event 08 Sep 2022

Research Article // Sustainable Groundwater Management in India Needs a Water-Energy-Food Nexus Approach

By Aditi Mukherji. This paper traces the historical evolution of WEF policies in the post Green Revolution period and weaves a narrative of how these interlinked policies have led to several suboptimal outcomes in each of the sectors. These include poor nutritional outcomes despite high food production in the food sector, unsustainable groundwater trends in large parts of India, and the poor financial health of electricity utilities. The paper shows how it is possible, through careful policy changes, to reverse some of these unsustainable trends.

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Distribution of solar irrigation pumps in India, 2018. Mukherji, A. (2022)

Abstract

Groundwater depletion in India is a result of water, energy, and food policies that have given rise to a nexus where growth in agriculture has been supported by unsustainable trends in water and energy use. This nexus emanates from India’s policy of providing affordable calories to its large population. This requires that input prices are kept low, leading to perverse incentives that encourage groundwater overexploitation. The paper argues that solutions to India’s groundwater problems need to be embedded within the current context of its water-energy-food nexus. Examples are provided of changes underway in some water-energy-food policies that may halt further groundwater depletion.

Published

August 2022

By

Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy - Wiley Online Library

Citation

Mukherji, A. (2022). Sustainable groundwater management in India needs a water‐energy‐food nexus approach. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, 44(1), 394-410.

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Sustainable Groundwater Management in India Needs a Water-Energy-Food Nexus Approach

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