The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, released the Policy on Data Sharing, Interoperability and Stakeholder Access in New Delhi. It sets up a federated data-sharing framework linking the Centre, States, UTs, Gram Panchayats and approved stakeholders in rural drinking water, using common identifiers, standard metadata, interoperable registries and secure digital services. Gram Panchayats get a larger role in asset monitoring, grievance redressal and service accountability. Purpose-based data access will enable AI analytics, geospatial planning, water-quality monitoring and Digital Twins. The policy forms part of the Sujalam Bharat Digital Public Infrastructure under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) 2.0.