Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation, agriculture.
1) Agriculture is one of the main contributors of groundwater crisis in India, critically analyse the causes and in what way India’s reliance on water for farming is partly self-inflicted? Suggest solutions.(250 words)
Why this question:
The article explains in what way Erratic monsoon rains and skewed farm incentives have led to the growing groundwater crisis, impacting farm incomes and availability of drinking water.
Key demand of the question:
Explain and analyse the main contributions for the ongoing ground water crisis and agriculture as a major contributor to it.
Directive:
Critically analyze – When asked to analyse, you have to examine methodically the structure or nature of the topic by separating it into component parts and present them as a whole in a summary. When ‘critically’ is suffixed or prefixed to a directive, one needs to look at the good and bad of the topic and give a fair judgement.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Quote facts from the article to bring out the current crisis.
Body:
The answer must first explain the reasons contributing to the ground water crisis and major emphasis should be upon how agriculture has become a major contributor to the crisis. Explain that growing demand for water is almost entirely driven by farmers. Nowhere in the world does agriculture consume as much water as in South Asia. This reliance on water has made the region one of the most water-scarce places in the world. In India itself, more than 80% of water demand is used for farming, and agricultural water consumption is expected to stay at these levels even in 2050.
Conclusion:
Conclude with solutions to the above challenges, suggest policy reforms and their urgent need.
