Learn How Your Role is Crucial in Solving the Global Water Crisis
India's Water Crisis: Understanding the Challenges and Current Realities
- NITI Aayog's Composite Water Management Index (CWMI)
- Delhi and Bengaluru's Water Crisis
- Rising Demand and Ground Water Extraction
- Nearly half (49.1%) of Delhi’s official water bodies do not exist anymore
- Water Leakages: Trillions of Liters Lost Every Year
- How Climate Change is Deepening the Water Crisis
India faces a deepening water crisis with critical shortages and excess waste. To avert disaster, we must act now with a united effort toward sustainable water management.
NITI Aayog's Composite Water Management Index (CWMI)
What is the Composite Water Management Index?
- Overview: The CWMI was launched by NITI Aayog to provide an annual overview of the water sector in India, assessing the performance of states and union territories (UTs) in water management.
- Origins and Evolution: Launched in June 2018 by NITI Aayog, the first CWMI report highlighted India’s pressing water challenges and ranked states based on 28 key parameters using data from 2015-16 and 2016-17. The second edition, released in August 2019, covered the year 2017-18. This initiative was the result of collaboration between NITI Aayog and three major ministries: Water Resources, Drinking Water & Sanitation, and Rural Development.
- Themes and Indicators: The CWMI is organized around nine themes, each with a specific weight, and includes 28 indicators covering various aspects of water management:
- Delays in Recent Editions: The third and fourth editions of the CWMI have been delayed due to the lack of updated data, a situation exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. To address these delays, NITI Aayog has considered merging the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth editions, covering the years 2020-24. Additionally, there have been discussions about expanding the index’s scope to include district-level data.
Some Key Facts From The 2018 Report, Since Then The Situation Has Only Worsened
With approximately 18% of the world's population, we have access to only about 4% of the world's freshwater resources.
India is suffering from the worst water crisis in its history and millions of lives and livelihoods are under threat. Currently, 600 million Indians face high to extreme water stress and about two lakh people die every year due to inadequate access to safe water .The crisis is only going to get worse. By 2030, the country’s water demand is projected to be twice the available supply, implying severe water scarcity for hundreds of millions of people and an eventual ~6% loss in the country’s GDP. As per the report of National Commission for Integrated Water Resource Development of MoWR – Page 15
The present-day availability is 695 BCM. The total availability of water possible in country is still lower than this projected demand, at 1,137 BCM. Thus, there is an imminent need to deepen our understanding of our water resources and usage and put in place interventions that make our water use efficient and sustainable – Page 15
Water Index scores vary widely across states, but most states have achieved a score below 50% and could significantly improve their water resource management practices. The Water Index scores for FY 16-17 vary from 76 (Gujarat) to 26 (Meghalaya), with the median score being ~49 for Non-Himalayan states and ~31 for North-Eastern and Himalayan states (Figure 1). Gujarat is the highest performer, closely followed by other High performers such as Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. Seven states have scores between ~50-65 (including two North-Eastern and Himalayan states) and have been classified as Medium performers. Alarmingly, ~60% of states (14 out of 24) have achieved scores below 50 and have been classified as Low performers – Page 17
Delhi and Bengaluru's Water Crisis
In Delhi and Bengaluru, the water crisis has had a severe impact on residents. This isn't an isolated incident; it’s a warning. With much of India facing critically low groundwater levels, similar crises are set to unfold across the nation.
As water scarcity worsens, competition for limited water resources intensifies between agricultural, industrial, and domestic users, leading to conflicts and challenging conservation efforts.
In India’s Bengaluru city (formerly Bangalore), thousands of people have been chasing tankers, taking fewer showers and sometimes missing work to store enough water to get through the day.
The southern metropolis – once called a pensioners’ paradise because of its cool weather and lush gardens – is now more famous as India’s info-tech hub where companies like Infosys, Wipro and hundreds of start-ups have plush offices. But years of rapid, often unplanned, expansion have taken a toll, and the city now appears bursting at its seams.
“It is often said that traffic is the biggest problem in Bengaluru but actually water is the larger issue,” says civic activist Srinivas Alavilli.
The deepening water crisis in the national capital has left citizens helpless. Visuals from the Chanakyapuri area of Delhi showed people climbing atop water tankers to collect water in buckets for daily use, ANI reported. Several parts of the city continue to face a water crisis.
Delhi has been grappling with a water crisis this summer. The city residents are facing daily struggles to secure enough water for their basic needs, relying heavily on tankers, which often leads to disputes over access to water.
A study carried out by IIT Kharagpur (IIT KGP) has shown that large parts of north India — including cities like Delhi-NCR, Jaipur, Lucknow and others — have become vulnerable to drought due to their “alarmingly” depleting groundwater levels. According to researchers, this leaves cities such as Delhi-NCR, Lucknow and Varanasi highly-vulnerable to droughts.
Bengaluru is facing a severe water crisis as borewells have dried up due to a lack of rain. Residential societies have advised residents to be careful with their daily water usage.
Amid the crisis, several private water tankers are charging residents exorbitantly for delivering water. On this, Shivakumar said, “Some of the tankers are supplying water for RS 600 while some others are charging up to Rs 3,000.
This summer, Bengaluru will not just have to be prepared for the heat but also for the shortage of water. With the depletion of underground water and drought in the Cauvery basin, Bengaluru city is staring at a Cape Town-like water crisis this year.
Water minister Atishi has directed the Delhi Jal Board to deploy 200 teams across the city to prevent water-wasting activities like car washing with a hose, overflowing water tanks, and use of domestic water supply for construction and commercial purposes.
In Short
- Bengaluru faces severe water crisis, borewells dry up
- Residents rely on overpriced water tankers
- Long queues for water collection, strict rationing in place
Bengaluru is facing a steep water crisis as borewells in many areas of the city have dried up. The residents are dependent on water tankers for their daily chores which often charge exorbitant amounts.
Rising Demand and Ground Water Extraction
Over the past five years, groundwater extraction has risen from 86 million gallons per day (MGD) in 2020 to 135 MGD in 2024
According to the Delhi Jal Board, addressing Delhi’s soaring water demand requires adding 1,034 new tubewells to extract an additional 23.45 MGD of groundwater, bringing the total extraction to 158.45 MGD. This drastic measure risks severe consequences: worsening water quality, accelerated depletion of the water table, and jeopardizing future water availability.
India accounts for almost one-fourth of the total groundwater extracted globally, more than that of China and US combined. India also uses the largest amount of groundwater
For 2030, it has been projected that the country’s water demand would be twice the available supply. This would lead to severe scarcity and affect millions of people along with industrial operations and economic activities.
Additionally a shocking discovery came to light, half of Delhi’s water bodies remain only on paper, shows revenue dept survey
Nearly half (49.1%) of Delhi’s official water bodies do not exist anymore – they have either gone “missing” or have been encroached upon, according to an ongoing official ground assessment carried out by the Delhi government which started in April .
Water Leakages: Trillions of Liters Lost Every Year
Leakages contribute to a loss of trillions of liters of water annually, a staggering amount that is difficult to precisely quantify. Minor leaks, such as dripping taps, leaky pipes, and overflowing tanks, may seem inconsequential, but they collectively drain significant water resources. In many cases, these leaks go unnoticed, especially when water supplies are abundant. However, their cumulative effect is substantial, silently depleting water reserves that could become critical in times of water scarcity. The true scale of this waste becomes even more apparent when considering the potential impact of future water crises, where every drop of water will become increasingly valuable.
How Climate Change is Deepening the Water Crisis
Additionally, factors like climate change are complicating our water conservation efforts, affecting various aspects of our water supply.
80−100 districts receive deficient rainfall each year and are declared drought-affected, even during the best monsoon years since 2000. This ongoing challenge underscores the urgency of addressing water scarcity and improving our conservation strategies. Other such factors -
- Impact on Groundwater Recharge: Changes in precipitation and land use driven by climate change are affecting the natural recharge of groundwater supplies. Over-extraction combined with reduced recharge rates is leading to the depletion of crucial aquifers.
- Altered Rainfall Patterns: Shifts in rainfall patterns due to climate change result in more intense storms and longer dry spells. This leads to uneven water distribution, with some areas experiencing flooding while others face drought, complicating water management and conservation efforts.
Rising Sea Levels: As sea levels rise, saltwater intrusion into freshwater aquifers becomes a growing concern, especially in coastal regions. This contamination reduces the availability of fresh drinking water and affects agricultural productivity.
Decreased River Flows: Warmer temperatures and changing precipitation patterns are reducing the flow of rivers, especially during the summer months. This impacts water availability for irrigation, drinking water, and ecosystem health.
Increased Evaporation Rates: Higher temperatures due to climate change lead to increased evaporation rates from lakes, rivers, and reservoirs. This reduces the overall availability of surface water, making it harder to store and conserve water.