UPSC 2023 · GS 3
How does e-Technology help farmers in production and marketing of agricultural produce? Explain it.
Read this PYQ →GS 3 · Irrigation and sustainable farming
Groundwater Crisis in Punjab and Its Widening Socio-Economic Divide
Published · Updated
Recent findings highlight that Punjab's severe groundwater depletion—with over 76% of blocks categorized as over-exploited due to intensive cultivation of water-intensive crops like wheat and paddy—is deepening social and economic inequalities among farmers, alongside triggering severe ecological risks like land subsidence and declining water quality.
WHY THIS MATTERS FOR MAINS
Critically analyze: move beyond the headline.
Examine how ecological degradation and resource depletion intersect with agrarian stratification and rural inequalities, evaluating the institutional and policy adjustments needed for sustainable agricultural practices.
Study angle, not an exam prediction · GS 3 / Economy & agriculture
Background and Scale of Depletion
- Punjab records the highest proportion of over-exploited groundwater blocks nationwide, crossing 76 percent.
- Decades of focusing on water-intensive cereal production under historical procurement incentives have aggressively drained aquifers.
- Environmental consequences include deteriorating water quality, plummeting water tables, and emerging threats of land subsidence.
Causal Mechanisms and Socio-Economic Strata
- The prohibitive capital costs of installing deeper submersible pumps and sinking deeper wells disproportionately affect small and marginal farmers.
- Unequal capacity to access deeper groundwater resources deepens rural economic disparities and traps vulnerable cultivators in debt.
- Rising input expenditures combined with diminishing yields accelerate agrarian distress across agrarian communities.
Policy Dilemmas and Sustainable Pathways
- Crop diversification programs face resistance due to the security offered by minimum support prices for paddy and wheat.
- Political sensitivities surrounding free or subsidized agricultural power complicate efforts to regulate extraction rates.
- Adopting micro-irrigation technologies, community-led aquifer management, and localized water conservation incentives are vital for long-term viability.
TRY THE DEMAND · ORIGINAL PRACTICE PROMPT
Analyze how severe groundwater depletion in intensive agricultural regions fuels socio-economic disparities among farmers. What policy instruments are required to reconcile food security with long-term ecological sustainability in India's grain bowl states? Evaluate with reference to Punjab's agrarian challenges.
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How this theme has been asked
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Read this PYQ →UPSC 2017 · GS 3
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