Water as a Factor of Agriculture in India (UPSC Economy)

Water is the most stressed factor of Indian agriculture. India holds 4% of the world’s freshwater but supports 17-18% of its population; agriculture alone consumes over 80% of this water. Groundwater, rainfall variability, irrigation inefficiency and cropping-pattern distortions have combined to create what NITI Aayog‘s Composite Water Management Index has called “the worst water crisis in India’s history”. This guide lays out the status, problems and the reform agenda anchored in PMKSY, micro-irrigation and demand-side water management.

Present Status

• Agriculture consumes 80%+ of water, dominated by groundwater (around 60% of agricultural water).
• 52% of net sown area remains rainfed — yields are 3 times lower than irrigated areas.
• Groundwater — India is the world's largest user of groundwater at around 250 km³ per year, more than the US and China combined.
• Over-extracted blocks have risen sharply; the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) classifies many blocks as "over-exploited" or "critical".

Why Water-Use Efficiency Matters

• NITI Aayog CWMI report — by 2030, demand for drinking water will outstrip supply.
• Around 2 lakh people die every year due to lack of safe drinking water.
• Water crisis could cost around 6% of GDP by 2050 (World Bank estimates).
• Climate change — erratic monsoons amplify the risk.

Problems in Current Water Management

Substantial area under rainfed agriculture: About 72 million hectares (~52%) of net sown area depends entirely on rainfall. Rainfed agriculture is about three times less productive than irrigated.

Regional imbalance: Temporal and spatial variations in rainfall and surface water availability. Cherrapunji vs Rajasthan, North-East vs South — the spread is extreme.

Sub-optimal utilisation of created irrigation capacity: Wide gap between Irrigation Potential Created (IPC) and Irrigation Potential Utilised (IPU). Reasons — poor canal maintenance, lack of participatory management, changing land-use, cropping-pattern deviations, soil degradation, delays in Command Area Development.

Improper crop and cropping system: High area under water-intensive rice, sugarcane and wheat. India is a net water exporter because it exports water-intensive rice and wheat while importing less water-intensive pulses and oilseeds (Economic Survey 2015-16).

Imbalanced groundwater use: The Easement Act, 1882 gives every landowner the right to extract water beneath his land at discretion. This creates a legal free-for-all. Owners face no liability for depletion. Combined with free or heavily subsidised power to farmers, the result is runaway over-extraction.

Water-logging and soil salinity: Excessive flood irrigation on alkaline soils raises the water table, bringing salts to the surface and destroying productivity — parts of Punjab, Haryana and the canal commands of the Indira Gandhi Canal suffer.

How to Address These Problems

Enhancing Efficiency in Irrigated Areas

• Reduce the IPC-IPU gap through regular canal maintenance.
• Water User Associations (WUAs) for participatory irrigation management.
• Rationalise water tariffs — volumetric pricing where feasible.
• Cropping-pattern shifts toward less water-intensive crops.
• Micro-irrigation (drip and sprinkler) expansion.

Enhancing Efficiency in Rainfed Areas

• Rainwater harvesting — check dams, farm ponds, percolation tanks.
• Convergence between MGNREGA and water conservation — under MGNREGA-Jal Shakti, many water structures have been built.
• Desilting of ponds and water bodies — Mission Amrit Sarovar built and rejuvenated 68,000+ water bodies by 2024.
• Conservation agriculture — mulching (natural and artificial), zero tillage, cover crops.

Optimum Utilisation of Groundwater

• Adopt a Model Bill to Control and Regulate Groundwater Extraction — Groundwater Regulating Authority, mandatory registration of borewell owners, permission for new borewells, depth restrictions.
• Replicate Andhra Pradesh Farmer Managed Groundwater Systems (APFAMGS) — community aquifer management, behavioural change, self-regulation.
• Rationalise power subsidies; implement feeder separation (under Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana).
• Promote Micro-Irrigation (drip, sprinkler).
• Atal Bhujal Yojana — community-led groundwater management in priority areas of 7 states.

Key Flagship: Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY)

• Har Khet Ko Paani — end-to-end irrigation solutions.
• Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) — drip and sprinkler irrigation expansion.
• Watershed Development (WDC) — integrated watershed programmes.
• Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) — completion of major/medium projects.

Latest Developments (2024-26)

• Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) — FHTC coverage crossed 79% of rural households by 2024 against 100% target by 2024; mission extension announced in Budget 2025-26 to cover the remaining households.
• Budget 2025-26 extended Jal Jeevan Mission to 2028 with an enhanced outlay.
• PMKSY extended for 2021-26 with central outlay of Rs 93,068 crore.
• Mission Amrit Sarovar (Phase 1) — 68,000+ sarovars built; Phase 2 announced, mandating at least 75 sarovars per district.
• Atal Bhujal Yojana — community-led groundwater management in 8,774 gram panchayats across 80 districts of 7 states; completion by 2025.
• PM KUSUM — solarisation of agricultural pumps; target revised to 49,315 MW; aimed at reducing free-power pressure on groundwater.
• Composite Water Management Index 3.0 — NITI Aayog's updated index (2024) showed Gujarat, AP and Telangana leading.
• Per-drop More Crop coverage — cumulative micro-irrigation area crossed 17 mha by 2024 against potential of 70 mha.
• Central Ground Water Authority notifications tightening extraction rules for industries in critical blocks.

UPSC Relevance

GS-III Mapping

• Agriculture — irrigation, water-use efficiency, cropping pattern.
• Environment — water conservation, wetland and pond rejuvenation.
• Indian Economy — rural infrastructure, MGNREGA convergence.

GS-II Mapping

• Governance — Jal Jeevan Mission, federal cooperation on water.

Prelims Bullets

• Agriculture's share of water use: ~80%.
• Groundwater in agri water: ~60%.
• Rainfed share of net sown area: ~52%.
• PMKSY components: Har Khet Ko Paani, Per Drop More Crop, WDC, AIBP.
• Atal Bhujal Yojana — implemented in 7 states.
• Composite Water Management Index — NITI Aayog.
• Jal Jeevan Mission — target 100% FHTCs; launched 15 Aug 2019.
• Easement Act, 1882 — gives landowner right to groundwater.
• APFAMGS — Andhra Pradesh Farmer Managed Groundwater Systems; community model.

Mains Angles

• "India's water crisis is, at its core, a governance and incentives crisis, not a scarcity crisis." Examine.
• "Micro-irrigation is the single most scalable intervention to reconcile agricultural growth with water sustainability." Discuss.