India’s growing water crisis, the seen and the unseen

Context:

The UNESCO “United Nations World Water Development Report” of 2022, and the latest Water Report of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have flagged, the issue of the deepening water crisis.

Reports raising concern about water stress:

• Water Scarcity Clock, an interactive web tool shows that over two billion people are experiencing high water stress.
• The Global Drought Risk and Water Stress map (2019) shows that western, central and parts of peninsular India are highly water stressed.
• A NITI Aayog report, Composite Water Management Index (2018) has made a mention about the worst water crisis in the country.