This article uses the concept of regulatory cultures to understand the (dis)embedding of “independent” water regulation in India. It analyzes the specific case of the Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority and explores how discourses and practices (1990–2015) shaped the regulatory development in the water sector. By documenting the practices of meaning-making of “independent” regulation, the paper queries the process(es) of subnational regulatory diffusion and analyzes how water regulation is translated, negotiated, contested, and subverted as situated meanings evolve in the process. Taking an anthropological approach to studying the State and regulation, the article demonstrates how and why the State remains at the very center of the regulatory project in the water sector in India.

中文翻译：

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了解监管文化：印度水监管改革案例

本文使用监管文化的概念来理解印度“独立”水监管的（去）嵌入。它分析了马哈拉施特拉邦水资源监管局的具体案例，并探讨了话语和实践（1990-2015 年）如何塑造了水行业的监管发展。通过记录“独立”监管的意义建构实践，本文质疑地方监管扩散的过程，并分析水监管是如何随着情境意义的演变而被转化、协商、竞争和颠覆的。本文采用人类学方法研究国家和监管，展示了国家如何以及为什么仍然是印度水部门监管项目的核心。