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Groundwater Irrigation in India: Gains, Costs and Risks

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  • Gandhi, Vasant P.
  • N V Namboodiri

Abstract

Groundwater has rapidly emerged to occupy a dominant place in India.'s agriculture and food security in the recent years. It has become the main source of growth in irrigated area over the past 3 decades, and it now accounts for over 60 percent of the irrigated area in the country. It is estimated that now over 70 percent of India.'s food grain production comes from irrigated agriculture, in which groundwater plays a major role. Since the development of groundwater irrigation has not largely been government or policy driven . has happened gradually through highly decentralized private activity, this revolution has often gone largely unrecognized. However, despite this huge significance, groundwater irrigation is heading for a crisis in India and needs urgent understanding and attention. The number of irrigation blocks considered overexploited is increasing at an alarming rate of 5.5 percent per year. The number of blocks in which, officially, the creation of wells must completely stop is scaling new heights every year. Yet, the sinking of wells continues rapidly at enormous private, public and environmental cost. The way India will manage its groundwater resource in the future will clearly have very serious implications for the future growth and development of the agriculture sector in India, as well as the alleviation of poverty in India.

Suggested Citation

  • Gandhi, Vasant P. & N V Namboodiri, 2009. "Groundwater Irrigation in India: Gains, Costs and Risks," IIMA Working Papers WP2009-03-08, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Research and Publication Department.
  • Handle: RePEc:iim:iimawp:8316
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Rajendra Poddar & M. Qureshi & Tian Shi, 2014. "A Comparison of Water Policies for Sustainable Irrigation Management: The Case of India and Australia," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 28(4), pages 1079-1094, March.
    4. Srivastavaa, SK & Singha, J & Shirsathb, PB, 2018. "Sustainability of groundwater resources at the subnational level in the context of sustainable development goals," Agricultural Economics Research Review, Agricultural Economics Research Association (India), vol. 31(2).
    5. Reena Badiani-Magnusson & Katrina Jessoe, 2018. "Electricity Prices, Groundwater, and Agriculture: The Environmental and Agricultural Impacts of Electricity Subsidies in India," NBER Chapters, in: Agricultural Productivity and Producer Behavior, pages 157-183, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Mandal, Uday & Dhar, Anirban & Panda, Sudhindra N., 2021. "Enhancement of sustainable agricultural production system by integrated natural resources management framework under climatic and operational uncertainty," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 252(C).
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    8. Zaveri, Esha & Wrenn, Douglas H. & Fisher-Vanden, Karen, 2016. "Water in the Balance: The Impact of Water Infrastructure on Agricultural Adaptation to Rainfall Shocks in India," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 236216, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    9. Hasanov, Fakhri J. & Shannak, Sa'd, 2020. "Electricity incentives for agriculture in Saudi Arabia. Is that relevant to remove them?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    10. Golam Saleh Ahmed Salem & So Kazama & Shamsuddin Shahid & Nepal C. Dey, 2018. "Groundwater-dependent irrigation costs and benefits for adaptation to global change," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 23(6), pages 953-979, August.
    11. Shweta, & Bhattacharya, Bimal K. & Krishna, Akhouri Pramod, 2018. "A baseline regional evapotranspiration (ET) and change hotspots over Indian sub-tropics using satellite remote sensing data," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 284-298.
    12. Srivastava, S.K. & Chand, Ramesh & Raju, S.S. & Jain, Rajni & I., Kingsly & Sachdeva, Jatinder & Singh, Jaspal & Kaur, Amrit Pal, 2015. "Unsustainable Groundwater Use in Punjab Agriculture: Insights from Cost of Cultivation Survey," Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Indian Society of Agricultural Economics, vol. 70(3), pages 1-14.
    13. Kishore, Prabhat & Singh, Dharam R. & Srivastava, Shivendra & Kumar, Arun & Prakash, 2021. "Food-Groundwater-Energy nexus in Indian agriculture: Empirical evidence from Uttar Pradesh, India," 2021 ASAE 10th International Conference (Virtual), January 11-13, Beijing, China 329408, Asian Society of Agricultural Economists (ASAE).

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