1. India has a serious water problem
The 2030 Water Resources Group estimates that if we continue to consume water as per the current rate, India will have only half the water it needs by 2030—a flashpoint that’s only ten years away.

2. Nearly 80 percent of India’s freshwater is used in agriculture 

3. Over half of India’s cultivated land is under water-intensive crops
Fifty-four percent of India’s 141.4 million hectares of cultivable land is under water-intensive crops—rice, wheat, sugarcane, and cotton.

4. India uses at least twice the amount of water to grow one unit of food versus comparable countries

5. India’s farmers rely mainly on tube wells to extract groundwater for their crops
Despite India’s large dams and canal systems, groundwater accounts for 63 percent of water used for irrigation by farmers; canals account for only 26 percent.

6. Conservative estimates suggest that India has over 30 million borewells today
As of 2009, for every four cultivator households, one owned a tube well and two purchased groundwater from tube well owners.

7. India draws nearly 25 percent of the world’s groundwater
That’s more groundwater than China and the United States combined.

8. Sixty percent of India’s districts have been declared critical on groundwater
This means that they either have scarce supply or poor quality of groundwater, or both.

9. India’s depleting groundwater reserves also impact our drinking water
India is ranked 120 out of 122 countries in the global water quality index.

10. The country’s water crisis has a significant economic cost
A NITI Aayog report suggests that severe water scarcity will eventually lead to a 6 percent loss in the country’s GDP.

Read the full article about the water crisis in India by Arpit Jain and Reshma Anand at India Development Review.