J-PAL South Asia Launches SARWA to Design and Scale Solutions for Air and Water Pollution in India

On September 6–7, 2023, J-PAL South Asia launched the Solutions and Advancements through Research for Air and Water (SARWA) initiative at a formal event in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Supported by Community Jameel, SARWA is one of three newly established J-PAL Air and Water Labs globally. In India, the initiative is being implemented in close collaboration with the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India) and the Gujarat Pollution Control Board.

SARWA’s goal is to advance access to clean air and water by partnering with government stakeholders to design, test, and scale evidence-informed programmes. Through the initiative, J-PAL researchers will work with public agencies to jointly identify priority policy challenges, improve the use of high-quality data in decision-making, evaluate promising interventions, and support the scale-up of effective solutions.

India faces substantial environmental health challenges: as of 2018, nearly 75 percent of households lacked access to on-premise drinking water, and air pollution is estimated to reduce average life expectancy by five years. SARWA will focus on addressing these gaps through rigorous research and long-term policy engagement.

The SARWA Lab in India is part of a broader global effort by J-PAL and Community Jameel to improve environmental outcomes in vulnerable geographies. Parallel labs are being launched by J-PAL Middle East and North Africa and J-PAL Africa in partnership with local governments in Egypt and South Africa. Together, the Air and Water Labs will serve populations totaling nearly 260 million people.