Groundwater has emerged as the main source of irrigation for smallholder farmers in India and much of it has been through private investments. West Bengal is no exception.

Agricultural productivity is waning in the biodiversity-rich Sundarbans owing to changing climate and ‘development deficits', according to a study conducted by the Centre for Science and Environmen

Water used by irrigated crops is obtained from three sources: local precipitation contributing to soil moisture available for root water uptake (i.e., green water), irrigation water taken from rivers, lakes, reservoirs, wetlands, and renewable groundwater (i.e., blue water), and irrigation water abstracted from nonrenewable groundwater and nonlocal water resources. Here we quantify globally the amount of nonrenewable or nonsustainable groundwater abstraction to sustain current irrigation practice.

The tiny fraction of freshwater not bound up in ice sheets and glaciers comprises only a very small fraction of total global water volume (about 0.79 %). Global use of that freshwater, however, has been growing at roughly twice the rate of global population for the past century.

Addressing the challenges of water management and governance in rural and urban areas, this new IDFC report deals with water politics, leakage of water in urban areas as well as the lack of water recycling mechanisms.

The main objective of this M & E study is to evaluate the effectiveness of centrally sponsored programmes/schemes/projects for artificial recharge of ground water in the rainfed regions of the Maharashtra state. The changes attributed due to ground water recharge structures are clearly and objectively brought out under the study.

Mandatory permits and a cess on groundwater use to irrigate cash crops, run industry or for mining are among the measures proposed by the Government in a draft Bill that aims at conserving groundwater.

The report on “Sustainable Groundwater Management” is the outcome of rigorous work carried out by of the Working Group set up by the Planning Commission as a part of the process to prepare the 12th Five Year Plan.

A working group on “Minor Irrigation and Watershed Management” was constituted by Planning Commission, Government of India to develop and define broad contours of future watershed development projects that could be implemented during the 12th Five Year Plan.

The Roadmaps for Reforms report focuses on four key areas. The first roadmap, proposing a national water management reform programme, underscores the importance of a multi-level approach to water management. It covers reforms at the state level for water resources management, main system irrigation management, and on-farm irrigation management.

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