India will need 10 percent more water by 2050

By siliconindia   |   Thursday, 11 August 2011, 01:11 IST
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Bangalore: On account of recent revision of population figures by the census of India and the United Nations, India will require nearly 10 percent more water than existing government calculations by 2050. The study will be released in the current Science journal, reports Jacob P. Koshy from livemint.com. A report by National Commission for Integrated Water Resources Development (NCIWRD) published in 1999 is the basis on which India's future water needs are estimated today. It reported then that India's population was expected to balance at 1.58 billion by 2050. India's population will be almost 1.7 billion by 2050, reveals a projection by the UN this year. Sharad K. Jain, author of the latest study, evaluated that the country's water requirements would rise up to 10 percent to 1,327 bcm, as a result of a growing population. One bcm equals one trillion litres. NCIWRD had estimated that India will need some 1,180 billion cubic metre (bcm) in 2050. Jain, a professor in the Department of Water Management, at the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee said "This is a quick estimate, but it suggests that India's future water policies will have to undertake more detailed studies on water consumption trends. There have to be significant improvements in the way we manage our water," The factors that will increase water requirement constitute ecological conservation needs and demands by irrigation and industry. Ecological conservation, that refers to minimum water levels that must be maintained in rivers and lakes to preserve ecosystems, will need about 90 bcm in 2050, according to Jain, compared with the water commission's 20 bcm estimate. "A 10% increase is significant. However, government and people have long known that increased water conservation, rain water harvesting etc. are needed to ensure water security," said O.P. Bansal, a senior agronomist at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute. India's water woes then appear to be mounting. A 2007 report by the government had pointed out that water resource management is going to be the greatest problem of the 21st century. Climate change, the report had said, accounts for 20 percent increase in water scarcity with the remaining 80 percent due to population increase and economic development resulting in water pollution and contamination of rivers and lakes.