Expanding water security and climate adaptation in rural India

Context

India’s water demand may be twice the available supply by 2030, according to the Indian Water Management Index. Almost 600 million Indians are already suffering from high or extreme water shortages, especially in rural areas affected by extreme poverty. This is mainly due to water-intensive agriculture, which remains a mainstay of the Indian economy and the rural population’s primary source of income. This makes water security a key factor in India’s rural development in times of climate change.

Objective

Relevant government programmes that promote rural development in India contribute to providing water security for rural populations.

Approach

The project supports the Ministry of Rural Development to achieve the goals of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). Infrastructural and agro-ecological measures implemented by the MGNREGS improve, among other things, water security for the supply of drinking water and for agricultural production.

The project is working in the following fields of activity:

• It deepens the theoretical knowledge and practical skills of specialists and managers in the districts and subdistricts so that state development programmes can be planned and conducted in an integrated manner. The aim is to improve water security and climate adaptation.
• Moreover, the project is developing digital-based planning methods to promote water security and protect natural resources. It implements the approaches, which are adapted to local conditions, with its partners and makes them available to government rural development programmes. The approaches can then be applied nationwide.

Last update: June 2023