🌿 Environment & EcologyMAINS · GS3.14 · GS3.4

'Catch the Rain': a renewed national campaign to harvest every drop this monsoon

Following the Prime Minister's Mann Ki Baat call to save every drop of rain, a focused nationwide 'Catch the Rain' campaign (4 July-4 August) is intensifying rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge and the revival of traditional water bodies — with mass public participation.

What happened

A focused nationwide 'Catch the Rain' campaign runs from 4 July to 4 August 2026.
It responds to the PM's 'Mann Ki Baat' (135th episode, 28 June) call to save every drop of rain.
The focus is rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge and restoring traditional water bodies, plus plantation.
Tasks include harvesting systems in homes/societies/workplaces, recharge pits and shafts, and repairing unused borewells.
Run under the Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain (Ministry of Jal Shakti), it stresses mass public participation for water security.

For Prelims

Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain (JSA:CTR): The Ministry of Jal Shakti campaign to harvest rainwater and recharge groundwater — theme 'Catch the Rain, Where it Falls, When it Falls'.
Rainwater harvesting: Capturing and storing rain (rooftop/surface) for use or to recharge aquifers; recharge pits/shafts help water percolate down.
Groundwater stress: India is among the world's largest groundwater extractors; over-extraction has depleted aquifers in many regions.
Traditional water bodies: Reviving tanks, ponds and stepwells (desilting) restores local storage and recharge.
Jan-Bhagidari: A people's-participation approach — making conservation a mass movement, not just a government programme.
Why it matters: Capturing monsoon rain supports water security, agriculture and climate resilience amid erratic rainfall.

For UPSC: A useful water-security-and-environment item — a mass campaign for rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge. Use it for water conservation and the Jal Shakti Abhiyan, groundwater depletion, reviving traditional water bodies, and Jan-Bhagidari (community participation) in environmental action.

What it is NOT: This is an awareness-and-mobilisation campaign (a time-bound conservation drive), not a new scheme or law. It builds on the ongoing Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain rather than being a fresh programme.

For Mains

Syllabus: GS3.14 · GS3.4 · Linkage L2

Anchor

Water security through conservation — capturing monsoon rain and recharging groundwater as a mass movement.

Substantiation (data)

'Catch the Rain' campaign (4 July-4 Aug 2026) after the PM's Mann Ki Baat call; rainwater harvesting, recharge pits/shafts, borewell repair and reviving water bodies under Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain.

Exemplification

Rooftop harvesting, recharge structures and desilting of tanks/ponds; Jan-Bhagidari mobilisation.

Problematisation

Groundwater over-extraction, maintenance of structures, and translating campaigns into sustained behaviour and recharge.

Way-forward

Mainstream harvesting/recharge in buildings and villages, revive water bodies, and sustain community participation and monitoring.

Position

Decentralised rainwater harvesting and community participation are central to India's water security.

Deploys into: Environment — conservation + water/irrigation (GS3.14, GS3.4) · rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge (Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain), reviving traditional water bodies, and Jan-Bhagidari.

PIB Backgrounder / Ministry of Jal Shakti · 2026-07-19 · PRID 2286237 · PIB source ↗