-Livemint.com The ministry for water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation has also placed a draft of the national Groundwater management improvement programme New Delhi: The Centre has placed two draft bills for water conservation in the public domain for feedback as the country battles a water crisis. The government has also released a draft of a programme to improve Groundwater management in the country. Comments have been invited on the two...

Situation alarming: More than one-third population hit by drought   The country is facing severe drought for the second consecutive year. Conservative estimates from official sources show that over a quarter of rural habitations are facing drinking water scarcity. Although both India Meteorological Department and Skymet have predicted a more than normal rainfall during June-September, 2016, the water storage available in 91 major reservoirs of the country has declined from 22 percent...

-The Times of India Ahmedabad: As the state reels under water scarcity this summer staring at empty dams on minor rivers, several areas in Kutch are still satiating their drinking water needs from carefully managed Groundwater. A total of 300 villages of four talukas on coastal area - Abdasa, Mandvi, Mundra and Anjar - are involved in an aquifer management project for the past four years.   This summer has showed a marked difference...

-Business Standard A cool weather laden with moisture is good for the wheat crop. However, such a climate has been absent this year India's wheat market is in a tizzy as supply projections and actual arrivals are not matching, raising a big question mark over the Centre's official production estimate for 2015-16. The agriculture ministry in its third advance estimate of foodgrain production released earlier this month had estimated wheat output at over...

-The Tribune Chandigarh: While Punjab is increasingly increasing using canal water for drinking on account of high toxicity in the ground water, it will now pump out this water for irrigation purposes. The new tubewell connections – 1.25 lakh - will not just deplete the state’s already depleted water table, but water pumped up from these tubewells pose a risk of contaminating the food grains and vegetables grown in the fields. Sources in...