NCERT · Class 10 · Social Science · Geography: Water ResourcesHow has agriculture contributed significantly to water scarcity in modern India?

Agriculture has contributed significantly to water scarcity in modern India primarily due to the adoption of water-intensive crops and the extensive overuse of groundwater resources. With the advent of Green Revolution technologies, farmers have increasingly relied on tube-wells and groundwater pumping to cultivate commercial and thirsty crops like paddy, sugarcane, and wheat, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. This uncontrolled exploitation has drastically lowered the groundwater table in many parts of the country, causing wells and tube-wells to run dry, thereby severely threatening the sustainability of agricultural water availability.