India's Shifting Population Profile Points To Future Demographic Shocks

The Modi government scores on almost all social indicators, but water scarcity, reservations may deliver shocks in the future

- Amarnath K. Menon

Buoyed by a commanding majority in the Lok Sabha and the tactical support from friendly opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha, the Narendra Modi government has been on a legislative overdrive, chasing social goals to ensure sustainable growth is a tad easier. So even though not all measures are backed by budgetary intent, there is a perception that things have improved, especially in rural areas. The MOTN survey shows that this is especially true for the availability of potable water as well as for irrigation, power and the condition of roads. People say these have improved strikingly in the past two years.

The reconstitution of water-related departments into the newly named Jal Shakti ministry displays a resolve to address the country’s water woes. Prime Minister Modi has pledged to make water conservation a mass movement on the lines of the Swachh Bharat cleanliness campaign. To walk the talk on this is a daunting task, for the crisis lies more in the mismanagement of water.