India’s groundwater accounts for 62% of irrigation and 85% of rural drinking water (CGWB), but the resource is being depleted faster than recharge. Examine the spatial pattern of groundwater stress.

Introduction:

Groundwater meets 62% of India's irrigation needs and 85% of rural drinking water (Central Ground Water Board). India is the world's largest groundwater user at about 245 BCM annually — roughly a quarter of global use — yet extraction is now outpacing recharge across much of the north-west and peninsular delta belts, threatening agrarian sustainability.

Spatial stress: The CGWB Dynamic Assessment 2024 evaluated 6,746 blocks and units: 751 were over-exploited (extraction above 100% of recharge) and 206 critical. Stress concentrates in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, western Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu's Cauvery delta. Punjab's paddy-wheat cycle on free agricultural power, Maharashtra's Marathwada sugarcane belt, and saltwater intrusion in Tamil Nadu's coastal blocks demonstrate distinct depletion drivers across the country.

Drivers: Subsidised electricity for tube wells, MSP-anchored water-intensive cropping in the north-west, declining recharge under monsoon variability and the Mihir Shah Committee Report (2016) diagnosis of fragmented water governance combine to drive the crisis. The Model Bill for Groundwater Management 2016 attempted a participatory framework but state adoption has been uneven.

Policy: Atal Bhujal Yojana (2019, Rs 6,000 crore, seven states) anchors community-managed aquifer plans; Jal Shakti Abhiyan's 'Catch the Rain' (2021) targets recharge; PMKSY-Per Drop More Crop promotes drip-sprinkler micro-irrigation; and Andhra Pradesh's APFAMGS programme demonstrates community-led aquifer management at scale.

Conclusion:

Decouple electricity subsidy from extraction, scale participatory groundwater management at the panchayat level, and align cropping choice with aquifer recharge to halt depletion before the country crosses irreversible thresholds.