Water scarcity is a situation where available water resources are insufficient to meet the demands of a region. In India, this imbalance has become a national challenge. The country supports 18% of the world’s population but holds only 4% of its freshwater resources, creating a condition of water stress. The issue involves complexities in how water is managed, distributed, and consumed.
Severity of India’s Water Shortage
India is currently facing a serious water crisis, with approximately 600 million people experiencing high to extreme water stress. The per capita water availability has seen a dramatic decline over the decades. This figure is projected to be 1,367 cubic meters per person for the year 2031, a sharp fall from previous levels and below the internationally recognized threshold for water stress.
The depletion of groundwater, a primary source for both drinking water and agriculture, is a major indicator of the crisis’s severity. India extracts nearly a quarter of the world’s total groundwater, more than China and the United States combined. A 2018 report from NITI Aayog highlighted that 21 major cities, including Delhi and Bengaluru, were on the verge of running out of groundwater.
This shortage manifests in different ways across the country. In urban areas, it can mean a halt of piped water supplies, as seen in Chennai, which faced a “Day Zero” scenario. In rural areas, the crisis often takes the form of agricultural drought, while meteorological and hydrological droughts are becoming more frequent. In June 2019, for instance, 65% of India’s reservoirs had water levels below normal.
Key Contributors to Water Depletion
The pressure on India’s water resources stems from a combination of factors, beginning with demographic and economic growth. A rapidly growing population and swift urbanization have significantly increased the demand for water in cities and industries. This expansion often occurs without adequate planning for water infrastructure, leading to inefficient distribution.
Agricultural practices are a dominant contributor, using nearly 80% of the country’s freshwater resources. This is largely due to the cultivation of water-intensive crops like rice, wheat, and sugarcane, which cover more than half of the nation’s irrigated land. Inefficient irrigation methods, such as flood irrigation, result in substantial water loss, and government policies that incentivize these crops further encourage high water consumption.
The reliance on groundwater to meet these demands has led to severe over-extraction. With surface water sources often unreliable or polluted, farmers and municipalities have turned to an estimated 30 million borewells. These continuously draw from aquifers without sufficient time for them to recharge, causing a sharp decline in groundwater levels.
Climate change adds another layer of complexity, disrupting established weather patterns. The monsoon has become more erratic, leading to longer dry spells and more frequent droughts. The contamination of existing water bodies from industrial effluents, agricultural runoff, and untreated sewage further reduces the amount of usable water.
Broad Impacts of Inadequate Water Access
The repercussions of water scarcity are felt across Indian society, beginning with its agricultural backbone. With a majority of farming dependent on reliable water, shortages directly translate to reduced crop yields and income loss for millions of farmers. This threatens their livelihoods and poses a risk to the nation’s food security. The economic consequences extend to industrial and energy production, with a NITI Aayog report projecting a potential 6% loss in the country’s GDP.
The human cost of the water crisis is significant. Inadequate access to safe drinking water is a primary cause of waterborne diseases, contributing to an estimated 200,000 deaths annually. The burden of water collection often falls disproportionately on women and children, who may have to travel long distances, sacrificing time that could be spent on education or income-generating activities.
Water scarcity also fuels social tensions and can become a source of conflict between states. Within communities, the lack of water access can deepen existing inequalities, with marginalized populations often suffering the most. The environmental toll is severe, leading to the degradation of wetlands, rivers, and other aquatic ecosystems, which threatens biodiversity.
Water Resource Management Strategies
In response to the growing crisis, a variety of management strategies are being implemented across India. Government-led initiatives form a significant part of this effort. Programs like the Jal Shakti Abhiyan focus on water conservation and rainwater harvesting at the local level. Another scheme, the Atal Bhujal Yojana, specifically targets the sustainable management of groundwater resources in critically water-stressed areas by promoting community-led water security plans.
Technological interventions are also being deployed to improve water use efficiency. In agriculture, there is a push to adopt micro-irrigation systems, such as drip and sprinkler irrigation. In urban and industrial areas, wastewater treatment and reuse are gaining traction, and desalination plants are being established in coastal cities.
Alongside modern technology, there is a renewed focus on community-led and traditional water conservation methods. Communities are working to revive traditional water harvesting structures like johads (earthen check dams) and talabs (ponds). Watershed management programs, which involve the comprehensive management of land and water resources, are also being promoted.
Efforts are also being made to address the economic and regulatory aspects of water use. The concept of water pricing is being explored to rationalize consumption and encourage conservation. Regulatory measures aimed at controlling groundwater extraction and preventing pollution are being strengthened to ensure long-term sustainability.