Editor’s note: the figures below were compiled in January 2016. Some projections have since been revised, and we will update this page as new data comes in.
India is home to roughly 18 per cent of the world’s people but only about 4 per cent of its freshwater. As cities grow and demand rises, the gap between how much water we have and how much we use keeps widening. Here are eight facts that show the scale of the challenge, and one of the ways the country is responding.
8 facts about water in India
1. Urbanisation will put pressure on city water supply
By 2050, more than half of India, an estimated 800 million people, will live in cities. Add the semi-urban population and nearly a billion people could be relying on urban water utilities.
2. Water per person has fallen sharply
Per capita water availability fell from 6,008 cubic metres a year in 1947 to around 1,700 cubic metres in 2001. It is expected to drop to about 1,000 cubic metres over the next three decades, the threshold at which a country is considered water-scarce.
3. And it will keep falling
By 2050, per capita water availability at the national level is projected to drop by a further 40 to 50 per cent, driven by population growth and commercial use.
4. Agriculture uses the lion’s share
Agriculture accounts for about 80 per cent of India’s water consumption, and the country has an estimated 25 million groundwater pump sets. By comparison, only 5 to 7 per cent goes to domestic use and 10 to 13 per cent to industry.
5. Much of what is supplied never reaches the tap
Many water utilities are financially stretched and lose as much as 50 per cent of their water to leaks and transmission losses. In Delhi, for example, around 40 per cent of the water supplied is lost to transmission and distribution losses.
6. Reviving the Ganga
The government has launched Namami Gange, one of the largest river rejuvenation programmes in the world, to clean and restore the Ganga. The Ganga basin covers 26 per cent of India’s land area and supports about 43 per cent of its population.
7. Demand is set to double
Industrial and domestic water demand is projected to double in absolute terms by 2025, compared with 2005 levels.
8. We depend on the monsoon
About 85 per cent of India’s available water comes from rainfall, concentrated in a few monsoon months, with the rest coming from melting snow. That makes how we capture and store rain one of the most important water decisions the country makes.
Why it matters
Put together, these numbers point in one direction: less water per person, more demand from farms, industry and growing cities, and a supply system that loses much of what it carries. Fixing leaks, using water more efficiently in agriculture, recharging groundwater and restoring rivers are not separate problems. They are parts of the same one.