SINQUERIM: By 2035, India will face a 50% water deficit, a director of a US-based study centre has warned. 

Participating in 'The wars within' session at the 11th regulators and policy makers retreat at Sinquerim on Thursday, David Michel, senior associate and director of environment security program at Stimson Centre, Washington DC, spoke on India's water security. He stressed that steps would have to be taken to reduce the impact on the country's socio-economic set up. 

The conference, organized by Independent Power Producers Association of India will end on Sunday. It aims at developing regulatory and policy initiatives in the context of striking a balance between 'public good versus private profit'. The conference has attracted participation of thinkers, corporate CEOs, trainers and writers. 

Making a presentation on 'India's water security: stormy weather ahead', Michel said that India has one-sixth of world's population but its water share is just 1/25th. 

He said climate change has not much affected the availability of water to the user in India. However, population growth and economic development are critical issues concerning water. 

Stating that some parts of the country are already facing water stress, he said droughts have had socio-economic impact on the country. He added that studies have also shown that floods recur more often now than they did in the past. 

The effect of such development is seen on food security and the gross development product, Michel said pointing out to the situation in the African continent where a study in 41 countries has shown that frequent floods led not only to a drop in GDP but also resulted in civil wars. 

Interestingly, he said data gathered from India has shown that as far as usage of water is concerned, nearly 90% goes for agriculture. In fact, he said, India uses maximum water to irrigate land than any other nation in the world. 

Participating in the same session, Ajit Nimbalkar, chairman of Maharahstra water resources regulatory authority, said the water security situation is not as alarming as it is being made out to be. He said though everyone talks about domestic consumption of water, only 15% is used here. Agriculture consumes 80%, while industry uses 5%. 

Meanwhile, Michel said the main challenge for India was how to sustain providing water to all the sectors. This would require water management, he and Nimbalkar said. Replying to questions during the open session, Nimbalkar said desalination of sea water is very expensive and "is not feasible for agriculture and domestic purposes". Michel called for holistic planning and suggested that neighbouring countries could work for a bright future on the water front. He favoured small dams and said India would have to take measures to reduce wastage of water.