Question

Answer the following question in about 150 words.

Discuss the availability of water resources in the country and factors that determine its spatial distribution.

Answer 1

India accounts for 2.45 per cent of the world’s surface area and 4 per cent of global water resources. The country receives about 4,000 cubic km of annual precipitation, but due to topographical constraints, only 1,122 cubic km is available for beneficial use, split into 690 cubic km of surface water and 432 cubic km of groundwater. The spatial distribution of these resources is highly uneven and heavily concentrated during the monsoon season. Nearly 60 per cent of the total surface water is stored in the Ganga, Brahmaputra, and Barak river basins because their catchment areas receive relatively high rainfall. While northern Himalayan rivers are perennial and glacial-fed, southern peninsular rivers are rainfed and seasonal.

Furthermore, groundwater utilisation varies significantly across states. It is exceptionally high in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu due to intensive tube-well irrigation, whereas states like Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Kerala utilise only a small proportion of their groundwater potential. Additionally, coastal states like Kerala, Odisha, and West Bengal possess vast brackish-water resources in their lagoons and backwaters, which are extensively used for fishing and specialised crop cultivation.