Irrigation managementPolicyWater conservationGroundwater management

International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

English

Research Papers in Economics

Influencing irrigation policy in India
Issue 6 - 2010
A new trend
India has a long tradition of irrigation, but in the past 40 years a new trend has emerged. As the infrastructure and management of large-scale 
irrigation schemes have deteriorated, farmers have begun taking water supply into their own hands by extracting groundwater, which has 
become the mainstay of agriculture in 85% of India’s farming areas outside large canal commands. Many are now growing a wider range of 
crops than the old staples of rice and wheat, and so require a water supply that is more flexible than the old 
supply-driven schemes. However, with millions of farmers pumping water from tube wells when and where they 
choose, groundwater supplies are rapidly shrinking. 
successstories S
P
h
o
t
o
 
C
r
e
d
i
t
:
 
P
a
u
l
 
P
a
v
e
l
i
c
WaterM anagement
International
InstituteOver 80% of irrigated agriculture in India is supported 
by groundwater.
Research into action
IWMI began working extensively in India from 2000, when the 
first five-year phase of the IWMI-Tata Water Policy Program 
(ITP) began. Indian institutions already had considerable 
scientific data related to irrigation but little knowledge of how to 
use this to influence policy. IWMI’s involvement was aimed at 
bridging this gap. The ITP put together a team of 30 or so social 
scientists and management graduates and set about finding 
ways to meaningfully integrate centrally managed irrigation 
systems with the new trend for intensive groundwater use.
One impact of IWMI’s involvement was that, through its global 
research remit, researchers helped Indian policymakers learn 
lessons from efforts to overhaul irrigation schemes in China, 
Mexico and Africa. A second impact was that it brought the topic 
of groundwater use in India to the center stage of the irrigation 
debate for the first time. 
The Indian Government allocated US$400 million to fund well 
recharge projects in 100 districts in seven states where water 
stored in hard-rock aquifers has been overexploited. These 
geological formations have a much lower capacity to store 
rainwater than alluvial areas with porous sand or clay rocks, and 
hence were given priority. The money will pay for seven million 
structures to divert monsoonal runoff. The structures include a 
desiltation chamber, plus pipes to collect surplus rainwater and 
divert desilted water from the chamber to the well. Small and 
marginal farmers will receive 100% subsidies for the equipment, 
with others receiving 50% subsidies. So far, Tamil Nadu, 
Maharashtra and Gujarat have begun using the fund to implement 
groundwater recharge programs.
A leading light
IWMI has recently been working with senior policy managers in the 
Indus-Gangetic and Yellow River basins through its large projects, 
Ground Governance in Asia and Basin Focal Project for the 
Indus-Gangetic Basin. These research projects involved analyzing 
the physical, socioeconomic, governance and policy perspectives of 
groundwater to see how it can be used in a productive and 
sustainable way. The work has helped decision makers to think 
seriously about groundwater exploitation issues, emulate strategies 
adopted by more mature groundwater economies and form some 
effective groundwater management policies. 
One such policy was the Punjab Preservation of Sub-Soil Water Act 
2009, which was enacted by the Directorate of Agriculture, 
Government of Punjab. The Act helped achieve water savings of 
7% in annual groundwater draft, by mandating farmers to delay 
paddy transplanting until after the 10th of June to avoid the 
extremely high evaporation in early summer. IWMI’s estimates show 
that such an act has the potential to annually save 2,180 million 
cubic meters of water and 175 million kilowatt-hours (KWh) of 
energy used for pumping this groundwater. As a result of IWMI’s 
successes in India over the past decade, the Planning Commission 
of India has now issued a formal invitation to IWMI scientists to write 
a forward-looking paper on what the future of government irrigation 
projects should be as well as how to rationalize the Accelerated 
Irrigation Benefits Program – the vehicle through which the central 
government provides funds to states for irrigation development.
Donors and collaborators
The IWMI-Tata Water Policy Program is supported by the Sir Ratan 
Tata Trust. IWMI’s principle partners and collaborators for its work 
in India are the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the 
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics 
(ICRISAT) and a host of state irrigation departments, agricultural 
universities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). 
For more information
IWMI report: 
www.taylorandfrancis.com/books/details/9780415465809/
Improving the management of land and water resources for food, livelihoods and the environment 
All IWMI Publications are available online free of charge at www.iwmi.org/Publications
Comments and questions are welcome. Please contact us at: IWMI-Publications@cgiar.org
Publications Unit, International Water Management Institute, PO Box 2075, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Tel: +94 11 2880000 Fax: +94 11 2786854
www.iwmi.org
Issue 6 - 2010
P
h
o
t
o
 
C
r
e
d
i
t
:
 
S
h
a
r
n
i
 
J
a
y
a
w
a
r
d
e
n
a
successstories S
WaterM anagement
International
Institute
P
h
o
t
o
 
C
r
e
d
i
t
:
 
S
h
a
r
n
i
 
J
a
y
a
w
a
r
d
e
n
a

Influencing irrigation policy in India

http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/Publications/Success_Stories/PDF/2010/Issue%206%20-%20Influencing_irrigation_policy_in_India.pdf

Influencing irrigation policy in India

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Research Papers in Economics