UN-Water Summit on Groundwater

Recently, the United Nations-Water Summit on Groundwater 2022 was held in Paris, France.

Organised by: UN-Water, UNESCO and the International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre.

Objectives: The broad objectives of the summit were:

• To raise awareness on groundwater conservation and to highlight the opportunities and challenges of groundwater management.
• To mark the completion of the “Groundwater: Making the invisible visible” campaign run by UN-Water throughout 2022.

Groundwater in India: Groundwater is India’s most used water resource, accounting for a quarter of total global groundwater extraction.

• India is the largest user of groundwater with a fourth of the total global withdrawal. Indian cities cater to about 48 per cent of its water supply from groundwater.
• According to a 2021 CAG report, groundwater extraction in India has exceeded the recharge rate, threatening 80% of potable water over the next two decades.