← All questionsGS1 · 2024 · Geography ·Groundwater Decline in the Ganga Valley and Food Security
QUESTION 14
GS1
15 marks

The groundwater potential of the gangetic valley is on a serious decline. How may it affect the food security of India?

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11 min
250 words
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What the examiner wants

Explain why groundwater in the Ganga plains is falling and how this threatens India's food security.

ExplainMake clear how and why it happens: causes, process, and an example for each point.

Demand-wise check

  1. 1Causes: over-extraction for paddy–wheat, free or cheap power, rising tube wells, falling recharge due to urbanisation and rainfall change≈65 words
  2. 2Impact on food security: lower irrigation, higher costs, shift of crops, effect on PDS stocks, arsenic and quality issues≈65 words
  3. 3Measures: crop diversification, micro-irrigation, Atal Bhujal Yojana, recharge structures≈65 words

Open in about 30 words and close in about 30.

Answer plan

Importance of Ganga plains for foodEvidence of declineCausesImpact on availability, access and stabilityMeasuresConclusion

Where marks usually go

  • Discussing groundwater in general without the Ganga valley
  • Not linking the decline to food security, which is the actual question

Draw this

  • Map of the Ganga plains shading over-exploited blocks

Value addition

  • DataCGWB's Dynamic Ground Water Resource Assessment classifies many blocks in Punjab, Haryana and western UP as over-exploited.Central Ground Water Board, Dynamic Ground Water Resources of India
  • SchemeAtal Bhujal Yojana (2019) promotes community-led groundwater management in water-stressed states, including Uttar Pradesh.Ministry of Jal Shakti

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