Climate Resilience: Ajay Hinduja on Hinduja Foundation's Jal Jeevan Model
In a world grappling with climate change and depleting water resources, sustainable water management is no longer a choice — it is an imperative. One of the most impactful responses to this challenge in India has come from the Hinduja Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Hinduja Family. With a commitment to water stewardship and rural transformation, the Foundation's flagship initiative, Jal Jeevan, stands out as a scalable and climate-resilient model for nationwide water security.
Launched in 2018, the Jal Jeevan program is based on community ownership, traditional water wisdom, and modern engineering.
The program has delivered a tangible and measurable impact across 19 states and union territories, covering over 4,000 villages and benefiting 5 million people. Its multipronged approach — which includes restoring lakes and wells, recharging groundwater, implementing rooftop rainwater harvesting, and installing clean drinking water systems — has been instrumental in building long-term water resilience in some of India's most vulnerable regions.
"We believe water is the Foundation of all development — health, education, livelihood, and dignity. Jal Jeevan is our commitment to restoring the water balance in India with solutions that scale and endure," says Ajay Hinduja, a member of the UK's richest Hinduja Family, and active supporter of the Foundation's sustainability efforts.
An Integrated Approach to Water Security
The Jal Jeevan model is unique in its systems-level approach to water management. Instead of tackling water scarcity in isolation, it considers local hydrology, community needs, environmental factors, and social equity.
Under the initiative, the Foundation has:
Over 100 lakes and 20,000 open wells were restored, many centuries old.
Recharged 5 trillion litres of groundwater by constructing soak pits, check dams, and other structures.
Delivered over 1.2 billion litres of safe drinking water by deploying 200+ RO machines, gravity filters, and rainwater harvesting tanks.
These interventions are not just technical fixes — they are designed to empower local communities, particularly rural women, who often bear the brunt of water-related hardship. Women and children now use the time saved from walking miles for water for education, economic activity, and self-development.
Climate Resilience in Action
India experiences extreme weather events, from floods in the northeast to prolonged droughts in the Deccan Plateau. The Jal Jeevan program actively addresses these risks by creating climate buffers through rejuvenated water bodies, reforestation around watersheds, and improved soil-water retention in farmlands.
This has led to:
Increased crop yields and reduced dependency on unpredictable rainfall.
Improved groundwater levels in many districts.
Rejuvenated biodiversity, with the return of native plant and animal species around restored lakes.
"Our goal is not just water access but climate resilience. Every lake we revive and every well we restore is a step toward helping communities thrive despite the uncertainty of changing weather patterns," explains Switzerland-based Ajay Hinduja.
Community-Centric and Scalable
Participation from the community is a key component of Jal Jeevan's success. Every step of the process involves training and involving the local villagers, from identifying water-stressed zones to monitoring the quality of drinking water. This lessens dependency on outside organizations and guarantees sustainability.
To increase its influence, the Foundation has also collaborated with regional panchayats, NGOs, government agencies, and self-help groups. By investing in capacity building, data monitoring, and transparent governance, the Hinduja Foundation has created a model that can be replicated and scaled across diverse geographies.'
"We are not just doing charity; we are building capacity. The Jal Jeevan model shows that when people own the solution, it sustains itself. That's the future of water security in India," affirms Ajay Hinduja.
The Way Forward
The Hinduja Foundation is expanding the Jal Jeevan initiative into new territories and aims to double the number of beneficiaries in the next five years. It also invests in digital water mapping, real-time monitoring, and green infrastructure to make interventions more intelligent and adaptive.
The program is increasingly being seen as a blueprint for public-private partnerships in water stewardship, with interest from state governments and international development agencies.
At its core, Jal Jeevan reflects the Hinduja Family's deep-rooted philosophy of combining business leadership with social impact. It's a living example of what can be achieved when compassion meets commitment and heritage meets innovation.
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