That India is within the midst of a major water disaster is well-known, with financial development, livelihoods, human well-being, and ecological sustainability at stake. It isn’t uncommon to see lengthy traces of individuals ready to get water from tankers or crops shrivelled as a consequence of an absence of rainfall. India is residence to about 17 p.c of the world’s inhabitants however has solely 4 p.c of the world’s freshwater assets. Managing the large hole between assets and necessities is a difficult job that have to be addressed.Regardless of possessing floor water assets, India is extremely depending on groundwater for day-to-day survival. A big a part of the Inexperienced Revolution’s want for water was met by groundwater. With over 20 million wells, usually working with subsidised energy, they’ve contributed to depleting this invaluable useful resource. Of all of the sectors, agriculture and meals safety are most intimately tied to water. With rising inhabitants and buying energy, the annual meals requirement within the nation will solely improve.A more in-depth have a look at crops grown in varied states signifies that sub-optimal planting patterns are including to the water stress. Water-consuming crops like sugarcane and paddy are grown in states like Maharashtra and Punjab. Regardless of the intensive water requirement, Maharashtra grows 22 p.c of the whole sugarcane output within the nation, whereas Bihar grows solely 4 p.c. Equally, in Punjab, 80 p.c of the water used for irrigating the paddy fields is drawn from groundwater sources. Additional, our worldwide commerce in agricultural commodities contributes to giant portions of digital water loss by exporting water-intensive crops. Water shortages within the nation can even hamper industrial operations and urbanisation, hindering India’s aspirations to change into an financial energy.Water shortage and floods coexist and have adversely impacted our habitation. On the one hand, the low-lying areas are getting submerged, and alternatively, extreme shortages are frequent, with local weather change accentuating the issue. Authorities analysis our bodies have accomplished an affect evaluation of local weather change by enterprise crop simulation fashions primarily based on projected climates of 2050 and 2080. With present farm practices and current planting materials, rain-fed rice yields in India are projected to scale back by 20 p.c in 2050 and 47 p.c in 2080 and irrigated rice yields are projected to say no by 3.5 p.c in 2050 and 5 p.c in 2080 eventualities. Related developments are seen for different crops. The prevalence of maximum occasions will have an effect on meals and nutrient consumption and have an hostile affect on farmers’ earnings.Taking a holistic view of water throughout agriculture, industrial, and power manufacturing actions is crucial to sort out India’s advanced water problem. To date, there was higher emphasis on augmenting provides reasonably than managing demand. Demand administration is vital, with entry to water availability reaching a tipping level.The place can we go from right here? With a give attention to agriculture, there’s a want to have a look at interventions on the Central and State authorities and village ranges. Immediately, we profit from the federal government’s huge effort in mapping and aggregating a wealth of information. The water census has recorded each water physique, each small irrigation mission and each aquafer within the nation. Additional, NITI Ayog has ready a composite Water Index for every State, protecting the success tales and their challenges. At this stage, it could be price mentioning that beneath Article 246 of the structure, water seems in Record 1 and Record 2, giving each the Centre and the States duty for managing this useful resource.For national-level options, it could be most acceptable to kind a Nationwide Water Council, one thing alongside the traces of the GST. This physique ought to have illustration both on the Chief Minister or no less than the Irrigation Minister stage of every State and coordinated by the Central Ministry of Water Sources. Its three important aims needs to be toa) Arrive at a political consensus to forestall unrestricted groundwater extraction. This would come with the necessity to handle the apply of offering free electrical energy for irrigation pumps, as any service offered totally free is sure to be misused.b) Make sure that all establishments answerable for water administration assess from a watershed and river basin perspective. At present, there’s a tendency for every State to view the river flows inside their geographic boundaries, plus they’ve separate obligations for floor water and groundwater.c) To make our agriculture extra sustainable, the council ought to make efforts to realign cropping patterns within the nation. It may be achieved by incentivising water-intensive crops in areas with surplus water and fewer water-intensive crops in water-stressed areas.On the micro stage, every State wants to handle the next along with what was talked about earlier.a) Within the case of small irrigation schemes, the flexibility to ship water effectively to the final mile is lacking. This may solely be improved by the help and involvement of the top customers. A framework that decentralises micro irrigation administration to both FPOs or Water Person Associations could be far simpler because the end-user has pores and skin within the sport. There are a number of success tales to show that this mannequin works.b) Promote Local weather-resilient agriculture by enterprise analysis on this path and utilizing indigenous seed varieties which are extra sturdy in dealing with the vagaries of local weather change.c) Incentivise micro irrigation, not simply by way of preliminary subsidy but additionally in procurement from farmers adopting such practices. Step by step, states can mandate the usage of micro-irrigation for particular crops.d) Create an institutional framework for the administration of water our bodies. This water supply might be essentially the most misused and under-utilised in the present day as a result of lack of a administration construction.e) Assist startups, as many are engaged on water use efficiencies.Evidently, all these efforts would require a substantial amount of demonstration, communication, and a nudge for efficient adoption. The solutions above are in no way exhaustive. Quite a bit has already been accomplished by the use of innovation in addition to implementation. The problem now could be to scale. We have to galvanise all gamers, together with civil society, cooperatives, FPOs, and personal sector gamers, and never anticipate the federal government to be the answer supplier for each downside. The water problem is just too huge and pressing and must be addressed right here and now. We at DCM Shriram Basis, the corporate’s philanthropic arm, have made “Enhancing Water Efficacy in Agriculture” our prime goal.Subsequently, the Basis has launched the “DCM Shriram AgWater Problem” with NUDGE Basis as a accomplice to encourage scalable improvements inside India’s agri-water ecosystem. The problem is anticipated to throw up concepts to boost water effectivity and convey prosperity to smallholder farmers. On the identical time, develop and scale demonstrable smallholder farmer (SHF) particular options for India that enhance cropping water efficiencies or cut back water consumption for nice cereals, enhance farmer productiveness, and supply reasonably priced water-efficient know-how. The learnings would assist improve farmers’ incomes in addition to present a platform the place data can be shared freely for the good thing about all communities.The author is chairman and Sr managing director, DCM Shriram Ltd. and Board Member, DCM Shriram Basis.