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General Studies 2025 GS Paper III 15 marks 250 words Compulsory Examine

GS Paper III — Q13

Examine the factors responsible for depleting groundwater in India. What are the steps taken by the government to mitigate such…

Examine the factors responsible for depleting groundwater in India. What are the steps taken by the government to mitigate such depletion of groundwater ? (Answer in 250 words) 15 marks

हिंदी में प्रश्न पढ़ें

भारत में घटते भूजल के लिए उत्तरदायी कारकों का परीक्षण कीजिए। भूजल में ऐसी क्षीणता को कम करने के लिए सरकार ने क्या कदम उठाए हैं ? (उत्तर 250 शब्दों में दीजिए)

Q13 of the 2025 UPSC Mains General Studies GS Paper III, as printed
The question as printed in the 2025 General Studies paper
Evaluate your answer to this question → See all 2025 General Studies questions

Model answer

Written by UPSC Answer Check against this question's marking rubric, to the 250-word length. UPSC does not publish answers for Mains — this is one way to score well, not an official key.

India is the world’s largest extractor of groundwater, drawing over a quarter of the global total, which has led to severe aquifer stress across multiple regions.

Factors Responsible for Depletion

Natural Factors: Spatial-temporal variability and erratic monsoon patterns severely curtail natural recharge. Furthermore, hard rock aquifers across peninsular India have low storage and percolation capacities, which, coupled with limited surface water storage, intensifies reliance on deep aquifers.

Anthropogenic Drivers: Agriculture consumes nearly 90% of extracted groundwater. The dominance of flood irrigation and water-intensive cropping patterns, such as the paddy-wheat cycle in northwestern India and sugarcane in western states, drives over-extraction. Concurrently, rapid urbanization causes surface concretization that blocks recharge, while burgeoning industrial demand further depletes reservoirs.

Mitigation Steps Taken by the Government

Policy Interventions: The National Aquifer Mapping and Management Programme (NAQUIM) maps aquifer geometries to facilitate targeted recharge. The Jal Shakti Abhiyan promotes water harvesting, while the Atal Bhujal Yojana incentivizes community-led, participatory groundwater management.

Legal and Regulatory Measures: The Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) enforces extraction guidelines and bans new tubewells in over-exploited and notified areas. The Model Groundwater Bill (2016) provides a framework for state-level regulation and aquifer protection.

Technological Interventions: The Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) promotes micro-irrigation (drip and sprinkler), alongside state mandates for rooftop rainwater harvesting and the construction of artificial recharge structures.

Critical Gaps and Finding

An examination indicates that the crisis persists due to structural bottlenecks: unmetered electricity subsidies that incentivize over-pumping, sluggish progress on crop diversification, unresolved inter-state aquifer disputes, and weak CGWA enforcement. Moving forward, sustainable aquifer management requires coupling technical recharge with strict power-tariff rationalization and enforceable demand-side water budgets.

What "Examine" is asking you to do

Test the proposition the question puts to you and return a finding on how far it holds. Examine stems carry a claim, or ask whether something has happened, and expect evidence weighed both ways before the extent is stated — often with remedial measures attached.

Structure that answers it

Restate the claim as the question frames it → evidence that supports it → evidence that undercuts it → the conditions under which it holds → verdict on how far it stands

Where marks are lost

Stopping at description. An examination has to reach a finding, and “examine with justification” means the extent must be stated, not implied.

All UPSC directive words, compared →

How this answer will be evaluated

Approach

Framework: GS3 Environment: Threat, Causes, Impact, Mitigation. examine: intro > how/why with reasoning > evidence > conclusion Full marks: Balanced analysis of agri/urban causes with specific legal (2019 Act) and developmental (ABJY) measures.

Key points expected

  • Agricultural over-extraction (tubewells, water-intensive crops)
  • Industrial and urban demand factors
  • Legal/Institutional measures (Jal Shakti, CGWA, 2019 Act)
  • Developmental measures (Jal Jeevan Mission, rainwater harvesting)

Evaluation rubric

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

  1. The answer Identify causes of groundwater depletion and government mitigation measures.  · 250 words

    examine— intro → how/why with reasoning → evidence → conclusion

    Must cover

    • Agricultural over-extraction (tubewells, water-intensive crops)
    • Industrial and urban demand factors
    • Legal/Institutional measures (Jal Shakti, CGWA, 2019 Act)
    • Developmental measures (Jal Jeevan Mission, rainwater harvesting)

    Loses marks

    • Generic 'awareness' measures without specific schemes
    • Ignoring the legal framework (2019 Act)
    • Focusing only on climate change, ignoring human factors

    Earns more

    • Mention of 'Critical' or 'Over-exploited' zones
    • Reference to 'Atal Bhujal Yojana' (ABJY)
    • Mention of 'National Aquifer Mapping Programme'
    • Reference to 'Groundwater (Management and Regulation) Act, 2019'

    Extra mark

    • Specific statistic on India's groundwater usage (e.g., 60% for agri)
    • Reference to 'National Ground Water Mission'

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