Water stress pouring into economic stress

How we manage our resources is affecting how India’s perceived as a place for doing business. Delhi and Bengaluru’s water crises, triggered by low rainfall, poor water management, weak conservation efforts and opportunistic politics, could impact India’s sovereign credit strength, warns a new Moody’s report. This is not more ‘things that happen to other people’. Reduced water supply can disrupt farming and industrial operations, leading to food price inflation and harming the credit health of water-dependent sectors like coal and steel.

According to a CSE analysis, India experienced extreme weather events on 235 of the 273 days during Jan 1-Sep 30, 2023. The water emergency, however, is not just about scarcity. Rivers are polluted, traditional water harvesting systems are gone, catchments are deforested, groundwater levels are depleting and water bodies are disappearing. India has over 18% of the world’s population, but only 4% of its freshwater resources. A 2018 NITI Aayog report stated that India is ‘suffering from the worst water crisis in its history’.

Yet, political and public response has been tepid. There was no conversation to counter India’s growing water stress crisis even in ‘visible’ urban India in the recent elections. Neither did India’s votary seem to make a connection between democracy and its resources. Steps must include public availability of accurate water data, large investments for water conservation and fixing transmission leaks, and an overhaul of the water governance structure. We must recognise that groundwater is India’s lifeline, necessitating a focus on its recharge and aquifer management. India must act now, if not for its people then at least for its economic growth.