Kurukshetra Magazine July 2022 - 1 | Monthly Yojana & Kurukshetra Magazine (English) - UPSC PDF Download

 Page 1


A Journal on Rural Development 
Vol. 70  No. 9  Pages  72
July  2022
Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra seeks to carry the message of Rural Development to all people. It serves as a forum for free, frank and serious discussion on the problems of Rural 
Development with special focus on Rural Uplift.
The views expressed by the authors in the articles are their own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the Government or the organisations they work for.
The readers are requested to verify the claims in the advertisements regarding career guidance books/institutions. Kurukshetra does not own responsibility. Maps 
used  are for illustration & study purpose and may not strictly conform to the official map. Images, graphics and illustrations, wherever used, are mostly sourced from 
government channels and are indicative in nature. Final  Editing rights will vest with Kurukshetra Team.
Sales Emporia : ? Delhi - BM (I/c), Publications Division, CGO Complex, Soochna Bhavan, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003 (011-24365609); 
Hall No. 196, Old Secretariat, Delhi 110054 (011-23890205) ? Kolkata - BM (I/c),  Publications Division, 8, Esplanade East, Kolkata-700069 
(033-22482576) ? Mumbai - BM (I/c), Publications Division, 701, C-Wing, 7th Floor, Kendriya Sadan, Belapur, Navi Mumbai-400614 
(022-27570686) ? Chennai - BM (I/c), Publications Division, ‘A’ Wing, Rajaji Bhawan, Besant Nagar, Chennai - 600090 (044-24917673)  
? Thiruvananthapuram - BM, Publications Division, Press Road, Near Govt. Press, Thiruvananthpuram - 6950001 (0471-2330650)  
? Hyderabad - BM, Publications Division, Room No. 204, 2nd Floor, C.G.O. Towers, Kavadiguda, Hyderabad-500080 (040-27535383)   
? Bengaluru - BM (I/c), Sales Unit,  Floor, ‘F’ Wing, Kendriya Sadan, Koramangala, Bengaluru - 560034 (080-25537244)  
? Patna - BM, Publications Division, Bihar State Co-operative, Bank Building, Ashoka Rajpath, Patna-800004 (0612-2675823)  
? Lucknow - BM, Publications Division, Hall No. 1, 2nd Floor, Kendriya Bhawan, sector – H, Aliganj, Lucknow - 226024 (0522-2325455)  
? Ahmedabad -  Sales Unit, Publications Division, 4-C, Neptune Tower, 4th Floor, Nr HP Petrol Pump, Nehru Bridge Corner, Ashram Road, 
Ahmedabad Gujarat -380009 (079-26588669)  ? Guwahati - Publications Division, Assam Khadi and Village Industries Board, Ground 
Floor, MRD Road, Chandmari, Guwahati - 781003 (0361- 2668237/2664613)
CONTENT
? Equitable Water Resources 
Management   
Avinash Mishra and Arunlal K.  5
EDITOR 
Shiela Chaudhary 
Pankhuri Awasthi
JOINT DIRECTOR (PRODUCTION)
D.K.C. Hrudhainath
COVER DESIGN
Rajender Kumar
EDITORIAL OFFICE
Room No. 653,  
Publications Division,  
Soochna Bhawan, C.G.O. Complex,  
Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003 
Phone : 011-24362859  
Email : kurukshetrajournal@gmail.com
For Subscription Enquiries,  
Grievances, Renewals and Agency  
Information, Please Contact:
Journals Unit 
Publications Division, Room No. 779,  
Soochna Bhawan, C.G.O. Complex,  
Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110 003
(Monday-Friday, 9:30 AM-6:00 PM)
Phone : 24367453  FAX: 24365610
Email : pdjucir@gmail.com
Website : publicationsdivision.nic.in
@publicationsdivision
@DPD_India
@dpd_India
For Online Sale, please log on to  
bharatkosh.gov.in/product, and for  
e-books, please visit Google Play,  
Kobo or Amazon.
Subscription* :
Inland
1 Year : ` 230
2 Years : ` 430
3 Years : ` 610
Abroad (Air Mail)
One Year
` 530 (SAARC Countries)
` 730 (Other Countries)
* Revised from April 2016  
   Issue Onwards
? Water User Associations   
Partha Pratim Sahu  35
? Skilling Rural Workforce for Water 
Management   
Balendu Sharma Dadhich  39
? Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain   
Suneel Kumar Arora  11
? Traditional Knowledge in Water 
Conservation   
Yugal Joshi  15
? Nature Based Solutions for Urban 
Water Management   
Aakanksha Sharma Juneja and 
Dr. Namrata Singh Panwar  25
? Water Management for Sustainable 
Rural Livelihood   
Dr H L Sharma  30
? Water Management in Agriculture  
Dr. Jagdeep Saxena  43
? AGNIi Mission: Leveraging Technology 
and Innovation for Clean Water  
Garima Raj and Sanchita Joshi  50
? Keeping Water Resources Clean  
Kanchan Puri and Ritesh Joshi  56
? Rejuvenation of Rivers  
Rajiv Theodore  60
? Role of Women in Water Conservation 
Karthik Aniket Vadapalli     64
? From SDGs to Themes – To Enable to 
Achieve with Local Self-Government 
Jayashree Raghunandan  68
Page 2


A Journal on Rural Development 
Vol. 70  No. 9  Pages  72
July  2022
Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra seeks to carry the message of Rural Development to all people. It serves as a forum for free, frank and serious discussion on the problems of Rural 
Development with special focus on Rural Uplift.
The views expressed by the authors in the articles are their own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the Government or the organisations they work for.
The readers are requested to verify the claims in the advertisements regarding career guidance books/institutions. Kurukshetra does not own responsibility. Maps 
used  are for illustration & study purpose and may not strictly conform to the official map. Images, graphics and illustrations, wherever used, are mostly sourced from 
government channels and are indicative in nature. Final  Editing rights will vest with Kurukshetra Team.
Sales Emporia : ? Delhi - BM (I/c), Publications Division, CGO Complex, Soochna Bhavan, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003 (011-24365609); 
Hall No. 196, Old Secretariat, Delhi 110054 (011-23890205) ? Kolkata - BM (I/c),  Publications Division, 8, Esplanade East, Kolkata-700069 
(033-22482576) ? Mumbai - BM (I/c), Publications Division, 701, C-Wing, 7th Floor, Kendriya Sadan, Belapur, Navi Mumbai-400614 
(022-27570686) ? Chennai - BM (I/c), Publications Division, ‘A’ Wing, Rajaji Bhawan, Besant Nagar, Chennai - 600090 (044-24917673)  
? Thiruvananthapuram - BM, Publications Division, Press Road, Near Govt. Press, Thiruvananthpuram - 6950001 (0471-2330650)  
? Hyderabad - BM, Publications Division, Room No. 204, 2nd Floor, C.G.O. Towers, Kavadiguda, Hyderabad-500080 (040-27535383)   
? Bengaluru - BM (I/c), Sales Unit,  Floor, ‘F’ Wing, Kendriya Sadan, Koramangala, Bengaluru - 560034 (080-25537244)  
? Patna - BM, Publications Division, Bihar State Co-operative, Bank Building, Ashoka Rajpath, Patna-800004 (0612-2675823)  
? Lucknow - BM, Publications Division, Hall No. 1, 2nd Floor, Kendriya Bhawan, sector – H, Aliganj, Lucknow - 226024 (0522-2325455)  
? Ahmedabad -  Sales Unit, Publications Division, 4-C, Neptune Tower, 4th Floor, Nr HP Petrol Pump, Nehru Bridge Corner, Ashram Road, 
Ahmedabad Gujarat -380009 (079-26588669)  ? Guwahati - Publications Division, Assam Khadi and Village Industries Board, Ground 
Floor, MRD Road, Chandmari, Guwahati - 781003 (0361- 2668237/2664613)
CONTENT
? Equitable Water Resources 
Management   
Avinash Mishra and Arunlal K.  5
EDITOR 
Shiela Chaudhary 
Pankhuri Awasthi
JOINT DIRECTOR (PRODUCTION)
D.K.C. Hrudhainath
COVER DESIGN
Rajender Kumar
EDITORIAL OFFICE
Room No. 653,  
Publications Division,  
Soochna Bhawan, C.G.O. Complex,  
Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003 
Phone : 011-24362859  
Email : kurukshetrajournal@gmail.com
For Subscription Enquiries,  
Grievances, Renewals and Agency  
Information, Please Contact:
Journals Unit 
Publications Division, Room No. 779,  
Soochna Bhawan, C.G.O. Complex,  
Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110 003
(Monday-Friday, 9:30 AM-6:00 PM)
Phone : 24367453  FAX: 24365610
Email : pdjucir@gmail.com
Website : publicationsdivision.nic.in
@publicationsdivision
@DPD_India
@dpd_India
For Online Sale, please log on to  
bharatkosh.gov.in/product, and for  
e-books, please visit Google Play,  
Kobo or Amazon.
Subscription* :
Inland
1 Year : ` 230
2 Years : ` 430
3 Years : ` 610
Abroad (Air Mail)
One Year
` 530 (SAARC Countries)
` 730 (Other Countries)
* Revised from April 2016  
   Issue Onwards
? Water User Associations   
Partha Pratim Sahu  35
? Skilling Rural Workforce for Water 
Management   
Balendu Sharma Dadhich  39
? Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain   
Suneel Kumar Arora  11
? Traditional Knowledge in Water 
Conservation   
Yugal Joshi  15
? Nature Based Solutions for Urban 
Water Management   
Aakanksha Sharma Juneja and 
Dr. Namrata Singh Panwar  25
? Water Management for Sustainable 
Rural Livelihood   
Dr H L Sharma  30
? Water Management in Agriculture  
Dr. Jagdeep Saxena  43
? AGNIi Mission: Leveraging Technology 
and Innovation for Clean Water  
Garima Raj and Sanchita Joshi  50
? Keeping Water Resources Clean  
Kanchan Puri and Ritesh Joshi  56
? Rejuvenation of Rivers  
Rajiv Theodore  60
? Role of Women in Water Conservation 
Karthik Aniket Vadapalli     64
? From SDGs to Themes – To Enable to 
Achieve with Local Self-Government 
Jayashree Raghunandan  68
Kurukshetra      July  2022 4
India houses 18 percent of the world’s population but only 4 percent share 
in water resources of the earth. On an average out of total precipitation that is 
4000 billion cubic metres (BCM) about 1900 BCM water remains available as natural 
runoff. However, due to geological and other factors, the utilisable water availability 
is limited only to 1137 BCM. Most of the rain falling on the surface runs off rapidly, 
leaving very little for the recharge of groundwater. This has become starker with 
erratic monsoons owing to climate change. 
According to NITI Ayog, a large number of Indians face high to extreme water 
stress. So, water has become a commodity as precious as gold in summers for 
people in India. While the Government of India is consistently working towards 
improving access to water, participation of local people and institutions is also the 
need of the hour. Considering the stern need of awareness regarding water resource 
management, the theme of this special issue of Kurukshetra is Water Resources.
Since India is an agrarian economy, a large fraction of our water is consumed 
in irrigation. Our lead article Equitable Water Resource Management states that 
around 91 percent of our water is used in agriculture sector for irrigation. More 
than 60 percent of this agricultural demand is met from groundwater, leading to a 
severe decline in groundwater levels. Therefore, water management in agriculture 
is very important. The article Water Management in Agriculture tells us about 
the importance of water management at source and participatory Irrigation 
Management for avoiding over-consumption of water, increasing productivity of 
crops and for sustainable employment of local people.
There is a huge pressure on us to conserve our water resources and this can be 
done by making use of all the wonderful water conservation knowledge employed 
by our forefathers since millennia. India has a rich tradition of water harvesting 
systems, details of many such systems belonging to different regions of the country 
are given in the article Traditional Knowledge in Water Conservation.
The worst sufferer of this water-crisis is women. Fetching water in rural areas 
from long distances is considered as women’s duty from centuries. Realising this, the 
article Role of Women in Water Conservation tags Jal Jeevan Mission as a blessing 
for women, as the objective of this mission is to provide Functional Household 
Tap Connections (FHTCs) to every rural household. Along with this the Jal Jeevan 
Mission has placed an emphasis on including women as decision-makers on water 
management, a role traditionally that has been denied to them.
Lastly, apart from creating new sources of water, keeping the existing water 
bodies clean and not polluting them is equally essential. For this it is necessary that 
we understand that nature-based solutions and pro-environmental behaviour along 
with necessary technological interventions and innovations are required to save 
our precious water resources. 
We would like to inform our readers that from this issue we are introducing a 
new logo of the journal reflecting the growth in rural development. The logo was 
selected through a competition on MyGov and we congratulate the winner for 
designing it.
We wish our readers a happy reading. Stay safe. 
Page 3


A Journal on Rural Development 
Vol. 70  No. 9  Pages  72
July  2022
Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra seeks to carry the message of Rural Development to all people. It serves as a forum for free, frank and serious discussion on the problems of Rural 
Development with special focus on Rural Uplift.
The views expressed by the authors in the articles are their own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the Government or the organisations they work for.
The readers are requested to verify the claims in the advertisements regarding career guidance books/institutions. Kurukshetra does not own responsibility. Maps 
used  are for illustration & study purpose and may not strictly conform to the official map. Images, graphics and illustrations, wherever used, are mostly sourced from 
government channels and are indicative in nature. Final  Editing rights will vest with Kurukshetra Team.
Sales Emporia : ? Delhi - BM (I/c), Publications Division, CGO Complex, Soochna Bhavan, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003 (011-24365609); 
Hall No. 196, Old Secretariat, Delhi 110054 (011-23890205) ? Kolkata - BM (I/c),  Publications Division, 8, Esplanade East, Kolkata-700069 
(033-22482576) ? Mumbai - BM (I/c), Publications Division, 701, C-Wing, 7th Floor, Kendriya Sadan, Belapur, Navi Mumbai-400614 
(022-27570686) ? Chennai - BM (I/c), Publications Division, ‘A’ Wing, Rajaji Bhawan, Besant Nagar, Chennai - 600090 (044-24917673)  
? Thiruvananthapuram - BM, Publications Division, Press Road, Near Govt. Press, Thiruvananthpuram - 6950001 (0471-2330650)  
? Hyderabad - BM, Publications Division, Room No. 204, 2nd Floor, C.G.O. Towers, Kavadiguda, Hyderabad-500080 (040-27535383)   
? Bengaluru - BM (I/c), Sales Unit,  Floor, ‘F’ Wing, Kendriya Sadan, Koramangala, Bengaluru - 560034 (080-25537244)  
? Patna - BM, Publications Division, Bihar State Co-operative, Bank Building, Ashoka Rajpath, Patna-800004 (0612-2675823)  
? Lucknow - BM, Publications Division, Hall No. 1, 2nd Floor, Kendriya Bhawan, sector – H, Aliganj, Lucknow - 226024 (0522-2325455)  
? Ahmedabad -  Sales Unit, Publications Division, 4-C, Neptune Tower, 4th Floor, Nr HP Petrol Pump, Nehru Bridge Corner, Ashram Road, 
Ahmedabad Gujarat -380009 (079-26588669)  ? Guwahati - Publications Division, Assam Khadi and Village Industries Board, Ground 
Floor, MRD Road, Chandmari, Guwahati - 781003 (0361- 2668237/2664613)
CONTENT
? Equitable Water Resources 
Management   
Avinash Mishra and Arunlal K.  5
EDITOR 
Shiela Chaudhary 
Pankhuri Awasthi
JOINT DIRECTOR (PRODUCTION)
D.K.C. Hrudhainath
COVER DESIGN
Rajender Kumar
EDITORIAL OFFICE
Room No. 653,  
Publications Division,  
Soochna Bhawan, C.G.O. Complex,  
Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003 
Phone : 011-24362859  
Email : kurukshetrajournal@gmail.com
For Subscription Enquiries,  
Grievances, Renewals and Agency  
Information, Please Contact:
Journals Unit 
Publications Division, Room No. 779,  
Soochna Bhawan, C.G.O. Complex,  
Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110 003
(Monday-Friday, 9:30 AM-6:00 PM)
Phone : 24367453  FAX: 24365610
Email : pdjucir@gmail.com
Website : publicationsdivision.nic.in
@publicationsdivision
@DPD_India
@dpd_India
For Online Sale, please log on to  
bharatkosh.gov.in/product, and for  
e-books, please visit Google Play,  
Kobo or Amazon.
Subscription* :
Inland
1 Year : ` 230
2 Years : ` 430
3 Years : ` 610
Abroad (Air Mail)
One Year
` 530 (SAARC Countries)
` 730 (Other Countries)
* Revised from April 2016  
   Issue Onwards
? Water User Associations   
Partha Pratim Sahu  35
? Skilling Rural Workforce for Water 
Management   
Balendu Sharma Dadhich  39
? Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain   
Suneel Kumar Arora  11
? Traditional Knowledge in Water 
Conservation   
Yugal Joshi  15
? Nature Based Solutions for Urban 
Water Management   
Aakanksha Sharma Juneja and 
Dr. Namrata Singh Panwar  25
? Water Management for Sustainable 
Rural Livelihood   
Dr H L Sharma  30
? Water Management in Agriculture  
Dr. Jagdeep Saxena  43
? AGNIi Mission: Leveraging Technology 
and Innovation for Clean Water  
Garima Raj and Sanchita Joshi  50
? Keeping Water Resources Clean  
Kanchan Puri and Ritesh Joshi  56
? Rejuvenation of Rivers  
Rajiv Theodore  60
? Role of Women in Water Conservation 
Karthik Aniket Vadapalli     64
? From SDGs to Themes – To Enable to 
Achieve with Local Self-Government 
Jayashree Raghunandan  68
Kurukshetra      July  2022 4
India houses 18 percent of the world’s population but only 4 percent share 
in water resources of the earth. On an average out of total precipitation that is 
4000 billion cubic metres (BCM) about 1900 BCM water remains available as natural 
runoff. However, due to geological and other factors, the utilisable water availability 
is limited only to 1137 BCM. Most of the rain falling on the surface runs off rapidly, 
leaving very little for the recharge of groundwater. This has become starker with 
erratic monsoons owing to climate change. 
According to NITI Ayog, a large number of Indians face high to extreme water 
stress. So, water has become a commodity as precious as gold in summers for 
people in India. While the Government of India is consistently working towards 
improving access to water, participation of local people and institutions is also the 
need of the hour. Considering the stern need of awareness regarding water resource 
management, the theme of this special issue of Kurukshetra is Water Resources.
Since India is an agrarian economy, a large fraction of our water is consumed 
in irrigation. Our lead article Equitable Water Resource Management states that 
around 91 percent of our water is used in agriculture sector for irrigation. More 
than 60 percent of this agricultural demand is met from groundwater, leading to a 
severe decline in groundwater levels. Therefore, water management in agriculture 
is very important. The article Water Management in Agriculture tells us about 
the importance of water management at source and participatory Irrigation 
Management for avoiding over-consumption of water, increasing productivity of 
crops and for sustainable employment of local people.
There is a huge pressure on us to conserve our water resources and this can be 
done by making use of all the wonderful water conservation knowledge employed 
by our forefathers since millennia. India has a rich tradition of water harvesting 
systems, details of many such systems belonging to different regions of the country 
are given in the article Traditional Knowledge in Water Conservation.
The worst sufferer of this water-crisis is women. Fetching water in rural areas 
from long distances is considered as women’s duty from centuries. Realising this, the 
article Role of Women in Water Conservation tags Jal Jeevan Mission as a blessing 
for women, as the objective of this mission is to provide Functional Household 
Tap Connections (FHTCs) to every rural household. Along with this the Jal Jeevan 
Mission has placed an emphasis on including women as decision-makers on water 
management, a role traditionally that has been denied to them.
Lastly, apart from creating new sources of water, keeping the existing water 
bodies clean and not polluting them is equally essential. For this it is necessary that 
we understand that nature-based solutions and pro-environmental behaviour along 
with necessary technological interventions and innovations are required to save 
our precious water resources. 
We would like to inform our readers that from this issue we are introducing a 
new logo of the journal reflecting the growth in rural development. The logo was 
selected through a competition on MyGov and we congratulate the winner for 
designing it.
We wish our readers a happy reading. Stay safe. 
Kurukshetra      July  2022 5
nited Nations (UN) General Assembly 
resolution adopted in July 2010, 
explicitly recognises the human right 
to water and sanitation and also calls 
upon international co-operation to help countries, 
particularly developing countries, to provide 
safe, clean, accessible, and affordable drinking 
water and sanitation for all. According to World 
Health Organisation (WHO), a person requires a 
minimum of 50 litres of water per day to meet 
the most basic needs and the water source has to 
be within 1 km of the home with collection time 
not exceeding 30 minutes. It is estimated that 
globally, 2.3 billion people live in water-stressed 
countries and about 2.0 billion people lack access 
Avinash Mishra
Arunlal K.
Though India has about 1999 Billion Cubic Meters (BCM) of annual water availability, its distribution is grossly unequal 
across the river basins and thus leads to water-stress in many regions in the country. Given the limited storage capacity 
and complexities of inter-basin transfers, it becomes imperative to improve the efficiency in conveyance and use of water 
to ensure equitable access to everyone. Technological infusion in the water sector needs to be improved to address the 
rising stress due to population growth, rapid urbanisation and climate change impacts. Community driven model of water 
management with people-centric approach is the need of the hour to compliment the efforts of the Government in reducing 
the wastage and improving productivity of water in all sectors. 
Equitable Water Resources Management
to safe drinking water
1
. In India, analysis done 
by Central Ground Water Board on groundwater 
availability and utilisation reveals that annual 
extraction in 16 percent of the total assessed 
area is more than the annual recharge quantity, 
and that in 4 percent of assessed area is 90 – 100 
percent of annual recharge. Blessed by nature, 
every year on an average, India receives nearly 
4000 billion cubic metres (BCM) of water through 
rainfall of which about 1999 BCM form available 
water in rivers, lakes, reservoir, groundwater and 
glaciers. However the distribution of this quantity 
is not uniform across the country, whereas some 
river basins are acutely drought prone, some 
other basins are frequently devastated by flood. 
U
1
The Sustainable Development Goal Report 2021, United Nations
Page 4


A Journal on Rural Development 
Vol. 70  No. 9  Pages  72
July  2022
Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra seeks to carry the message of Rural Development to all people. It serves as a forum for free, frank and serious discussion on the problems of Rural 
Development with special focus on Rural Uplift.
The views expressed by the authors in the articles are their own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the Government or the organisations they work for.
The readers are requested to verify the claims in the advertisements regarding career guidance books/institutions. Kurukshetra does not own responsibility. Maps 
used  are for illustration & study purpose and may not strictly conform to the official map. Images, graphics and illustrations, wherever used, are mostly sourced from 
government channels and are indicative in nature. Final  Editing rights will vest with Kurukshetra Team.
Sales Emporia : ? Delhi - BM (I/c), Publications Division, CGO Complex, Soochna Bhavan, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003 (011-24365609); 
Hall No. 196, Old Secretariat, Delhi 110054 (011-23890205) ? Kolkata - BM (I/c),  Publications Division, 8, Esplanade East, Kolkata-700069 
(033-22482576) ? Mumbai - BM (I/c), Publications Division, 701, C-Wing, 7th Floor, Kendriya Sadan, Belapur, Navi Mumbai-400614 
(022-27570686) ? Chennai - BM (I/c), Publications Division, ‘A’ Wing, Rajaji Bhawan, Besant Nagar, Chennai - 600090 (044-24917673)  
? Thiruvananthapuram - BM, Publications Division, Press Road, Near Govt. Press, Thiruvananthpuram - 6950001 (0471-2330650)  
? Hyderabad - BM, Publications Division, Room No. 204, 2nd Floor, C.G.O. Towers, Kavadiguda, Hyderabad-500080 (040-27535383)   
? Bengaluru - BM (I/c), Sales Unit,  Floor, ‘F’ Wing, Kendriya Sadan, Koramangala, Bengaluru - 560034 (080-25537244)  
? Patna - BM, Publications Division, Bihar State Co-operative, Bank Building, Ashoka Rajpath, Patna-800004 (0612-2675823)  
? Lucknow - BM, Publications Division, Hall No. 1, 2nd Floor, Kendriya Bhawan, sector – H, Aliganj, Lucknow - 226024 (0522-2325455)  
? Ahmedabad -  Sales Unit, Publications Division, 4-C, Neptune Tower, 4th Floor, Nr HP Petrol Pump, Nehru Bridge Corner, Ashram Road, 
Ahmedabad Gujarat -380009 (079-26588669)  ? Guwahati - Publications Division, Assam Khadi and Village Industries Board, Ground 
Floor, MRD Road, Chandmari, Guwahati - 781003 (0361- 2668237/2664613)
CONTENT
? Equitable Water Resources 
Management   
Avinash Mishra and Arunlal K.  5
EDITOR 
Shiela Chaudhary 
Pankhuri Awasthi
JOINT DIRECTOR (PRODUCTION)
D.K.C. Hrudhainath
COVER DESIGN
Rajender Kumar
EDITORIAL OFFICE
Room No. 653,  
Publications Division,  
Soochna Bhawan, C.G.O. Complex,  
Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003 
Phone : 011-24362859  
Email : kurukshetrajournal@gmail.com
For Subscription Enquiries,  
Grievances, Renewals and Agency  
Information, Please Contact:
Journals Unit 
Publications Division, Room No. 779,  
Soochna Bhawan, C.G.O. Complex,  
Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110 003
(Monday-Friday, 9:30 AM-6:00 PM)
Phone : 24367453  FAX: 24365610
Email : pdjucir@gmail.com
Website : publicationsdivision.nic.in
@publicationsdivision
@DPD_India
@dpd_India
For Online Sale, please log on to  
bharatkosh.gov.in/product, and for  
e-books, please visit Google Play,  
Kobo or Amazon.
Subscription* :
Inland
1 Year : ` 230
2 Years : ` 430
3 Years : ` 610
Abroad (Air Mail)
One Year
` 530 (SAARC Countries)
` 730 (Other Countries)
* Revised from April 2016  
   Issue Onwards
? Water User Associations   
Partha Pratim Sahu  35
? Skilling Rural Workforce for Water 
Management   
Balendu Sharma Dadhich  39
? Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain   
Suneel Kumar Arora  11
? Traditional Knowledge in Water 
Conservation   
Yugal Joshi  15
? Nature Based Solutions for Urban 
Water Management   
Aakanksha Sharma Juneja and 
Dr. Namrata Singh Panwar  25
? Water Management for Sustainable 
Rural Livelihood   
Dr H L Sharma  30
? Water Management in Agriculture  
Dr. Jagdeep Saxena  43
? AGNIi Mission: Leveraging Technology 
and Innovation for Clean Water  
Garima Raj and Sanchita Joshi  50
? Keeping Water Resources Clean  
Kanchan Puri and Ritesh Joshi  56
? Rejuvenation of Rivers  
Rajiv Theodore  60
? Role of Women in Water Conservation 
Karthik Aniket Vadapalli     64
? From SDGs to Themes – To Enable to 
Achieve with Local Self-Government 
Jayashree Raghunandan  68
Kurukshetra      July  2022 4
India houses 18 percent of the world’s population but only 4 percent share 
in water resources of the earth. On an average out of total precipitation that is 
4000 billion cubic metres (BCM) about 1900 BCM water remains available as natural 
runoff. However, due to geological and other factors, the utilisable water availability 
is limited only to 1137 BCM. Most of the rain falling on the surface runs off rapidly, 
leaving very little for the recharge of groundwater. This has become starker with 
erratic monsoons owing to climate change. 
According to NITI Ayog, a large number of Indians face high to extreme water 
stress. So, water has become a commodity as precious as gold in summers for 
people in India. While the Government of India is consistently working towards 
improving access to water, participation of local people and institutions is also the 
need of the hour. Considering the stern need of awareness regarding water resource 
management, the theme of this special issue of Kurukshetra is Water Resources.
Since India is an agrarian economy, a large fraction of our water is consumed 
in irrigation. Our lead article Equitable Water Resource Management states that 
around 91 percent of our water is used in agriculture sector for irrigation. More 
than 60 percent of this agricultural demand is met from groundwater, leading to a 
severe decline in groundwater levels. Therefore, water management in agriculture 
is very important. The article Water Management in Agriculture tells us about 
the importance of water management at source and participatory Irrigation 
Management for avoiding over-consumption of water, increasing productivity of 
crops and for sustainable employment of local people.
There is a huge pressure on us to conserve our water resources and this can be 
done by making use of all the wonderful water conservation knowledge employed 
by our forefathers since millennia. India has a rich tradition of water harvesting 
systems, details of many such systems belonging to different regions of the country 
are given in the article Traditional Knowledge in Water Conservation.
The worst sufferer of this water-crisis is women. Fetching water in rural areas 
from long distances is considered as women’s duty from centuries. Realising this, the 
article Role of Women in Water Conservation tags Jal Jeevan Mission as a blessing 
for women, as the objective of this mission is to provide Functional Household 
Tap Connections (FHTCs) to every rural household. Along with this the Jal Jeevan 
Mission has placed an emphasis on including women as decision-makers on water 
management, a role traditionally that has been denied to them.
Lastly, apart from creating new sources of water, keeping the existing water 
bodies clean and not polluting them is equally essential. For this it is necessary that 
we understand that nature-based solutions and pro-environmental behaviour along 
with necessary technological interventions and innovations are required to save 
our precious water resources. 
We would like to inform our readers that from this issue we are introducing a 
new logo of the journal reflecting the growth in rural development. The logo was 
selected through a competition on MyGov and we congratulate the winner for 
designing it.
We wish our readers a happy reading. Stay safe. 
Kurukshetra      July  2022 5
nited Nations (UN) General Assembly 
resolution adopted in July 2010, 
explicitly recognises the human right 
to water and sanitation and also calls 
upon international co-operation to help countries, 
particularly developing countries, to provide 
safe, clean, accessible, and affordable drinking 
water and sanitation for all. According to World 
Health Organisation (WHO), a person requires a 
minimum of 50 litres of water per day to meet 
the most basic needs and the water source has to 
be within 1 km of the home with collection time 
not exceeding 30 minutes. It is estimated that 
globally, 2.3 billion people live in water-stressed 
countries and about 2.0 billion people lack access 
Avinash Mishra
Arunlal K.
Though India has about 1999 Billion Cubic Meters (BCM) of annual water availability, its distribution is grossly unequal 
across the river basins and thus leads to water-stress in many regions in the country. Given the limited storage capacity 
and complexities of inter-basin transfers, it becomes imperative to improve the efficiency in conveyance and use of water 
to ensure equitable access to everyone. Technological infusion in the water sector needs to be improved to address the 
rising stress due to population growth, rapid urbanisation and climate change impacts. Community driven model of water 
management with people-centric approach is the need of the hour to compliment the efforts of the Government in reducing 
the wastage and improving productivity of water in all sectors. 
Equitable Water Resources Management
to safe drinking water
1
. In India, analysis done 
by Central Ground Water Board on groundwater 
availability and utilisation reveals that annual 
extraction in 16 percent of the total assessed 
area is more than the annual recharge quantity, 
and that in 4 percent of assessed area is 90 – 100 
percent of annual recharge. Blessed by nature, 
every year on an average, India receives nearly 
4000 billion cubic metres (BCM) of water through 
rainfall of which about 1999 BCM form available 
water in rivers, lakes, reservoir, groundwater and 
glaciers. However the distribution of this quantity 
is not uniform across the country, whereas some 
river basins are acutely drought prone, some 
other basins are frequently devastated by flood. 
U
1
The Sustainable Development Goal Report 2021, United Nations
Kurukshetra      July  2022 6
For example, Brahmaputra and Barak basins, 
the most flood prone basins, which have annual 
average water availability of 614 BCM drains its 
major share into Bay of Bengal. At the same time, 
basins like Cauvery and East Flowing Rivers (EFR) 
between Pennar and Kanyakumari are facing water 
deficiency. 
To address these spatial and temporal 
disparities, the available water should either 
be stored in reservoirs or be transferred from 
surplus basins to deficit ones. However, both 
these options aren’t easily implementable owing 
to certain inherent limitations. As of now, our 
surface water storage is just below 260 BCM and 
may go up to 300 BCM when the ongoing projects 
are completed
2
. Taking up new and large storage 
projects often take long gestation period due 
to the time required to manage environmental 
aspects, resettlement and rehabilitation 
processes, investigation processes, and other 
issues arising in the implementation stages. 
Moreover, a significant quantity of the reservoir 
storage capacity is lost through siltation which 
reduces the effective potential of the projects. The 
concept of inter-basin transfer was formalised in 
the year of 1980 under National Perspective Plan 
(NPP). This was deliberated at various platforms, 
detailed investigations and negotiations on inter-
state aspects were carried out, and eventually the 
first inter-linking project of Ken-Betwa has all set 
to begin, after 40 years since NPP was presented. 
Considering the complexities of inter-basin 
transfers involving multiple stakeholders and the 
extent of research and investigation required, 
the time lag is justifiable. So, the most viable 
and practical option is to manage and utilise 
the available water resources efficiently and 
judiciously. Demand on water resources is pre-
dominantly divided among irrigation, domestic 
and industrial uses. Among these sectors about 
91 percent of the water is consumed for irrigation 
purpose in India, while the figure is in between 30 
- 70 percent in many other countries.
Agriculture Sector
Consequent to partition of the country in 
1947 food problem for India worsened as large 
parts of the highly developed canal irrigated 
areas were included in Western Pakistan. Thus, 
it became inevitable for India to utilise its water 
resources to the fullest extent practicable and 
the five-year plans gave prominence to irrigation 
sector. Significant numbers of major and medium 
irrigation projects have been setup across the 
country as a result of the due importance given 
in the five-year plans. The annual outlay in Major 
and Medium Irrigation (MMI) sector grew to  
Rs 1,65,000 crores in Eleventh plan (2007-12) 
from Rs 376 crores in the first plan (1951-56). 
While there were only about 380 large dams by 
1950, the 50 year period between 1950 and 2000 
witnessed completion of 3,900 large dams in the 
country.
In spite of the large thrust given and 
2
Water Resources at a glance 2021, Central Water Commission, Govt. of India 
Source: FAO Aquastat
Source: FAO Aquastat
consumption of 91 percent of total available 
water for irrigation, only 68 million hectares 
out of the net sown area of about 140 million 
Sectoral Water Use (%)
Sectoral Water Use in different countries
Page 5


A Journal on Rural Development 
Vol. 70  No. 9  Pages  72
July  2022
Kurukshetra
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Development with special focus on Rural Uplift.
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CONTENT
? Equitable Water Resources 
Management   
Avinash Mishra and Arunlal K.  5
EDITOR 
Shiela Chaudhary 
Pankhuri Awasthi
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   Issue Onwards
? Water User Associations   
Partha Pratim Sahu  35
? Skilling Rural Workforce for Water 
Management   
Balendu Sharma Dadhich  39
? Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain   
Suneel Kumar Arora  11
? Traditional Knowledge in Water 
Conservation   
Yugal Joshi  15
? Nature Based Solutions for Urban 
Water Management   
Aakanksha Sharma Juneja and 
Dr. Namrata Singh Panwar  25
? Water Management for Sustainable 
Rural Livelihood   
Dr H L Sharma  30
? Water Management in Agriculture  
Dr. Jagdeep Saxena  43
? AGNIi Mission: Leveraging Technology 
and Innovation for Clean Water  
Garima Raj and Sanchita Joshi  50
? Keeping Water Resources Clean  
Kanchan Puri and Ritesh Joshi  56
? Rejuvenation of Rivers  
Rajiv Theodore  60
? Role of Women in Water Conservation 
Karthik Aniket Vadapalli     64
? From SDGs to Themes – To Enable to 
Achieve with Local Self-Government 
Jayashree Raghunandan  68
Kurukshetra      July  2022 4
India houses 18 percent of the world’s population but only 4 percent share 
in water resources of the earth. On an average out of total precipitation that is 
4000 billion cubic metres (BCM) about 1900 BCM water remains available as natural 
runoff. However, due to geological and other factors, the utilisable water availability 
is limited only to 1137 BCM. Most of the rain falling on the surface runs off rapidly, 
leaving very little for the recharge of groundwater. This has become starker with 
erratic monsoons owing to climate change. 
According to NITI Ayog, a large number of Indians face high to extreme water 
stress. So, water has become a commodity as precious as gold in summers for 
people in India. While the Government of India is consistently working towards 
improving access to water, participation of local people and institutions is also the 
need of the hour. Considering the stern need of awareness regarding water resource 
management, the theme of this special issue of Kurukshetra is Water Resources.
Since India is an agrarian economy, a large fraction of our water is consumed 
in irrigation. Our lead article Equitable Water Resource Management states that 
around 91 percent of our water is used in agriculture sector for irrigation. More 
than 60 percent of this agricultural demand is met from groundwater, leading to a 
severe decline in groundwater levels. Therefore, water management in agriculture 
is very important. The article Water Management in Agriculture tells us about 
the importance of water management at source and participatory Irrigation 
Management for avoiding over-consumption of water, increasing productivity of 
crops and for sustainable employment of local people.
There is a huge pressure on us to conserve our water resources and this can be 
done by making use of all the wonderful water conservation knowledge employed 
by our forefathers since millennia. India has a rich tradition of water harvesting 
systems, details of many such systems belonging to different regions of the country 
are given in the article Traditional Knowledge in Water Conservation.
The worst sufferer of this water-crisis is women. Fetching water in rural areas 
from long distances is considered as women’s duty from centuries. Realising this, the 
article Role of Women in Water Conservation tags Jal Jeevan Mission as a blessing 
for women, as the objective of this mission is to provide Functional Household 
Tap Connections (FHTCs) to every rural household. Along with this the Jal Jeevan 
Mission has placed an emphasis on including women as decision-makers on water 
management, a role traditionally that has been denied to them.
Lastly, apart from creating new sources of water, keeping the existing water 
bodies clean and not polluting them is equally essential. For this it is necessary that 
we understand that nature-based solutions and pro-environmental behaviour along 
with necessary technological interventions and innovations are required to save 
our precious water resources. 
We would like to inform our readers that from this issue we are introducing a 
new logo of the journal reflecting the growth in rural development. The logo was 
selected through a competition on MyGov and we congratulate the winner for 
designing it.
We wish our readers a happy reading. Stay safe. 
Kurukshetra      July  2022 5
nited Nations (UN) General Assembly 
resolution adopted in July 2010, 
explicitly recognises the human right 
to water and sanitation and also calls 
upon international co-operation to help countries, 
particularly developing countries, to provide 
safe, clean, accessible, and affordable drinking 
water and sanitation for all. According to World 
Health Organisation (WHO), a person requires a 
minimum of 50 litres of water per day to meet 
the most basic needs and the water source has to 
be within 1 km of the home with collection time 
not exceeding 30 minutes. It is estimated that 
globally, 2.3 billion people live in water-stressed 
countries and about 2.0 billion people lack access 
Avinash Mishra
Arunlal K.
Though India has about 1999 Billion Cubic Meters (BCM) of annual water availability, its distribution is grossly unequal 
across the river basins and thus leads to water-stress in many regions in the country. Given the limited storage capacity 
and complexities of inter-basin transfers, it becomes imperative to improve the efficiency in conveyance and use of water 
to ensure equitable access to everyone. Technological infusion in the water sector needs to be improved to address the 
rising stress due to population growth, rapid urbanisation and climate change impacts. Community driven model of water 
management with people-centric approach is the need of the hour to compliment the efforts of the Government in reducing 
the wastage and improving productivity of water in all sectors. 
Equitable Water Resources Management
to safe drinking water
1
. In India, analysis done 
by Central Ground Water Board on groundwater 
availability and utilisation reveals that annual 
extraction in 16 percent of the total assessed 
area is more than the annual recharge quantity, 
and that in 4 percent of assessed area is 90 – 100 
percent of annual recharge. Blessed by nature, 
every year on an average, India receives nearly 
4000 billion cubic metres (BCM) of water through 
rainfall of which about 1999 BCM form available 
water in rivers, lakes, reservoir, groundwater and 
glaciers. However the distribution of this quantity 
is not uniform across the country, whereas some 
river basins are acutely drought prone, some 
other basins are frequently devastated by flood. 
U
1
The Sustainable Development Goal Report 2021, United Nations
Kurukshetra      July  2022 6
For example, Brahmaputra and Barak basins, 
the most flood prone basins, which have annual 
average water availability of 614 BCM drains its 
major share into Bay of Bengal. At the same time, 
basins like Cauvery and East Flowing Rivers (EFR) 
between Pennar and Kanyakumari are facing water 
deficiency. 
To address these spatial and temporal 
disparities, the available water should either 
be stored in reservoirs or be transferred from 
surplus basins to deficit ones. However, both 
these options aren’t easily implementable owing 
to certain inherent limitations. As of now, our 
surface water storage is just below 260 BCM and 
may go up to 300 BCM when the ongoing projects 
are completed
2
. Taking up new and large storage 
projects often take long gestation period due 
to the time required to manage environmental 
aspects, resettlement and rehabilitation 
processes, investigation processes, and other 
issues arising in the implementation stages. 
Moreover, a significant quantity of the reservoir 
storage capacity is lost through siltation which 
reduces the effective potential of the projects. The 
concept of inter-basin transfer was formalised in 
the year of 1980 under National Perspective Plan 
(NPP). This was deliberated at various platforms, 
detailed investigations and negotiations on inter-
state aspects were carried out, and eventually the 
first inter-linking project of Ken-Betwa has all set 
to begin, after 40 years since NPP was presented. 
Considering the complexities of inter-basin 
transfers involving multiple stakeholders and the 
extent of research and investigation required, 
the time lag is justifiable. So, the most viable 
and practical option is to manage and utilise 
the available water resources efficiently and 
judiciously. Demand on water resources is pre-
dominantly divided among irrigation, domestic 
and industrial uses. Among these sectors about 
91 percent of the water is consumed for irrigation 
purpose in India, while the figure is in between 30 
- 70 percent in many other countries.
Agriculture Sector
Consequent to partition of the country in 
1947 food problem for India worsened as large 
parts of the highly developed canal irrigated 
areas were included in Western Pakistan. Thus, 
it became inevitable for India to utilise its water 
resources to the fullest extent practicable and 
the five-year plans gave prominence to irrigation 
sector. Significant numbers of major and medium 
irrigation projects have been setup across the 
country as a result of the due importance given 
in the five-year plans. The annual outlay in Major 
and Medium Irrigation (MMI) sector grew to  
Rs 1,65,000 crores in Eleventh plan (2007-12) 
from Rs 376 crores in the first plan (1951-56). 
While there were only about 380 large dams by 
1950, the 50 year period between 1950 and 2000 
witnessed completion of 3,900 large dams in the 
country.
In spite of the large thrust given and 
2
Water Resources at a glance 2021, Central Water Commission, Govt. of India 
Source: FAO Aquastat
Source: FAO Aquastat
consumption of 91 percent of total available 
water for irrigation, only 68 million hectares 
out of the net sown area of about 140 million 
Sectoral Water Use (%)
Sectoral Water Use in different countries
Kurukshetra      July  2022 7
hectares are covered under irrigation and the 
rest is rainfed. Out of the total irrigated area of 
68 million hectares, 31 million hectares is under 
rice and sugar cane, the top two water consuming 
crops, and 28 million hectares under wheat
3
. 
Over consumption of water in agriculture sector 
is mainly due to the conveyance loss during 
distribution through canals, flood irrigation of 
farm fields, cultivation of crops without regard 
to the agro-climatic conditions (For example, 
dominance of high-water consumption crops even 
in arid zones), misconception among farmers that 
more water brings more yield, unplanned and 
untimed irrigation schedule, and poor quality of 
irrigation water. Further, although the conjunctive 
use of surface water and groundwater was 
strongly advocated by the government since the 
inception of irrigation schemes in the country, 
it has not been practiced judiciously even in 
the water scarce areas. This is where the need 
of adopting and promoting efficient irrigation 
methods like micro-irrigation becomes vital. A 
study conducted by the Department of Agriculture 
Cooperation and Farmers Welfare to assess the 
impact of micro-irrigation revealed that irrigation 
cost gets reduced by 20-50 percent with average 
of 32.3 percent, energy consumption reduced 
by 31 percent, average productivity of fruits and 
vegetables increased by at least 40 percent, saving 
of fertilizers is increased by 7- 42 percent and 
average rise in farmers’ income by 48.5 percent.
As on today, only 14.5 million hectares are 
covered under micro-irrigation of which 6.7 
million hectares were added in the last 7 years as 
a result of the huge push offered under PMKSY-Per 
Drop More Crop scheme of Government of India 
since 2015. Along with the efforts of improving 
micro-irrigation coverage, India needs a paradigm 
shift from its cultivation from rice and sugarcane 
to millets which are nutritious and water-efficient. 
UN General Assembly has adopted the idea 
proposed by Government of India to declare 
2023 as International Year of Millets, and the 
idea was also endorsed by members of Governing 
Bodies—Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO). 
Promotion of millets is expected to save at least 
20 percent water in agriculture sector, in addition 
to its contribution for food security and nutrition. 
Table: Year-wise Addition of 
 Micro-Irrigation Since 2015
Year
Area under 
micro-irrigation 
(in lakh ha)
Cumulative 
(in lakh ha)
As on 
31.03.2015
- 77.75
2015-16 5.51 83.26
2016-17 8.40 91.66
2017-18 10.49 102.15
2018-19 11.58 113.73
2019-20 11.74 125.47
2020-21 9.37 134.84
2021-22 10.15 144.99
Source: Agriculture Statistics-2015 and Agricoop-
Dashboard (agrionline.nic.in)
Drinking Water and Sanitation
The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 
target 6.1 aims universal and equitable access to 
safe and affordable drinking water for all by 2030. 
It is estimated that India’s domestic water sector 
consumes about 7 percent of total water consumed 
annually. As per the Central Public Health and 
Environmental Engineering Organisation (CPHEEO) 
standards, 135 litres of water is considered 
sufficient to meet the needs for a person in a day 
in town areas and this may go up to 200 litres per 
person per day in Metropolitan cities. Given these 
facts, less than 70 BCM of water must have been 
more than enough to cater the domestic needs of 
all 1.35 billion people of the country. But in reality, 
there are many areas in the country where safe 
drinking water is not available in enough amount. 
So, it is evident that the resource is over used by a 
few, lost by leakages and theft, and distributed in 
a grossly inequitable manner. 
Impact of Climate Change
Water cycle is undergoing drastic changes 
due to climate change and is driving more intense 
rainfall and flooding in certain areas, whereas 
certain other areas, generally further away 
from coasts, are facing intense droughts. India 
Meteorological Department’s analysis of rainfall 
3
Agriculture Statistics 2020, Dept. of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare.