Demand and Consumption

Featured Articles
November 8, 2020
Breaking down data silos in the water sector
The National Hydrology Project has created a national platform for water data and is working to enhance the technical capacities of agencies dealing with water resources management.
Breakthrough cloud computing facilities and remote sensing applications have helped showthe filling pattern of a water body (tank or reservoir) through freely available satellite imagery at an interval of five days. (Image: Maithan dam, Wikimedia Commons)
December 13, 2019
Trading in virtual water
A study highlights the need to scale down the export of rice, maize, buffalo meat and other items to conserve groundwater in India.
A farmer uses a hosepipe to irrigate crops at her farm in Nilgiris mountains, Tamil Nadu (Image: Hamish John Appleby for IWMI, Flickr Commons, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
December 2, 2019
Water stewardship approach to minimizing risks for businesses
Water stewardship is an approach predicated on the concept that water is a shared resource and so water risks are also shared risks that everyone in a catchment will face
Picture credit: Romit Sen
November 18, 2019
BWSSB’s workforce woefully inadequate, says Chairman Tushar Girinath
Bangalore's water utility is understaffed, under financed and unable to service the city's water needs.
Image credit: Citizen Matters
October 25, 2019
Mapping Pune’s aquifers
Groundwater use has doubled in Pune. Comprehensive mapping of groundwater resources and better management and governance is the need of the hour.
Groundwater, an exploited resource (Image Source: India Water Portal)
October 24, 2019
Ice stupas, the contested water towers of Ladakh
While ice stupas have been hailed as sustainable solutions to the water problems of Ladakh’s villages, the locals think otherwise.
Ice Stupas near Phyang monastery (Image Courtsey: Sumita Roy Dutta, Wikimedia Commons)
GHG emissions, water footprints of dietary patterns
Rice-based diets had higher emissions but wheat-based diets used more water, says study.
Rosemary F Green
Edward J M Joy
Francesca Harris
Sutapa Agrawal
Lukasz Aleksandrowicz
Jon Hillier
Jennie I Macdiarmid
James Milner
Sylvia H Vetter
Pete Smith
Andy Haines
Alan D Dangour
Posted on 07 Jun, 2019 10:40 AM

India's food system produces large environmental impacts but these vary by diets. The per capita environmental impacts of diets in India are currently lower than those of many high-income countries due, in part, to habitually low consumption of animal source foods.
As India continues in its nutrition transition, people currently consuming the rice and low diversity pattern will be likely to adopt more diverse diets (Image: Senthil T S K, Wikimedia Commons)
Anti-drought works unsatisfactory: Govt
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 29 May, 2019 11:04 AM

Nearly 790,000 anti-drought works under MGNREGA incomplete or abandoned
Labourers build check dams under MGNREGA. (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
Reservoir storage in western India below normal: CWC
CWC's latest data raises concern over water availability and the country's preparedness to deal with shortages in western India and parts of southern India.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 23 May, 2019 04:49 PM

The recent data from the Central Water Commission (CWC), released on May 9, 2019 reveals a reassuring situation of water storage in the river basins of India. The overall water storage in the 91 reservoirs monitored is slightly more (105 percent) when compared to the average water storage over the last 10 years, the data shows.
Mulshi dam reservoir in Maharashtra (Image: Rohit Gowaikar, Wikimedia Commons)
Drought advisory issued to western and southern states
Policy matter this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 22 May, 2019 11:30 AM

Centre issues drought advisory to six states
Centre issues drought advisory to six states (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
What women want
As India votes this month in the Lok Sabha Elections, WaterAid India takes a look at how water and sanitation are still top of mind for many female voters across the country.
Nirma Bora
Posted on 08 May, 2019 04:02 PM

As the world’s largest democracy is all geared for its biggest test - for voters to select their Members of Parliament and the Prime Minister, the top issues that dominate the electoral agenda at the national level have been increased jobs opportunities, controlling inflation, and reducing farmers’ distress.
Image credit: WaterAid/Prashanth Vishwanathan
Coping with droughts: Gender matters
A study finds women are hit the hardest during droughts due to food and water scarcity, loss of income and a range of health problems resulting from it.
Basanta Sahu
Posted on 08 May, 2019 12:38 PM

Droughts are one of the most feared natural calamities impacting agriculture and food production as well as the morale of millions of farmers in India. Recent studies show that the frequency of droughts is increasing.
Women are burdened with household tasks such as collecting water. (Image Source: India Water Portal)
Cyclone Fani hits Odisha, 35 dead
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 07 May, 2019 03:36 PM

Cyclone Fani, strongest to hit India in 20 years, causes widespread destruction in Odisha
A cyclonic storm that hit India in 2016. (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Understanding water footprint of cereals in India
Changes in cereal production practices can contribute to improved efficiency of water use in India.
Benjamin Kayatz
Francesca Harris
Jon Hillier
Tapan Adhya
Carole Dalin
Dali Nayak
Rosemary F Green
Pete Smith
Alan D Dangour
Posted on 30 Apr, 2019 01:05 PM

India has the highest national freshwater demand globally and 91 percent of our freshwater is used in the agriculture sector. Cereals account for over 50 percent of the dietary water footprint in India and represent a potential opportunity for reducing water use in Indian agriculture.
Cereals and millets at a bazaar in Nizampet, Hyderabad (image: Aditya Madhav, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons)
Water management: Still a neglected electoral issue?
India is facing a major water crisis and a number of water sector challenges remain unaddressed even today.
Himanshu Thakkar
Posted on 25 Apr, 2019 12:04 PM

India is on the brink of a major water crisis. With drought looming over the southern and western parts of the country, the existing water resources are in peril. Rivers are getting more polluted, their catchments, water-holding and water-harvesting mechanisms are deteriorating and groundwater levels are depleting at an alarming rate.
India's water woes need urgent attention. (Image Source: India Water Portal)
Making water available for all
Civil society activists champion alternatives to conventional water management solutions implemented by the government.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 23 Apr, 2019 06:48 PM

India, the second largest population in the world, is facing a water crisis with over 600 million people facing acute water shortage, as per a report by Niti Aayog, the government think-tank. India’s water crisis is expected to worsen, threatening the country’s food security as over 80 percent of our water is used in agriculture.
The pollution rates of the river Hindon are alarming. Despite work by conservation groups, the efforts on the part of the government to fix the problem remain uncertain. (Image: Hindi Water Portal)
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