This paper assesses the potential contribution, constraints and prospects of contributions from different demand management strategies in the irrigation sector to an alternative water sector perspective plan for India. The main purpose of this paper is to: set the basic economic logic of demand
management options; provide an overview and synthesize of the option-specific papers prepared by experts; indicate the key differences and common features emerging from the practical experiences of the demand management options; present an analytical framework that will help understand the operations and linkages among the demand management options and their underlying institutional elements; outline a generic strategy that can better exploit the inherent synergies among the demand management options and align them with the underlying institutional structure and environment; discuss how such a strategy can
be effectively promoted within the technical, financial, institutional, and political economy constraints; and conclude with practical insights and policy implications of the discussions in this synthesis paper and in all the six option-specific papers.