Irrigation systems

Story hook

It is 15 May 2024. The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) releases its annual assessment: of India's 6,553 assessment units, 1,006 are "over-exploited" — meaning ground water extraction exceeds annual recharge. Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi and parts of Tamil Nadu top the list. Punjab's central districts (Sangrur, Barnala, Patiala) see water tables fall 0.5-1.0 metres every year. The depletion has accelerated since the Green Revolution of the 1960s — when tube-wells replaced canal-fed paddies.

On the same day, the Ministry of Jal Shakti publishes the Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) progress card. Micro-irrigation coverage stands at ~13.5 million hectares — a five-fold jump since 2014, but still only 17% of India's gross cropped area. Israel does 90%. China 44%. The gap is the gap between scarcity and security.

For UPSC, irrigation isn't a topic — it's an organising principle that links Geography (rivers), Economy (Green Revolution), Environment (groundwater), and Polity (water as a state subject under List II).

Why this matters for UPSC

Prelims tests irrigation almost every year — questions on PMKSY components, drip-vs-sprinkler economics, AIBP river-basin projects, and command-area development have appeared in 2023, 2021, 2019, 2017, 2016, 2014. Mains GS-III routinely asks "diversify away from groundwater" / "PMKSY effectiveness". Honest weightage: 2-3 marks Prelims, one 10-15 mark Mains question every cycle.