Through the Reader lens — At the CII Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Summit in Chennai, Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran urged that water be treated as paid infrastructure rather than a free resource, arguing that pricing is essential to attract capital, reduce wastage, and ensure long-term sustainability of supply systems. The remarks, aimed at industry and policy audiences, signal the Centre's willingness to push market-oriented reforms in a sector historically subsidized by state budgets. Coverage was uniform across The Hindu and its Tamil Nadu edition, with no visible pushback reported in the articles, though political sensitivity around water pricing in Tamil Nadu and other states is well established. The statement does not announce a specific policy but frames water as an investable asset class, which could reshape how states structure tariffs, concessions, and PPPs. What to watch is whether state governments, particularly in water-stressed regions, translate the rhetoric into concrete tariff revisions or private-sector participation frameworks.