The challenge of economic regulation of water and sanitation in urban India

India has a high population, low-income economy with increasingly dynamic economic growth in urban areas. However, there is a growing realisation that ‘state-of-the-art’ call centres and software development companies should not co-exist with poorly serviced slums at their entrances. Urban services such as power and telecommunications are in various stages of institutional reform through private sector involvement and the development of economic regulation. The water and sewerage sector seems to be most reluctant to join the reform process as numerous attempts at privatisation have failed and economic regulation has yet to be introduced. Through comparisons with the electricity sector, this study considers how economic regulation might challenge the public providers of water in Jaipur, Rajasthan and possible effects on the needs for water and sanitation of the poorest.