Ms. Manulaxmi Yadav will present her APS as per the detail below:

Date: 28 February 2023

Time: 1130 - 1230 hrs.

Venue: Conference Room No.2

Topic: The Role of Women in Groundwater Management for Enhancing Livelihood status in India

Guide: Prof Pennan Chinnasamy

RPC members: Prof Priya Jadhav, Prof Sarmistha Pattanaik

Abstract:   Groundwater is a critical water resource in India. With evident climate change and increased competition for domestic purposes, agricultural productivity, and livelihood opportunities, the management and development of groundwater resources have become significant in both global and Indian contexts. Over 60% of the water demand for agriculture and 85% for drinking water is met by groundwater sources in India. The groundwater security issues are raising serious questions, including hydrological, societal, agricultural, and gender perspectives. Studies and researchers have focused on the scientific aspect of groundwater, and not much on societal and gender perspectives related to it.  For drinking water alone, women in India travel on an average of three trips a day, spending 50-77 minutes per trip. This present study attempts to explore various gendered issues linked with depletion in groundwater. Though several initiatives under India’s Jal Shakti Abhiyan (Jal Jeevan Mission, Atal Bhujal Yojana, etc) have been undertaken to cohesively manage the groundwater as a resource, a gap exists in gendering water-related decisions. Thus, there is an immediate need to identify the gaps and understand the groundwater issues in the context of gender. It is necessary to review the influence of government policies on rural women due to the scarcity of groundwater, which is accomplished in this review. The present review of literature has found that due to the depletion of groundwater women get impacted socially, economically, health-wise, and educationally. The study has also examined the government’s strategies and initiatives to involve local women to empower them and to achieve sustainable water futures. The current literature review suggests that there has been a significant shift in women’s roles from domestic to agricultural work due to the feminisation of agriculture. They are now not only dignified as the sole taker of domestic water but also irrigation water. Considering the gender diversity in both domestic and agricultural fields, the literature review has also identified that women can benefit from participation in integrated water management both socially and economically. It was found that female education was the significant factor that gets impacted and is improved due to watershed interventions with the increased level and enhanced availability and accessibility of water. The present literature review has found that there is a strong advocacy for behavioural change in women in terms of upskilling them with strong leadership and communication skills. The communities need to be sensitised towards, systematic, gender-sensitive perspectives, and social engagement both for local and global water security.