As India journeys towards its glorious vision of Viksit Bharat in 2047, on the eve of the 100th anniversary of independence as a fully developed, self-reliant country, water and electricity security become non-negotiable prerequisites for sustainable economic development, industrial growth, and social justice. With the population projected to reach 1.5 billion and the economy helping the country reach developed-nation status through rapid GDP growth, urbanisation, and a manufacturing revival driven by business-friendly policies such as production-linked incentives, the country faces mounting pressure on its natural resources. Water and electricity are not just utilities but also enablers of agricultural productivity, which continues to absorb almost half of the labour force; of urban infrastructure development; and of technological industries such as semiconductors and data centres that require an uninterrupted power supply and clean water. In the absence of robust security in these sectors, India’s growth trend is likely to stall amid climate variations, population pressures, and global supply chain disruptions. There is a strong need for integrated policy interventions that balance short-term needs with long-term resilience.
Water security is at a critical crossroads. Per capita water availability in India has dropped to 1,486 cubic metres in 2021 and is projected to fall to 1,367 cubic metres in 2031, with stressed areas likely to decline to about 1,000 cubic metres by mid-century, compared with the international standard of 1,700 cubic metres for water stress and 1,000 cubic metres for scarcity. This reduction is further exacerbated by the fact that 18 per cent of the world’s population lives in India, yet only 4 per cent of the total fresh water resources, and that agriculture accounts for approximately 70 per cent of the total water supply, with unpredictable monsoons exacerbated by global warming. Aquatic components, such as groundwater, which serve more than 60 per cent of irrigation and potable water requirements, are dwindling at an alarming rate in states such as Rajasthan, Haryana, and Punjab, jeopardising food security in a nation that must feed its expanding population and export agrarian produce.
The stakes for Viksit Bharat are very high: water shortages may cost a percentage point or more of GDP growth, as they limit industrial production in water-intensive sectors such as textiles, steel, and chemicals, and urban migration will increase pressure on urban centres already facing supply shortages. Government initiatives in recent years have made laudable efforts to address this, with the most recent being the Jal Jeevan Mission, which has transformed rural access by providing tap water connections to over 15.68 crore households out of 19.36 crore as of August 2025 – up from 3.23 crore, or 17 per cent, when it was launched in 2019 – covering 81 per cent of the rural population and focusing on functionality, with 86 per cent of connections providing an acceptable quantity, frequency, and quality of water. This is the Atal Bhujal Yojana, which aims to manage groundwater in 8,203 water-stressed gram panchayats in seven states through community-based demand-side solutions such as micro-irrigation and crop diversification, which have already saved or recharged over 2,359 million cubic metres of groundwater, benefiting close to 30 million people and covering 670,802 hectares of land with effective practices. Such efforts not only enhance short-term availability but also build climate resilience by facilitating rainwater collection and supporting aquifer replenishment, thereby supporting water security and the agricultural modernisation and industrialisation needed to sustain a $30-trillion-plus economy by 2047.
However, electricity security is also crucial, as it powers Viksit Bharat amid booming demand driven by the electrification of transport, households, and industries. In recent years, India’s installed power capacity has surpassed the 500 GW mark, and it is projected to reach 708 GW in the coming years. Generation capacity must be increased by a factor of four, to around 2,100 GW, to support an 8-9 per cent annual increase in GDP and the demands of a modernising society with rising per capita demand. Conventional reliance on coal, although offering baseload security, leaves the country vulnerable to imports and harms the environment, necessitating a rapid switchover to renewables as both secure and cost-effective. NITI Aayog’s India Energy Security Scenarios 2047 projections indicate that 85-90 per cent of the mix may be dominated by non-fossil sources by mid-century; renewable energy may rise to 1.8-2 terawatts, with huge solar and wind arrays, nuclear power, and pumped storage to stabilise the grid. This growth will not only reduce geopolitical risks associated with fuel supply but also generate jobs in green manufacturing and meet the growing demand for data centres and electric vehicles, which are likely to increase energy demand threefold. The water interconnection is profound: thermal power plants use enormous amounts of water to cool them, and stable electricity enables effective water-pumping, treatment, and desalination projects along the arid coasts, resulting in a vicious cycle in which safe electricity powering them improves water management, and the opposite.
At the heart of this twin security system is India’s active initiative to achieve carbon neutrality, reflected in its commitment to net-zero emissions by 2070 and in line with Viksit Bharat’s philosophy of sustainable development. The COP26 Panchamrit promises of 500 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030 (which has already surpassed this target), 50 per cent renewable energy in the power mix, a one billion tonne reduction in projected emissions, a one-fourth reduction in the intensity of GDP emissions, and a lifestyle shift in the environmental movement have been operationalised in the updated Nationally Determined Contribution and the Long-term Low Emission Development Strategy submitted to the UNFCCC. This is accelerated by recent initiatives: the National Green Hydrogen Mission aims to produce 5 million metric tonnes of green hydrogen each year by 2030 to decarbonise hard-to-abate industries such as fertiliser and refinery production, utilising renewable electricity to generate clean fuel that indirectly consumes water through reduced processes.
The carbon credit trading scheme announced in 2023, with full compliance operations scheduled to commence in mid-2026, implements market-driven incentives to reduce emissions intensity across industries in sectors such as steel, cement, and petrochemicals, and enhances the perform, achieve, and trade mechanism to promote efficiency without affecting growth. The pathway is further reinforced in the 2026 Union Budget, which allocates 2.2 billion dollars over five years to carbon capture, utilisation, and storage technologies, as needed to decarbonise industries with few other options and to align with power sector reforms to create a cleaner grid. The measures also minimise the water footprint of energy production by favouring renewable energy sources, such as solar, which use much less water than coal plants, and maximise power security by lowering import costs and pollution, which can be used to enhance other developmental objectives.
The interconnection of water, electricity, and carbon-neutrality plans is therefore central to ensuring that India experiences comprehensive development by 2047. Through national-level planning, e.g., the scenario modelling methodology used at NITI Aayog to evaluate water use, land demand, investment needs, and power transitions, the government can make growth both inclusive and resilient. An example is solar-powered irrigation under programmes such as PM-KUSUM, which reduces groundwater overexploitation and lowers farming emissions. Rooftop solar projects such as PM Surya Ghar have already linked subsidies worth crores of rupees to electricity at the grassroots, encouraging energy independence. The obstacles remain, such as the funding gap for infrastructure estimated in the trillions and the need to align institutions across states, but developments in Jal Jeevan, Atal Bhujal, green hydrogen, and carbon markets are indications of a prospective strategy. Finally, the ability to provide water and electricity in a low-carbon paradigm will not only help mitigate the risks of climate change but also open up opportunities for productivity, attract green investment, and make India a global pacesetter in sustainable development, with all citizens living in plenty, not in scarcity. This combined strategy, based on innovation, community engagement, and policy vision, will turn their potential weaknesses into strengths that will last for generations.
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