Sustainable water management in India is fast becoming a necessity as pressure on water resources due to growing population and industrial development is increasing. In India alone, water demand is expected to rise from 552 Billion Cubic Meters (BCM) in 2000 to 1050 BCM by 2025. Of the total water usage, 92% is devoted to agriculture, 3% to industry and 5% to domestic use. In the country, per capita fresh water availability has dropped from 5000 m3/year in 1947 to 2000 m3/year in 1997. By 2027, this is expected to further drop to 1500 m3/year. (Source: Development Alternatives).

Municipal water and related environment services have historically been managed by the Government with nearly 70% of the overall funding in the sector coming through central and state allocations (Source: UNESCO). However, the World Bank and other international bodies have pointed out that given the immense scale of investment required to service the needs of a fast growing economy and ever-increasing population, the government can no longer afford to be the sole source of funding for development of water infrastructure in the country. The national target of full water coverage for the urban population alone is estimated to require expenditure ranging from Rs. 11,200 crore to Rs. 16,800 crore for water supply and Rs. 28,900 crore to Rs. 62,600 crore for related sanitation services. The estimates of future investment requirements in the Water and Sanitation sectors in India are as follows:

FUTURE INVESTMENT REQUIREMENTS

(Source: www.unesco-ihe.org)