Water resource inadequacy is a challenge India must take head on

livemint.com:

₹6,000 crore that aims to tackle India’s growing groundwater crisis. While this is a significant achievement, it still needs to be improved for the country to achieve water security. India can tap the climate-development nexus by conserving and using its water resources smartly, while proactively addressing climate change.

With the country’s Indo-Gangetic plains getting drier, experts predict that by 2025, north-west India will be subject to severe water stress. Highlighting this crisis’s economic ramifications, the World Bank projects that certain regions may witness a staggering 11.5% reduction in GDP growth due to water scarcity by 2050. Additionally, it needs no further elaboration that water insecurity will inevitably impact food and livelihood security across the country.

Beyond agriculture, water scarcity will significantly affect India’s quest for sustainable development by having an adverse impact on energy, health and infrastructure. For instance, under the current structure of India’s power sector, water is a critical component, and a growing economy and industrial boom will intensify water management challenges. Tried-and-tested development pathways are not only carbon-intensive but also resource-intensive.

India is, therefore, confronted with a significant developmental challenge. How do we overcome this to achieve resilient growth and sustainable prosperity? The policy ecosystem should adapt to accommodate shifts in the Earth’s ecosystems. It is time for the country to eliminate perverse subsidies, improve water use efficiency, strengthen water governance and ensure sustainable financing for water infrastructure through appropriate cost recovery.