India, March 22 -- Controlling water leaks, elimination of contamination via outside water were among major challenges faced

In 2017, the Odisha government initiated its 'drink from tap' mission for its urban areas. As of now, it stands as the first and only state in the country to guarantee drinking water quality on household tap connections.

The aim was to reduce the expenditure of money, resources and time involved in fetching water by the urban poor, to eradicate waterborne diseases and eliminate household investments in overhead water tanks, underground reservoirs, motor pumps and reverse osmosis (RO)-based water filters.

Essentially, this means that the state's water department is providing 24x7 'drink from tap' quality water to ...