Context: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) Phase II & Phase III with the financial assistance of the World Bank (WB), and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to improve the safety and operational performance of selected dams across the whole country, along with institutional strengthening with system wide management approach.
Background 

• In April 2012, Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation through Central Water Commission with an objective to improve safety and operational performance of selected dams, along with institutional strengthening with system wide management approach, embarked upon the six year Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) with World Bank assistance at a cost of INR 2100 Crore (US$ 437.5 million).
• The project originally envisaged the rehabilitation and improvement of 223 dam projects in four states namely, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Tamil Nadu. Later Karnataka, Uttarakhand (UJVNL) and Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) joined the DRIP, and number of dams in DRIP portfolio increased to 257; due to the addition/deletion of few dams during implementation by partner agencies, presently 198 dam projects are being rehabilitated.

Key Points

• The project cost is Rs 10,211 crore. The Project will be implemented over a period of 10 years duration in two Phases, each of six years duration with two years overlapping from April, 2021 to March, 2031. 
• The share of external funding is Rs 7,000 crore of the total project cost, and balance Rs 3,211 crore is to be borne by the concerned Implementing Agencies (IAs). The contribution of Central Government is Rs 1,024 crore as loan liability and Rs 285 crore as counter-part funding for Central Component. 
• A total of 736 dams are covered under the project with 213 being covered in phase I, which started in 2011.
• India stands third in the world for the number of dams (5,334). China stands first followed by the US.
• There are around 4,011 dams under construction in India.

Objectives 
DRIP Phase II & Phase III envisages the following objectives –

• To improve the safety and performance of selected existing dams and associated appurtenances in a sustainable manner.
• To strengthen the dam safety institutional setup in participating states as well as at central level, and
• To explore the alternative incidental means at few of selected dams to generate the incidental revenue for sustainable operation and maintenance of dams

Components of DRIP 
To achieve the above objectives, DRIP Phase II & Phase III has following components:

• Rehabilitation and improvement of dams and associated appurtenances,
• Dam safety institutional strengthening in participating States and Central agencies,
• Exploration of alternative incidental means at few of selected dams to generate the incidental revenue for sustainable operation and maintenance of dams, and Project management.