Indicate the issues related to water as a critical resource in India.

 India is currently, under no such stress; however, it is expected to become a moderate water scarce country by 2050. India is a developing country which needs water for its increasing population and economy. It is being projected that water demand in India is going to be as high as 24% by 2025 and 74% by 2050. As per the study conducted by Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Most vulnerable areas are Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Delhi. Least vulnerable areas are North Eastern States, Jammu & Kashmir, Himanchal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand and Kerala. Moderately vulnerable states are Madhya Pradesh, Maharastra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. It is also worth noting that Western Ghats are under lowest vulnerability while windward side of the ghats are under moderate vulnerability. Physical water stress is a situation when water is not available to use which highly severe condition for any region. In India the most severe cases include Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab ,Haryana and some parts of Madhya Pradesh, Maharastra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Water sources are contaminated with both biological pollutants. 21% of the country's diseases are water-related with only 33% of the country having access to traditional sanitation.Excessive use of groundwater for irrigation in agriculture has also caused a strain in the resource. 

In India, about 80% of the water is consumed for agricultural purposes. As India is one of the top agriculture producers in the world, the consumption of water for land and crops is also one of the highest. The results of the widespread use of ineffective techniques used for irrigation aligned with mismanagement are few of the reasons for the water deficit.

A significant portion of the water used for industrial and domestic purposes is wasted when returned to the streams. The demand for freshwater is increasing with the growing population, but the decreasing amount of supply fails to meet the needs of the people.

The increased amount of solid wastes in water systems such as lakes, canals and rivers also heavily pollute the water. To combat this problem, the government issued the Ganga Action Plan issued in 1984 to clean up the Ganges River. However, much of the river remains polluted  with a high coliform count at many places. This is largely due to lack of maintenance of the  facilities as well as inadequate fees for service. Due to this issue, the urgent need for safe drinking  water is 70.1% of the households in urban areas. 18.7% in rural received organized pipe water  supply and others have to depend on the surface- and groundwater which is untreated. As such  water is a scarce resource in India.

Along with the strain on surface water, the country is also facing great stress with freshwater. Lack of strict state regulation on groundwater development has caused a strain on the amount  of freshwater available. Indifference from bureaucratic powers and constant neglect has caused  the problem to intensify. In hand with the lack of government interference and continued  industrial waste deposited into major rivers, most freshwater entering the bodies of water is  defiled. The approximation of the untreated water entering the water sources such as rivers and  lakes is 90 percent and only furthers the problem. In addition, population growth in states such  as Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chennai and Uttar Pradesh is associated with greater  groundwater depletion.

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