India's per capita water availability will reduce sharply to 1,340 Cu. M by 2025 and further
down to 950 Cu. M by 2050
India is at an exciting stage
as far as the market for water
and wastewater treatment is
concerned. What presents a
conundrum for the
Government is that the
remarkable economic growth
has presented difficulties in
sharing water resources
among three key sectors:
agricultural, domestic, and
industrial. It is apparent that
balancing available water
resources to meet the
requirements of all three
sectors is recommended in the
National Water Policy 2002, as
well as in the newly-drafted
National Water Mission.
Estimates by the Ministry of
Water Resources (MoWR)
indicate that by year 2050,
India's overall water demand
will double, growing at a
compound annual growth rate
(CAGR) of 1.5 percent. The
industry segment will clock the
fastest rate of demand for
water at a CAGR of 4.2 percent.
High demand for water brings
forth the urgent need for
effective management and
development of water
resources using methods like
inter-basin water transfers,
artificial recharge of aquifers,
desalinization of brackish
water, traditional water
conservation practices like
rainwater harvesting, good
maintenance of irrigation
systems, and promoting
efficiency through drip/
sprinklers.
Middle Eastern countries
which are officially labeled as
water-stressed with per capita
renewable water resources
much below the critical level
of 1,000 cubic meters (Cu.M),
have successfully applied the
desalination technology.
India's water issues are, to a
large extent,man-made due to
excessive withdrawal of
ground and surface water
without any regulatory policy,
pollutants contaminating the
available water resources,
and inefficient irrigation
mechanisms.Today,the Middle
East,with about 30 million Cu.
M/day,represents about half of
the world's installed capacities
for desalination. India's share
in the world stands at mere
450,000-500,000 Cu. M/day, but
the country has potential to
garner a much larger share of
the global desalination
capacity in the next 10 years.
Growth of desalination plants
in India is expected to gain
pace, if the local and state
governments implement
appropriate action plans by
leveraging funding from the
Jawaharlal Nehru National
Urban Renewal Mission
(JNNURM). Desalination
should be a major plank if the
objectives enshrined under
India's National Water Mission
are to be met in toto.To have
maximum impact, the
Government has identified
guidelines to develop robust
public private partnerships
(PPP) and offered monetary
incentives to states and urban
local bodies.Another strategy
on the table was to offer tax
breaks to industrial users for
saving water.A policy such as
this is long overdue in India.It
could boost the market for
recycle and reuse
technologies like membrane
bio-reactors and desalination,
as the ultimate goal is to
reduce dependence on
fragile and dwindling ground
water and surface water
resources. The Government
can also contemplate issuing
tradable certificates, akin to
carbon emission reduction
credits, so that industries
saving water can sell their
certificates to industries
consuming more water.