Water resources and their utilization in India

For the maintenance of a healthy life, water is an essential thing. The continuation of animals’ lives is completely dependent upon water. Water is used for different types of activities such as agricultural, environmental, household, industrial, and many more. There are various types of questions that need to be answered. What are water resources? How can water resources be preserved? What are the water resources of India? “What are the ministry’s water resources, river development, and Ganga rejuvenation”?

Discussion

What are “water resources”? 

Water resources are necessary for the existence of human as well as animal lives. Water is used for different purposes such as environmental, household, industrial and agricultural, and many more purposes. For the sustainment of life, humans need fresh water. Only 2.5% is fresh water on the earth. Two-thirds of the total water is frozen under the polar ice. Demand for fresh water is already surpassed in different parts of the earth. It is assumed that some parts of the world might face water scarcity in the upcoming future. About 70% of total freshwater is used for agricultural irrigation. Water resources can be categorised into three types such as saltwater, surface water, and groundwater resources. Plenty of saltwater is available on the planet. Saltwater is not beneficial to fulfil the scarcity of fresh water.  Surface water is present in lakes, streams. It is used for irrigation, hydroelectric energy, industrial purposes, and many more. On the other hand, groundwater is found in the spaces and cracks of rock and soil. This groundwater is widely used for human life sustainment.  

How can water resources be preserved?

Water is an important part of every human being. The resources of water are gradually getting weaker day by day. Water is intimidated by climate changes, rapid urbanisation. It is a huge problem for the government authority of India. Rapid urbanisation, huge climate changes have affected water resources. For preserving water resources, the government of India should take the following steps: building dams, harvesting rainwater, and many more. Dams come in handy and are helpful in the preservation of water resources. Dams are hydraulic formations that work as an obstacle between the destination of water and source. Early built dams were of small capacity that did not meet the demands. In these present days with advanced engineering methods and technology, large capacity dams need to be constructed to hold as much water as possible. Depending on the requirement, the flow of water can be hindered, slowed down through the help of a dam. The obstruction often makes a lake or reservoir smaller in size.

Water resources of India and their utilisation in crop production

 Water is essential for crop production. For the production of crops, freshwater resources are widely used in India. Water is important for the growth of plants throughout their life in massive quantities. Artificial irrigation of water is done through the use of water resources. Water impacts the overall performance of the production of crops indirectly by providing nutrients that are useful for crops. Crop production in India is boosted by the use of water resources. The central communion of water has the aims of promotion of sustainable and integrated management and development of water resources of India. Since India is a significant agricultural sector. Above 55 % of the total population rely on agriculture. The highest crop production is seen in the states of Punjab, West Bengal, and Bihar, Assam due to their huge intensity of irrigation of groundwater.

Ministry of water resources river development and Ganga rejuvenation

The Ministry of Jal Shakti, previously known as the Ministry of water resources, river development, and Ganga rejuvenation is the top authority for the formation of regulations and rules that are related to the regulation and development of the “water resources in India”. This was founded in 1985. The objectives of this authority are to assure effective remission of pollution and rejuvenation of the Ganga River through “adopting a basin” or river approach to develop “inter-sectoral coordination” for the planning and management. This ministry forms the overall policy, planning in the sector of water resources. Monitoring, technological guidance of irrigation, control of flood, and other types of projects are allocated for this ministry. Through the up-gradation of infrastructure, technology, it is constantly developing the water resource sector of India. 

 Conclusion 

The study that is done on the water resources and their utilisation in India is important for the railway exam. This study is all about the resources of water and their utilisation in different sectors such as agriculture, industry, and the household sector. This study depicts the importance of water preservation and how to preserve freshwater using different methods. It explains the role of the water resources ministry of India behind the development of the infrastructure of water resources and the utilization of these water resources in the production of crops.