Water resources are finite and also critical for life. India’s ambition to become a developed nation by 2047 is usually discussed in the language of highways, factories, digital platforms, exports, start-ups, global investment, etc. These are all important. But beneath every one of them lies a quieter, more basic question: will India have enough reliable water to sustain the economy it wants to build? A developed India cannot be built on uncertain water security.
The real test of “Viksit Bharat @2047” will not be whether India can announce ambitious infrastructure projects, but whether it can deliver dependable water systems at scale. By 2050 India’s water demand is estimated to exceed the water supply and the per capita water availability is likely to touch the “water scarce” situation. India faces severe and interconnected water-sector challenges, especially in urban water management and agricultural water use. These problems are driven by population growth, climate variability, groundwater depletion, weak infrastructure, and policy distortions. Cities are growing faster than water infrastructure can keep up.
Water demand exceeds supply in many cities. The informal settlements often lack piped water access and dependence on groundwater and water tankers is increasing. The Non-Revenue Water (NRW) of treated water in many Indian cities is 30-50 per cent because of old and dilapidated pipelines, leakage, illegal connections and poor metering. A major share of urban wastewater is untreated before entering rivers and lakes due to insufficient sewage treatment plants (STPs), industrial discharge and solid waste dumping. A similar picture emerges in the water sector in rural areas also.
Agriculture uses around 80-90 per cent of India’s freshwater withdrawals, making it the dominant water-consuming sector. Farmers often grow highly water-intensive crops in water-stressed regions, such as rice in Punjab and Haryana, and sugarcane in Maharashtra. This mismatch between crops and local water availability is a major issue. India is one of the world’s largest groundwater users. Agriculture is highly exposed to erratic monsoons, droughts, and heat stress. As climate change intensifies, irrigation demand increases while water availability becomes less predictable. For decades, groundwater has carried India’s rural economy on its back.
It supports most rural drinking water needs and a large share of irrigation. Yet because it is underground and out of sight, and by using the Easement Act 1882, it has too often been treated as an endless reserve. However, the latest groundwater assessment shows signs of progress. Recharge from conservation structures has risen from 13.98 billion cubic metres in 2017 to 25.34 billion cubic metres in 2024. The share of “safe” assessment units has improved from 62.64 to 73.39 per cent, while “over-exploited” units have declined from 17.24 to 11.13 per cent. One reason for this shift is the growing convergence between schemes and institutions.
The Atal Bhujal Yojana is a good example of this new approach. Water budgeting across thousands of Gram Panchayats is not just a technical exercise. It is a democratic one. This is where India’s water future will be decided: not only in large dams or policy documents, but in village-level decisions made before a well runs dry. The next phase of India’s water governance will not be shaped only by canals, reservoirs and recharge structures. It will also be shaped by data. This is where institutions like the National Water Informatics Centre become crucial.
It needs real-time information, reliable datasets, predictive tools and transparent dashboards. Platforms such as India-WRIS and the Water Information Management System are steps in that direction. Decision-support systems can help governments move from crisis response to anticipation. Data is no longer a back-office function. It is part of the country’s water infrastructure. India’s industrial water demand is projected to rise sharply in the decades ahead. At present, the industrial water use efficiency in India is very low compared to international standards.
That should concern every policymaker and business leader. A circular water economy is no longer optional, it is imperative. Artificial Intelligence (AI)/data-centre cooling tower water demand in India is going to rise. It is estimated that for a 100 MW AI data centre running 24/7, approximately 1.68 million litres/day of water is required. Similarly, a green hydrogen plant is estimated to use a sizable amount of water in a year for purification and cooling. This is going to put additional burden on the already stressed water resources in India.
Safe reuse of treated water (SRTW), process efficiency and Zero Liquid Discharge technologies must become mainstream, especially in water-intensive sectors. Better water-use efficiency is possible when industry treats conservation as a business priority rather than a compliance burden. No water strategy can succeed if it remains confined to government files. Water is too local, too seasonal and too personal for that. It must become a people’s movement with Jan bhagidari at the core. The Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain campaign reflects this understanding. Its message is simple, but powerful: catch water where it falls, when it falls. In a country as diverse as India, that principle matters because local solutions often work better than one-size-fits-all models. India’s water future will not be secured by the government alone.
It will be secured when citizens, Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), Panchayats, industries, scientists and administrators act as partners. By 2047, the country will need water systems that are reliable, transparent, technologically enabled and locally owned. It will need groundwater management that respects ecological limits. It will need river infrastructure that balances ambition with responsibility. It will need industries that recycle before they extract. It will need cities that plan before they run dry. And it will need citizens who see water not as a free commodity, but as a shared inheritance.
Urban water solutions, such as leak reduction and smart metering, wastewater recycling and reuse, rainwater harvesting, lake and wetland restoration, 24/7 water supply reforms, and decentralized sewage treatment pave the way towards Jal Samriddh Bharat. Agricultural solutions include crop diversification away from water-intensive crops, drip and sprinkler irrigation, better groundwater regulation, solar pumps with smart controls, water pricing reforms, and climate-resilient agriculture.
There is also a need for introducing water governance reforms at the Centre and state level. The existing concept of “Silos” in the water sector should be immediately discarded: for example, surface and groundwater are the same water resources, and not “silos” and their current management should be revised immediately. India’s development story for “Viksit Bharat 2047” will be written in many languages: infrastructure, innovation, investment, productivity and jobs. But the ink, in the end, will be water.
(The writers are, respectively, MD, Mu Gamma Consultants, Gurugram, and Distinguished Fellow, TERI and former Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, Govt of India)