The case for investing in water security is compelling—both from a human and economic perspective. As Siddharth Sharma, CEO of Tata Trusts, writes in his exclusive column for World Environment Day, water security is not only an urgent societal need that philanthropy must address, but also a strategic imperative for businesses.
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Samuel Taylor Coleridge's words from 1834, ‘Water, water, everywhere, and not a drop to drink,’ remain profoundly relevant today. This is a lived reality for many: Although water covers more than two thirds of the Earth’s surface, less than one per cent is readily accessible freshwater.
India ranks 120th among 122 countries for its water quality, and nearly 600 million Indians face high to extreme water stress. This threatens individual households, weakens health systems, disrupts economic productivity, and deepens existing inequalities – making water security essential for shared prosperity.
With only 4% of the world’s water resources available for a country housing 18% of its population, water insecurity poses a pressing threat. This perpetuates poverty and disparity – with India’s great reliance on agriculture – the backbone of rural livelihoods, water is intrinsically linked to great economic cost and food security, rendering such income streams unpredictable. Moreover, its adverse effects on people’s health, with problems ranging from diarrhea to typhoid and beyond, and educational outcomes – particularly facing the poorest households – amplifies vulnerability. Without addressing our water scarcity problem, the promise of inclusive development remains elusive, and many remain trapped in cycles of economic fragility.
Take, for instance, a smallholder farmer, Ramesh, and his family in a drought-prone district of Maharashtra. In the absence of reliable and regular access to clean water, his wife, Sunita, walks miles to fetch water every day – time that could have been spent dedicated to productive economic activity, childcare, or even in leisure activities. Their children’s education is constantly disrupted – water-borne diseases are a constant threat, draining their savings on medical bills, and at other times, their son skips school during hot summer months to help dig new borewells. Ramesh’s ability to cultivate crops, too, is dependent on increasingly erratic rainfall patterns – posing challenges to earning a stable income, with sometimes only enough yield to support their own consumption.
Water is more than a basic necessity: it is the currency of a healthy, dignified, and prosperous life. When families like Ramesh’s have reliable access to clean water – and community awareness programs that educate them on the importance of this – it can break the cycle of exclusion and unlock opportunities for better health, uninterrupted education, economic mobility, and financial stability.
More so, by introducing field solutions, such as for rainwater harvesting, and to build climate resilience with advanced conservation techniques, we can help smallholder farmers maximise water use efficiency and extend their economic stability. Beyond agriculture, water access also enables small-scale enterprises, such as dairy farming, helping support alternative livelihood opportunities, and consequently strengthening rural economies.
Interventions specific to the region’s ground realities bring about a sea of change – and water can truly prove to be an economic multiplier. We’ve seen this in Maharashtra, where community-led watershed management has restored groundwater tables and, as a result, boosted agricultural yields and household incomes, as well as in Odisha – where investing in Diversion-Based Irrigation has stabilised water supply for smallholder farmers. When we invest in water, we’re also investing in the vitality of ecosystems – from wetlands to catchment areas – that sustain life: restoring balance in the natural water table ensures both people and nature thrive.
The ecological, human, and economic case for investing in water security is compelling: it is not only an urgent societal need for philanthropy to address, but also a strategic business imperative. Greater funding for water among other development priorities is vital – and requires us to continue advocating for water security not just as an environmental issue, but as a productivity, gender equity, health, prosperity, and economic issue.
The government’s support, too, bolsters efforts to enhance water security and translate it into meaningful outcomes for vulnerable communities. Its Jal Jeevan Mission is a powerful example – making significant progress over the years towards its goal of providing every rural household with functional water tap connections. Supporting such ambitious programs, we need strong collaborations between government, philanthropy, and private sector players.
Public-private partnerships can scale impact – particularly by taking programs to the grassroots, as well as by mobilising communities and capacity building to encourage a sense of ownership that lends to longer-term sustainability. Engaging with those in the regions as well as grassroots organisations helps avoid problems like misalignment with local needs, which, paired with short-sighted over more durable planning, is what results in water projects sometimes failing to create the desired impact.
Our goal must be to create sustainable solutions that outlive funding cycles. Instituting such decentralized models of water governance prove particularly beneficial to this end. This can also be supported by targeted social and behavioural change efforts that aim to empower people in these communities to protect and conserve this precious resource.
Through these steps, we can make significant progress on several interlinked facets of prosperity – health and education, livelihood and income, social cohesion and community, and the environment. By investing in sustainable, scalable solutions with a focus on community stewardship and driving prosperity, we can ensure a future where no one is left behind – where water is not a barrier to growth, but a foundation for lasting prosperity.
— The author, Siddharth Sharma, is CEO at Tata Trusts. The views are personal.
The article was first published on 5 June, 2025 on CNBCTV18.
