Curtain Raiser  

The Rural WASH Partners' Forum (RWPF), a platform of Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti, for Development and Sector Partners working in the rural WASH sector in India, is celebrating its 1^st anniversary with a two-day National Conference on 21^st July 2023 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The conference will be inaugurated by Union Minister of Jal Shakti Shri. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and bring together stakeholders from across the WASH sector to discuss the progress made in the past year and the path forward to support the expeditious implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) and Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen (SBM-G), the flagship missions of DDWS, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Govt. of India.

The theme of the conference is "Accelerating Progress towards a Swachh Sujal Bharat." The National Conference will provide a forum for partners to share their experiences, learn from each other, and identify new ways to collaborate. The conference will also feature keynote speakers from government, the private sector, and civil society focusing on the following key areas:

• Reviewing the progress made in the past year on JJM and SBM-G
• Identifying the challenges and opportunities for the WASH sector in rural India
• Developing a roadmap for the future of the WASH sector

The National Conference is a unique opportunity for stakeholders from across the WASH sector to come together and discuss how to accelerate progress towards a Swachh Sujal Bharat. For more information, please visit the RWPF website at www.rwpf.in.

DDWS has brought the organizations working in the rural WASH sector under one umbrella as the RWPF for better collaboration & synergy besides creating an environment of learning and knowledge sharing, finding scalable and cost-effective solutions, sharing best practices & success stories while avoiding overlap in efforts.  KPMG India plays the role of Platform Coordinator and facilitates the successful organization of dialogue platforms/events in conjunction with DDWS and other stakeholders. This forum aims to supplement the efforts of DDWS in the implementation of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen – Phase II) and Jal Jeevan Mission through technical support, knowledge sharing and collaborative assistance of organizations having wide outreach and impact in the WASH sector. The RWPF also envisages to build partnerships to leverage the diverse capacities of partners towards achieving Mission objectives. The RWPF was launched in July 2022 and has since grown to include over 200 partners, representing a wide range of expertise and experience.

RWPF envisions partnerships beyond Development Partners and Sector Partners, to Corporates, PSUs, Line Ministries/Departments working associated with WASH sector, International Funding Institutions etc. To ensure cross learnings across the spectrum of stakeholders in WASH, participation has been requested from States/UTs Mission Directors, Secretaries In-charge of JJM and SBM-G, Line Ministries of GoI, Corporates working in WASH sector, Professor Chairs from leading academic institutions and NITI Aayog among others.

About the Rural WASH Partners' Forum

The Rural WASH Partners' Forum (RWPF) is a leading platform for development partners and sector partners working in the rural WASH sector in India. The RWPF's mission is to accelerate progress towards a Swachh Sujal Bharat. The forum works to achieve its mission by:

• Facilitating collaboration between Development Partners and Sector Partners
• Sharing knowledge and best practices
• Identifying and addressing challenges in the WASH sector
• Advocating for policies that support the WASH sector
• Launch special campaign(s) in their thematic area, for better implementation and achievement of Mission objectives.

12 identified thematic areas have been allocated to the Development & Sector Partners after mutual agreement. RWPF Secretariat has been set up at DDWS where KPMG is the platform coordinator to take tasks and activities forward. The list is as following:

The platform facilitates following activities:

• Positioning RWPF as a WASH Think Tank
• Facilitate periodic exchange of ideas among various stakeholders such as States and Development/ Sector partners
• Facilitate technical assistance to States/ UTs for implementation of JJM/ SBM-G and address such State specific needs
• Identify best practices and scalable solutions
• Establish synergies between the Sector partners and the States/ UTs for optimizing efforts in the WASH sector
• Capacity building and awareness creation through Regional and National Conferences, webinars, and trainings on thematic area topics

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Anubhav Singh