Towards Water-Secure Cities: MoHUA Accelerates ‘Catch the Rain’ Campaign Across Urban India

Have sufficient grounded facts (>4) from PIB Tier-1 sources. Writing the study note.

Towards Water-Secure Cities: MoHUA's 'Catch the Rain' Campaign

1. At a Glance

• MoHUA (Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs) is scaling up rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge, and water body rejuvenation in urban India under the AMRUT 2.0 mission, aligned with the PM's "Catch the Rain – Where it Falls, When it Falls" campaign [S1].
• Over 900 ULBs across 27 States/UTs are mobilized, covering 1.21 lakh acres of water bodies and 1,800+ acres of green/park spaces [S1].
• Relevant for Prelims (scheme facts, numbers) and Mains GS-III (urban water security, climate resilience) and GS-II (Centre-state/urban governance).
• Demonstrates convergence between MoHUA and Ministry of Jal Shakti schemes (AMRUT 2.0 + Jal Shakti Abhiyan).

2. Why in the News

• PIB press release dated 13 July 2026 highlighted accelerated progress of the 'Catch the Rain' campaign in urban areas, citing fresh cumulative figures on recharge structures, water body and green space rejuvenation under AMRUT 2.0 [S1].

3. Background & Evolution

• AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) — original scheme; AMRUT 2.0 launched by the PM on 1 October 2021 alongside Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 [S2][S3].
• AMRUT 2.0 total indicative outlay: ₹2,99,000 crore, including Central share of ₹76,760 crore, for FY 2021-22 to FY 2025-26 (5-year mission period) [S2].
• 'Catch the Rain' campaign originates from the Ministry of Jal Shakti's nationwide rainwater harvesting drive; current phase referenced is Jal Shakti Abhiyan–Jan Bhagidari (JSJB) 2.0, with MoHUA converging urban interventions into it [S1].
• MoHUA has layered a Shallow Aquifer Management (SAM) Programme for scientific, localized groundwater recharge under AMRUT 2.0 [S1].

4. Core Static Facts

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

Environmental - Targets groundwater table recovery, urban flood resilience, and reduced urban heat stress via green-space expansion [S1]. - Water body rejuvenation includes desilting, shoreline protection, and biodiversity enhancement [S1].

Administrative - Implementation is ULB-led, requiring convergence between two ministries (MoHUA and Jal Shakti) — a test of inter-ministerial and Centre-state-local coordination [S1]. - Scale (900+ ULBs, 27 States/UTs) indicates near-national rollout but uneven capacity across Municipal Corporations vs smaller ULBs (79 vs 738 in the two recharge-structure tallies) [S1].

Economic - Backed by AMRUT 2.0's large multi-year outlay (₹2,99,000 crore total), positioning water security as part of broader urban infrastructure financing [S2].

Social/Governance - "Jan Bhagidari" (people's participation) framing signals citizen/community involvement as a governance design choice, not just top-down engineering [S1].

Scientific/Technological - SAM Programme signals a shift from generic to hydrogeologically-tailored, evidence-based recharge structure design [S1].

6. Recent Developments (last 12-18 months)

• 13 July 2026: PIB release consolidating national progress — 900+ ULBs, 1.21 lakh acres of water bodies, recharge structure counts released [S1].
• Ongoing convergence with JSJB 2.0 (a Jal Shakti Abhiyan iteration) indicating this is a recurring, phased national campaign rather than a one-time drive [S1].

7. Prelims Hooks

• 'Catch the Rain' campaign's tagline: "Where it Falls, When it Falls" [S1].
• Nodal ministry for urban implementation of 'Catch the Rain': MoHUA (not Ministry of Jal Shakti, which runs the parent Jal Shakti Abhiyan) [S1].
• AMRUT 2.0 launched 1 October 2021 by the Prime Minister, alongside SBM-Urban 2.0 [S2][S3].
• AMRUT 2.0 total outlay: ₹2,99,000 crore; Central share ₹76,760 crore [S2].
• AMRUT 2.0 mission period: FY 2021-22 to FY 2025-26 [S2].
• Over 900 ULBs across 27 States/UTs mobilized under the campaign [S1].
• 1.21 lakh acres of water bodies being rejuvenated under the campaign [S1].
• 1,99,278 recharge structures taken up by 79 Municipal Corporations [S1].
• 73,036 recharge structures across 738 ULBs [S1].
• The urban convergence programme is called Jal Shakti Abhiyan–Jan Bhagidari (JSJB) 2.0 [S1].
• MoHUA's scientific groundwater recharge tool is the Shallow Aquifer Management (SAM) Programme [S1].
• Cities named as implementation examples: Burdwan, Vizianagaram, Itanagar, Korba, Warangal [S1].
• AMRUT full form: Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation [S2].

8. Mains Relevance

• GS-III: Infrastructure, conservation, environmental pollution & degradation, disaster management (urban flooding).
• GS-II: Government policies and interventions for development; issues arising from design/implementation (Centre-state-ULB coordination).
• Possible question stems:
• "Urban water security in India is as much a governance challenge as a technical one. Discuss with reference to the 'Catch the Rain' campaign and AMRUT 2.0." (GS-II/III)
• "Examine the role of groundwater recharge structures and water body rejuvenation in enhancing urban climate resilience in India." (GS-III)
• "Critically evaluate the convergence model between MoHUA and Ministry of Jal Shakti in implementing water conservation programmes in cities." (GS-II)

9. Related Topics to Study Next

• Jal Shakti Abhiyan (Jal Shakti Abhiyan–Jan Bhagidari) — the parent rainwater harvesting movement this urban push converges with.
• AMRUT & AMRUT 2.0 full scheme design — funding pattern, components (water supply, sewerage, green spaces).
• Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 — launched alongside AMRUT 2.0, complementary urban sanitation angle.
• Smart Cities Mission — related urban infrastructure governance model for comparison.
• National Water Policy / Atal Bhujal Yojana — broader groundwater governance and rural-urban linkage.
• Urban flooding and heat island effect — environmental science linkage to green space/water body rejuvenation.
• 74th Constitutional Amendment / Municipal governance — legal-administrative base for ULB-led implementation.

10. Common Errors / Trap Areas

• Confusing 'Catch the Rain' (Jal Shakti Abhiyan's campaign, rural+urban) with an MoHUA-origin scheme — MoHUA only implements the urban component via AMRUT 2.0 [S1].
• Mixing up AMRUT (2015) with AMRUT 2.0 (2021) launch years and outlays [S2].
• Assuming JSJB 2.0 is a MoHUA scheme — it is a Jal Shakti Abhiyan initiative that MoHUA converges with, not owns [S1].
• Confusing recharge-structure figures for Municipal Corporations (1,99,278 across 79) with those for other ULBs (73,036 across 738) — these are separate tallies, not additive without care [S1].
• Treating the ₹2,99,000 crore figure as the Central government's contribution — it is the total outlay; Central share is ₹76,760 crore [S2].

11. Sources

• [S1] Towards Water-Secure Cities: MoHUA Accelerates 'Catch the Rain' Campaign Across Urban India — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2284244 — (tier: 1)
• [S2] The Central allocation of ₹66,750/₹76,760 crore for AMRUT 2.0 / AMRUT 2.0 outlay details — https://www.pib.gov.in/Pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=1846993&utm_=&reg=3&lang=2 — (tier: 1)
• [S3] PM to launch Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 and AMRUT 2.0 on 1st October — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1759593 — (tier: 1)