India’s Water Resources: Planning and Management

Water is an essential resource, covering basic human needs. The world’s thirst for water is likely to make it as one of the most pressing resource issue of the 21 century. Global water consumption rose six fold between 1900 and 1995 more than double the rate of population growth and continues to grow rapidly as agriculture, industrial and domestic demand increases. No doubt, globally water supplies are abundant, but they are unevenly distributed among and within countries. In some areas, water withdrawals are so high, in relation to supply that surface water supplies are shrinking and groundwater reserves are being depleted faster than they can replenished by precipitation. The main water consumers are agriculture, industry and households. Agriculture is by far the biggest user of water, accounting for over 70 percent of water withdrawals worldwide and over 90 percent of water withdrawals in low-income countries. Irrigation remains a prime engine of agricultural growth. Irrigation is done by both surface and ground water. The supply of water is diminishingly low on one hand and on the other hand demand for water is increasingly more and more. It has become certainly a matter of concern and is most likely to aggravate further in the years to come.