The information was shared by Minister of State for Jal Shakti V Somanna in a written reply to an unstarred question in the Lok Sabha regarding universal coverage under the Jal Jeevan Mission. Nationally, the government said that when the mission was launched in 2019, only 3.24 crore rural households (16.72 per cent) had tap water connections. As of July 18, 2026, the number has increased to 15.89 crore households, covering 82.09 per cent of the country’s 19.36 crore rural households. According to the state-wise data, West Bengal has the highest number of uncovered rural households at 75.74 lakh, followed by Rajasthan (44.02 lakh), Kerala (31.74 lakh), Madhya Pradesh (27.85 lakh) and Jharkhand (27.84 lakh). Jammu and Kashmir accounts for 3.60 lakh uncovered households, while neighbouring Ladakh has only 699 households yet to receive tap water connections.