How and to what extent would micro-irrigation help in solving India's water crisis? (Answer in 150 words)

हिंदी में प्रश्न पढ़ें

भारत के जल संकट के समाधान में, सूक्ष्म-सिंचाई कैसे और किस सीमा तक सहायक होगी ? (150 शब्दों में उत्तर दीजिए)

The question as printed in the 2021 General Studies paper

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Model answer

Drafted with AI by UPSC Answer Check against this question's marking rubric, to the 150-word length. UPSC does not publish answers for Mains — this is one way to score well, not an official key. How we build rubrics and answers.

(a) How it helps: Micro-irrigation (drip and sprinkler) delivers water directly to the root zone. By cutting conveyance loss, evaporation and deep percolation, it saves roughly 30-70% of water compared with flood irrigation, and also reduces fertiliser use and waterlogging-linked salinity.

(b) Extent: The gain matters most in water-stressed States such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, especially for horticulture, sugarcane and cotton. Coverage is about 14 million hectares against an estimated potential of about 70 million, under PMKSY's Per Drop More Crop.

(c) Limits: Agriculture is the largest water user, so savings matter, but high capital cost, fragmented holdings, erratic rural power and crop suitability limit reach. Crop-level savings may also not reduce basin-level use if farmers expand irrigated area. It must be combined with watershed management, rational power and water pricing, and crop diversification away from water-guzzling crops.

How this answer will be evaluated

Framework: Situation > Analysis > Measures > Assessment

What earns full marks: Precise technical mechanism + clear quantification of limits + specific scheme reference.

Evaluation rubric

Each sub-part is marked on its own, against the marks and word limit printed on the paper.

The answer Mechanism of water conservation and the specific limits of its impact on the national crisis. 10 marks · 150 words

explain— definition/context → points in order → small example → short close
Must cover
- Explains 'how' via drip/sprinkler efficiency
- Quantifies water savings (e.g., 40-60%)
- Identifies 'extent' limits (e.g., cost, scale)
- Links to 'more crop per drop' policy
Loses marks
- Aspirational writing without technical mechanism
- Ignoring the 'extent' (limitations) part
- Generic environmental statements
Earns more
- Mentions PMKSY (Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana)
- Notes soil salinity reduction
- Mentions groundwater recharge benefit
- Contrasts with flood irrigation
Extra mark
- Cites specific PMKSY coverage target
- Mentions specific crop yield increase

What "Explain" is asking you to do

Make the working of something clear — what sets it off, what follows from what, and what it produces. Explain is the Commission's mechanism word: it dominates the technical papers and the “explain why” stems, where the marks sit in the causal chain and not in the label.

Structure that answers it

State what it is → the initiating condition → the chain of cause, step by step → an instance where it plays out → what the chain produces

Where marks are lost

Describing what something looks like instead of why it works that way. Naming the stages without linking them reads as description too.

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