Hydrogeological Research in India in Managing Water Resources

India is a vast country with a total geographical area of about 3.28 × 106 km2. Due to diversified geological, climatological and physiographic setup, groundwater situations in different parts of the country are divergent. Uneven distribution of surface water in space and time, man’s interference, and over-exploitation of groundwater have caused regional imbalances in the supply and demand of water both in the alluvial tract of north India and in the hard rock formations of Peninsular India. The total annual water resources of India are about 1960 km3. The utilizable water resource is 1140 km3 (690 km3 from surface water and 450 km3 from groundwater). The present utilization is 750 km3 (500 km3 from surface water and 250 km3 from groundwater). The projected demand for the year 2025 is 1050 km3 indicating that by that point of time the total available water resources have to be put to use.