An Analysis of Demand and Supply of Water in India

Abstract

Water is one of the important renewable natural resource, no one can survive without it either humans or animals. India is rich in terms of different natural resources, water is one of them. Water comes from different sources such as precipitation, surface water and ground water. Which play an important role in India’s supply of water. India receives 70% of surface water in the form of rain (monsoon) during three to four months. Although India has sizeable water resources, the country faces huge challenges in the water sector as the distribution of water varies widely by season and region. Water Resources are the prime input to the growth and prosperity of the nation. The objective of this paper is to highlights the demand and supply of water in India, and the estimated water in major basins in India. It has been found that the demand for water is increasing substantially due to increasing population, growing urbanization, and rapid industrialization combined with the need for raising agricultural production. The supply of water is inadequate compared to its growing demand in our country. The per capita availability of water is also continuously decreasing. Therefore Sustainable development and efficient management of water is an increasingly complex challenge to India. It has been estimated that More than 2.2 million people die each year from diseases related to contaminated drinking water and poor sanitation.

Keywords: water supply and demand, ground water, surface water, basins