ABSTRACT
Agriculture, particularly food grain production, has shown significant growth in India since independence. An estimate of primary energy consumption in agriculture done by Prayas revealed that for the year 2009–10, almost 40% of energy was used for fertilisers, 28% for irrigation, 15% for transport and 8% for mechanisation. Irrigation, driven by groundwater and electricity, has played a significant role in achieving the growth in agricultural production. The electricity consumption in agriculture has risen from 3,465 Million Units (MU) in 1969 to 1,87,493 MU in 2016. The National Commission for Integrated Water Resources Development Report projected the food grain requirement for India at 320 million tonne in 2025, and at 494 million tonne in 2050 as compared to the current production of 275 million tonne. The baseline trend in the food-water-energy nexus is therefore worrisome: increased groundwater depletion in some 61% of India’s wells, increased electricity consumption, and increased subsidy burden on the state governments.
