Water is a scarce and precious national resource to be planned, developed, conserved and managed as such, and on an integrated and environmentally sound basis, keeping in view the socio-economic aspects and needs of the States. It is one of the most crucial elements in developmental planning. As the country has entered the 21st century, efforts to develop, conserve, utilise and manage this important resource in a sustainable manner, have to be guided by the national perspective.

“Water: An increasingly precious resource Sanitation: A matter of dignity”, have been developed and published by Department for International Development in 2008, is policy report highlights the priorities for tackling water and sanitation issues.

Access to basic sanitation is a crucial human development goal in its own right, but sanitation is also a means to far wider human development ends. Read more in the “Human Development Report 2006' Beyond scarcity: Power, poverty and the global water crisis”. The HDR 2006 is an independent report commissioned by the UNDP for to assess the level of people's long-term well-being.

“Water for All? Implementation of ADB’s Water Policy in India: A Review", written by Dr Renu Khosla, Shveta Mathur, Sumit Chakroborty, A S Dhamija and Abdul Rahim, published in 2006 by WaterAid India. The position paper from WaterAid India presents several case studies of their experiences in Sanitation in different parts of the country.