What are the major challenges faced by Indian irrigation system in recent times? State the measures taken by the government for efficient irrigation management.
Approach · directive: “what / state”
What it asks · Identify the current problems of India's irrigation (supply, efficiency, governance) and list government measures for efficient water use.
The question has 2 parts — answer each
- What: the major challenges faced by India's irrigation system in recent times — supply, efficiency, assets, crops, climate and governance
- State the measures taken by the government for efficient irrigation management
Open with · Agriculture uses most of India's water, yet about half the net sown area still depends on rain.
Cover
- Groundwater over-extraction: tubewells dominate; free or cheap power drives falling water tables in the north-west.
- Low efficiency: flood irrigation, canal seepage and a gap between irrigation potential created and utilised.
- Incomplete and silted projects; poor maintenance and low water charges starve canal systems of funds.
- Mismatch of crops and water: paddy and sugarcane in water-scarce regions; climate variability worsens stress.
- Measures: PMKSY (2015) — AIBP, Har Khet Ko Pani, watershed development, and Per Drop More Crop for drip and sprinkler.
- Also: Atal Bhujal Yojana for community groundwater management, Micro Irrigation Fund, PM-KUSUM solar pumps, Catch the Rain.
- Governance: participatory irrigation management, water-user associations and command area development.
Close with · Price and power reforms, crop diversification and micro-irrigation at scale can deliver 'more crop per drop'.
Add value (verified)
- Only about half of India's net sown area has irrigation facilities, though agriculture uses over 80% of water resources. PIB — Water-Smart Farming with Per Drop More Crop ↗“More than 80% of India's available water resources are used for agricultural irrigation. However, only about 50% of the net sown area has irrigation facilities.”
- Per Drop More Crop has brought about 115 lakh hectares under micro-irrigation (July 2026). PIB — Water-Smart Farming with Per Drop More Crop ↗“Since its inception, PDMC has brought 115 lakh hectares under micro-irrigation, as of July 2026. This accounts for about 8.11% of India’s net sown area.”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2024, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 287 words (UPSC limit 250) · Minimalist IAS
Agriculture uses more than 80% of India's water, yet only about half the net sown area is irrigated — a system that is at once stretched and wasteful.
Major challenges
- Groundwater over-extraction: tubewells dominate irrigation; free or cheap power drives water tables down in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, and salinity spreads in over-drawn aquifers.
- Low efficiency: flood irrigation and unlined canals lose much of the water, and a persistent gap remains between irrigation potential created and utilised.
- Neglected assets: incomplete projects, silted reservoirs and canals, poor maintenance and low water charges that starve systems of funds.
- Crop–water mismatch: paddy and sugarcane in water-scarce regions, encouraged by assured procurement and power subsidies.
- Climate stress: erratic monsoons, heatwaves and glacial change make both rain-fed and canal supply less predictable; inter-State river disputes add uncertainty.
- Weak governance: fragmented departments, little farmer participation and poor data on actual water use.
Government measures
- PMKSY (2015): AIBP to complete pending projects, Har Khet Ko Pani for new potential and groundwater, watershed development, and Per Drop More Crop for drip and sprinkler (about 115 lakh hectares covered by July 2026).
- Micro Irrigation Fund with NABARD to help States expand drip and sprinkler at concessional cost.
- Atal Bhujal Yojana: community-led groundwater management with water budgets in over-exploited blocks.
- PM-KUSUM: solar pumps and feeder solarisation to replace diesel and reduce the incentive for wasteful pumping.
- Jal Shakti Abhiyan — Catch the Rain: rainwater harvesting, renovation of tanks and recharge structures.
- Governance: Command Area Development, participatory irrigation management through water-user associations, and State incentives for shifting out of paddy in Punjab and Haryana.
Efficiency will come when price and power reforms, crop diversification and micro-irrigation at scale work together to deliver 'more crop per drop'.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify) — a little fuller than exam length, so every part of the question is covered; in the hall, keep the structure and trim the detail. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.