India Faces Deepening Water Crisis, Experts Warn

To mark World Water Day, the Public Relations Society of India (PRSI), Visakhapatnam Chapter, organised a seminar on Saturday, highlighting India’s growing water stress and the disproportionate burden of water scarcity on women.

Delivering the keynote address, Dr. Suresh Kumar, Associate Professor at GITAM’s Environmental Sciences Division, said India ranks 13th globally in terms of acute water stress. Despite accounting for 18% of the world’s population, the country has only 4% of global water resources, he noted.

Warning of a widening demand-supply gap, he said India’s water demand is projected to be twice the available supply by 2030. Nearly 600 million people are already facing severe water stress, while about 70% of water sources are contaminated, placing major cities such as Delhi and Bengaluru at risk of groundwater depletion.

Citing recent data, he said about 2.1 billion people globally still lack access to safely managed drinking water, contributing to over 2 lakh deaths annually in India due to unsafe water.

Speaking on the social dimensions of the crisis, Dr. Kirnmai Reddy of GITAM University said women and girls are disproportionately affected, as they bear the primary responsibility for water collection in many households.

She stressed the need for a gender-responsive and rights-based approach to water management, noting that involving women in leadership roles improves the effectiveness of water systems. The 2026 UN-Water campaign also calls for inclusive infrastructure and policies to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6), she added.

Among those present were M.K.V.L. Narasimham, president of PRSI Visakhapatnam Chapter; A. Govinda Rao, secretary; and U.S. Sharma, Vice-President (South Region), PRSI.