The projection by the international water resources group that India will have a water deficit of as much as 50 per cent by 2030 is a wake-up call for policymakers. As early as in 1999, the National Commission on Integrated Water Resources Development had issued a similar warning, albeit without assigning any numbers, and had called for urgent measures to cope with the emerging crisis. The report of the “2030...

The filthy, moss-covered ponds that many rural people depend on could turn into limpid pools of fresh water if a central scheme that kicks off in June is a success. The government plans to list every water body in the country, assess the condition of each, and “revitalise” the most neglected ones through de-silting and prevention of pollution and encroachment. A sum of Rs 4,000 crore has been set aside for the...

The houseboat industry in Indian-administered Kashmir, one of the jewels in India's tourist crown, is threatened with closure. If it does not clean up its act the courts have threatened to close down the houseboats, which have entertained visitors since British times. The boats are intricately carved and often very spacious, but 20 years of low investment during the insurgency against Indian control of the Kashmir Valley have taken their toll....

The road to Khardung La begins in the Indian town of Leh on the northwestern fringe of the Himalayas. Exhaust-spewing army trucks rattle up the side of dry rock, past Buddhist monasteries clinging to the craggy mountainside and alongside small farms barely scraping fertility from the earth. Khardung La, the highest motorable mountain pass in the world, is more than 18,000 ft. above sea level, the air so thin that...

The World Bank has agreed to loan India $1bn (£600m) over the next five years to clean up the Ganges, one of the most polluted rivers in the world. The 2,500km (1,500 mile) river has been badly polluted by industrial chemicals, farm pesticides and other sewage. Speaking in Delhi, World Bank chief Robert Zoellick said the clean up would target the entire river network. Plans involve building sewage treatment plants, revamping...