Come summer, and water becomes a commodity as precious as gold in India. The country has 18 percent of the world’s population, but only 4 percent of its water resources, making it among the most water-stressed in the world. A large number of Indians face high to extreme water stress, according to a recent report by the government’s policy think tank, the NITI Aayog. India’s dependence on an increasingly erratic monsoon for its water requirements increases this challenge. Climate change is likely to exacerbate this pressure on water resources, even as the frequency and intensity on floods and droughts in the country increases.The World Bank is engaged in different aspects of water resource management and the supply of drinking water and sanitation services across the country. Here are some of the ways how.Stemming groundwater depletionGroundwater is one of the most important sources for irrigation as well as for rural and urban domestic water supply. However, overexploitation of this va...
