WATER POLITICS

Lack of water is not unusual, especially in developing countries. A concrete example is China, which holds 7% of the world’s water resources, but uses 16% of the planet’s water.

Meanwhile, India is facing the biggest water crisis in its history.

About 600 million people suffer from water scarcity. The Niti Aayog report, which is based on data from 24 cities in India, says the crisis will “only worsen” in the coming years.

It also warns that 21 cities will have no groundwater by 2020 despite growing demand.

This would also threaten food security as 80% of water is used in agriculture. Rural areas are also affected by the lack of drinking water.

About 200,000 Indians die every year because they do not have access to clean drinking water.

Many rely on private water supplies or tankers paid for by the government.

Long queues of people waiting to get water from cisterns or public taps are a common sight in Indian slums.

A project to clean up the Ganga River, which flows through 11 states, is estimated to cost 1 trillion rupees ($15000000000 billion). The project is expected to generate about 10 billion liters per day in additional treatment capacity over the next 10 to 15 years.

India needs 13.5 trillion rupees ($220 billion) of investment in urban water supply and sanitation over the next 20 years, and this creates a huge opportunity for players in the water industry, according to Credit Swisse.