The ever-increasing demand for potable water is exerting tremendous stress on our existing consumable water resources. Water covers a little over 70 per cent of the earth surface, and by this, we erroneously presume that there is adequate potable water. Realistically, only 3 per cent of this water is potable.

According to a study in Science Advances, some African and Asian countries face severe water scarcity for almost the entire year. The same study also reveals that India suffers from water scarcity for over seven months a year. The current water requirement for India is around 28,251.73 TMC (thousand million cubic feet), which is close to the utilisable water resource (i.e. available fresh water) for our country (roughly 38,351.73 TMC). Studies by the Ministry of Water Resources indicate that the available water will become equal to the demand by the year 2030 if the current trends continue. However, because many freshwater sources are highly polluted, the actual utilizable water is likely to be much lower than 38,351.73 TMC. Therefore, there is an urgent need to find solutions to alleviate water scarcity in India.