Fourth International Conference Compelling Concerns of Natural Resource Management

India receives 400 mham of water through precipitation. Exploitable water potential is 113 mham, out of which 68 mham is being utilized. Demand for water by 2025 would be 109 mham which more or less matches with the available potential. After that year, scarcity of water would be visible in many parts of the country. Presently, out of the net sown area of 141 mha, about 65.3 mha is irrigated while 75.70 mha is rainfed. About 65% of the farmers depend upon rainfed areas only. There are 95.8 million farming families in India with a population of about 600 million. Food grains production is 55% from the irrigated area and 45% from the rainfed land. With this water situation, what should be our compelling concerns which keep the primary focus on the people and their poverty. Rainfed areas have endemic poverty.