Question

Define groundwater?

Answer 1

Hint: In India, 1,869 cubic km is the availability of surface water and replenishable groundwater. Only 60 percent, out of this, can be put to beneficial uses. Thus, 1,122 cubic km is the total utilizable water resource in the country.

Complete step-by-step solution:
Groundwater is the water that occurs underground, below the surface of the Earth in saturated zones, it is also called sub-surface water to differentiate it from surface water. In the river basins, lying in the North-Western region and parts of South India, the level of groundwater utilization is relatively high. In the states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu, the groundwater utilization is very high. However, there are states like Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Kerala, etc. which utilize only a small proportion of their groundwater potentials. States utilizing their groundwater resources at a moderate rate are Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Tripura, and Maharashtra. If the present scenario continues, there would develop a need for supplies, and such a situation will be detrimental for development and it might cause social upheaval and disruptions. Agriculture accounts for most of the utilization of surface and groundwater resources. It accounts for the utilization of 89 percent of the surface water and 92 percent of the groundwater resources. And the share of the Industrial sector is limited to 2 percent of surface water utilization and 5 percent of groundwater utilization. The Domestic sector accounts for a higher share of 9 percent in surface water utilization as compared to groundwater.

Note: There is a Centre Ground Water Board (CGWB) that tackles the problem of groundwater depletion. It has come up with policies to recharge the groundwater level; one of them is the ‘Jal Kranti Abhiyan’ which is launched in order to consolidate water conservation and management in the country