{"id":65026,"date":"2026-01-23T17:54:26","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T12:24:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=65026"},"modified":"2026-01-23T17:57:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T12:27:14","slug":"groundwater-management-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/23-01-2026\/groundwater-management-india","title":{"rendered":"Necessity for Groundwater Management in India\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus:GS3\/Environment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>In News&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recently, it has been highlighted that Population growth and development are straining groundwater, requiring sustainable management.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Groundwater&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Groundwater is freshwater stored underground in soil and rocks, which sustains rivers, streams, and wetland habitats.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Layers that store and transmit this water are called aquifers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Groundwater can naturally feed springs and rivers or be extracted through wells, tube wells, and borewells.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It comprises nearly 99% of Earth\u2019s liquid freshwater and offers substantial social, economic, and environmental benefits, including climate resilience.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Scenario of India&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In India, groundwater serves as the primary foundation of agricultural activity and drinking water supply, meeting nearly 62% of irrigation needs, 85% of rural consumption, and 50% of urban demand.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India has a network of 43,228 groundwater level monitoring stations, comprising stations operated by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB).\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The CGWB regularly monitors groundwater levels nationwide through its regional network of observation wells.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Groundwater management, as part of integrated water resources management, focuses on understanding aquifers, addressing threats, and ensuring the long-term sustainability of groundwater systems.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Necessity for Groundwater Management<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India has vast but regionally varied groundwater resources, which are increasingly stressed due to over-extraction, deteriorating quality, and weak regulation, threatening long-term sustainability.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Rising pressure on groundwater systems: <\/strong>Intensive and largely unregulated pumping has led to rapid and widespread declines in water tables across many parts of the country, signifying growing dependence on subsurface sources.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Degradation of water quality<\/strong>: Contamination arising from mining activities, industrial effluents, and agricultural practices, combined with naturally occurring elements such as arsenic and fluoride, has progressively impaired groundwater quality, posing long-term environmental and public health risks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Drivers of uncontrolled abstraction: <\/strong>The sharp increase in groundwater extraction has been driven by the availability of affordable drilling techniques and pumping technologies, enabling even small farmers and low-income households to construct and operate private tube wells.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Initiatives and Commitments&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The growing groundwater crisis has strengthened the Government\u2019s commitment to effective management, reaffirmed by India\u2019s COP 21 commitment to climate resilience and long-term growth.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Effective groundwater management is vital for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG 6, SDG 11, and SDG 12.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Model Groundwater Bill : <\/strong>It provides a regulatory framework for States to control groundwater extraction and encourage sustainable practices.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u00a0The Bill has been adopted by 21 States\/UTs, and the Centre continues to engage with States through meetings, seminars, and the NISC to promote responsible groundwater management.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain (JSA: CTR)<\/strong> was launched in 2021 to promote nationwide awareness and community action for water conservation.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The campaign focuses on rainwater harvesting, scientific management of water bodies, setting up Jal Shakti Kendras, afforestation, and awareness generation.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari (JSJB)<\/strong>, launched in 2024 under the JSA: Catch the Rain campaign, aims to enhance groundwater recharge through rainwater harvesting, aquifer and borewell recharge, and recharge shafts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>National Aquifer Mapping and Management Programme (NAQUIM) (2012\u20132023)<\/strong> aimed to characterise aquifers, assess groundwater availability and quality, prepare aquifer maps, and support sustainable groundwater management.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u00a0NAQUIM 2.0 (2023\u2013present), implemented by the CGWB, builds on this by providing high-resolution groundwater data and issue-based scientific inputs up to the Panchayat level, with a focus on water-stressed and vulnerable areas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>Master Plan for Artificial Recharge to Groundwater\u20132020 <\/strong>promotes terrain-specific recharge techniques based on water availability and aquifer capacity to address regional groundwater challenges.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u00a0It emphasises surface and subsurface recharge in rural areas and rainwater harvesting in urban, hilly, and coastal regions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Atal Bhujal Yojana (Atal Jal), launched in 2019<\/strong>, promotes community-led sustainable groundwater management in water-stressed areas of seven States.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It supports Jal Jeevan Mission, farmers\u2019 income growth, and responsible water use through awareness, capacity building, and scientific planning. The five-year scheme has a \u20b96,000 crore outlay, with funding for institutional strengthening and incentive-based, results-oriented outcomes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mission Amrit Sarovar: <\/strong>Launched in 2022, Mission Amrit Sarovar supports the creation of Amrit Sarovars (ponds) across all districts in the country. Each pond is planned to have a minimum area of one acre (0.4 hectare) and a water storage capacity of about 10,000 cubic metres.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion and Way Forward&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Groundwater is vital to India\u2019s water security but faces growing stress from overextraction, quality decline, and climate variability.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To address this, India has adopted a comprehensive approach led by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, integrating policy reforms, scientific assessment, infrastructure development, and community participation.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Key initiatives collectively strengthen groundwater regulation, recharge, monitoring, and demand management, supported by robust data systems and local institutions, laying the foundation for sustainable, climate-resilient groundwater governance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source :PIB<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>In News\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Recently, it has been highlighted that Population growth and development are straining groundwater, requiring sustainable management.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> Groundwater\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Groundwater is freshwater stored underground in soil and rocks, which sustains rivers, streams, and wetland habitats. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Layers that store and transmit this water are called aquifers. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Groundwater can naturally feed springs and rivers or be extracted through wells, tube wells, and borewells. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/23-01-2026\/groundwater-management-india\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65026"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65026\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65029,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65026\/revisions\/65029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}