Water is one of the most basic requirements for life on the planet. Water is needed for a variety of purposes, including quenching our thirst, meeting a variety of our body's needs, sustaining agriculture and industrialization, allowing the economy to thrive, and ensuring a country's social well-being. Despite this, we seem to have failed miserably in appreciating the true worth of this natural gift. Today, almost two-thirds of the world's population is affected by extreme water shortage, and billions of people lack access to safe and clean drinking water. In honour of World Water Day, which was observed on March 22.

What are the activities of the United Nations?

According to a United Nations survey, 3.2 billion people worldwide are affected by water scarcity. Water shortage is a multifaceted problem in and of itself. Lack of access to safe, drinkable water causes a slew of issues, including shortage of drinking water, improper sanitation, and soiled hygiene. Around 4.2 billion people do not have access to regulated sanitation, and more than 3 billion people do not know how to wash their hands properly. Water scarcity and excessive distribution are the root causes of both of these issues.

In the United Nations' flagship programme, the Sustainable Development Goals, clean water and sanitation are identified as the sixth priority for improving the environment and ushering in a better future (SDG). Their main goal for the next 15 years is to build long-term facilities that ensure reliable access to safe drinking water and properly managed sanitation.

What place does India occupy on the global water shortage map?

India has a population of 1.36 billion people, which is three times that of the United States, despite the fact that the nation is just one-third the size. Despite tremendous progress in the field of clean and safe drinking water, the country's vast population remains an insurmountable challenge. The two most serious water-related issues that India is concerned about are groundwater depletion and water pollution. Every year, the country collects the most groundwater in the world. In India, approximately 230 billion metre cubes of groundwater are pumped annually to irrigate agrarian lands.

The quality of available surface water in India is deteriorating as the country becomes more industrialised and urbanised. According to a World Economic Forum survey, about 70% of India's surface water is unfit for human consumption. It also concludes that every day, approximately 40 million litres of wastewater containing hazardous chemicals enter rivers and other bodies of water.

India has been making sincere efforts for the past two decades to improve the level of water availability and quality of drinking water provided by municipalities. Rural India, on the other hand, continues to lag behind in terms of access to clean and healthy drinking water.

What are the reasons for this?

The ongoing worsening of the water situation around the world is largely due to anthropogenic or manmade causes. Accelerating man-made interventions is exacerbating the issue.