A thorough analysis of India's water crisis with a call to action on the way forward

Indians have a special relationship with water, from holy rivers to celebrations on the onset of the monsoon. Yet the world's most populous country--India has 18 per cent of the global population--has only 4 per cent of the world's available freshwater resources.

As the ultimate resource, the impact of water on public health, energy, agriculture, urbanization, infrastructure, manufacturing and human development is pervasive, making water resource management vital to the country's future. But we have failed to pay it strategic attention. In an increasingly warming world, water may yet become India's weakest link. The issues at hand are complicated, from the need for equity between the agricultural, industrial and commercial sectors and the impact of unsustainable water management to increased urbanization and climate change. Governed differently, though, water could become a driver of sustainable economic transformation.

Based on in-depth research, exhaustive data and real-world case studies, Water, Nature, Progress presents a blueprint for action through policy reform, public finance, private investment and behavioural change, charting the way forward.

About the Author