-NITI Aayog Working Paper, ISBN: 978-81-953811-7-3 Abstract -  The importance of agriculture in an economy usually declines as it climbs the development ladder. Raising agriculture productivity has been known to be an important precursor. Labour productivity in agriculture can either be increased by higher land productivity or higher land availability per farmer and mechanisation. In India, however, the dramatic increase in land productivity through industrial farming has caused severe environmental damage and...

-The Hindu Business Line The situation is alarming. Cultivation costs are increasing and the quality of water is deteriorating Groundwater has become the major source of water in most countries today. It currently contributes to about half of the world’s total drinking water , 40 per cent of agricultural needs and one-third of industrial demand. The contribution of groundwater in India is much higher than the world average. Is groundwater exploitation in...

-The Hindu The existing approach of dealing with surface water and groundwater independently has severe limitations The theme of this year’s World Water Day (March 22) was ‘Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible’. The primary focus is to draw attention to the role of groundwater in water and sanitation systems, agriculture, industry, ecosystems, and climate change adaptation. Groundwater helps reduce the risk of temporary water shortage and caters to the needs of arid...

-India Spend/ Scroll.in These programmes should look at skilling the workforce for paid jobs rather than unpaid, part-time volunteers. Central government programmes on water emphasise groundwater management by the community in a decentralised manner but, by and large, these schemes are silent on the availability, training and deployment of a skilled workforce for this task, especially in rural areas. Water management at the most decentralised, local levels is often a part-time, volunteer or...

-Hindustan Times The National Council of Applied Economic Research recently conducted a study, titled, Livelihood and Health Challenges of Riverine Communities of the River Ganga, in collaboration with the University of Chicago’s Tata Centre for Development to explore the social & economic engagement of the riverine communities on the Ganga in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. A large section of the population living in the Ganga river basin still depends on the...