvesting rainwater and de-silting existing ponds. Effective measures will be taken to put an end to the acute shortage of drinking water in drought prone areas and in cities like Chennai, including [...] desalination plants [...]. Special problems of habitations in hilly terrains will be addressed immediately.

• Public-private partnerships will be encouraged for expansion of physical infrastructure such as roads, ports, airports, power, railways, water supply and sanitation.

Source: Indian Express, 7 Jun 2004