Why Circularity Must Anchor India’s Water Security Strategy

History is often shaped by paradoxes. Nineteen nations exist without a single permanent river, yet many of them are more water-secure than India. This tell us that water security is engineered, not inherited. India, by contrast, has rivers, ample monsoons and we inherit a civilisational mastery of water engineering. Even so, as per NITI Aayog’s 2019 ‘Composite Water Management Index’, approximately 600mn Indians face high to extreme water stress.

This stress is further compounded by the fact that India recycles barely 28% of its wastewater thus limiting opportunities to supplement freshwater supplies especially with demands expected to double by 2030. The real challenge lies not in scarcity itself, but in design—in closing the gap between abundance and assurance that determines our collective hygiene, resilience and competitiveness.

Lessons from the World

The most water-stressed regions have built what may be called manufactured hydrology, or systems where rivers, reservoirs and recycling plants substitute for nature’s own balance. The Gulf has combined desalination with extensive reuse for cooling and landscaping, enabled by distinct potable and non-potable networks. Singapore’s NEWater shows how investment in membranes, ultraviolet treatment and real-time monitoring reduces volatility and builds confidence. Namibia’s Windhoek has safely practised potable reuse for decades through multi-barrier treatment and independent oversight.

These cases reveal three truths: first, reclaimed water is safe and scalable; second, governance and monitoring are as vital as technology; third, over-treatment without segmentation is unnecessary and costly. For India, the path is clear—reuse first, desalinate selectively and always match quality to purpose.

Rediscovering our Inheritance

India’s ancestors applied this wisdom intuitively. Dholavira’s cascading reservoirs, the Chola-Pandya tanks, Gujarat’s stepwells, Bihar’s ahar-pyne and the Kakatiya systems of Telangana all embodied a simple ethos: slow the flow, spread the storage, use gravity and embed stewardship in the community. That cultural respect for water must now meet today’s science and scale.

Pillars for a Circular Future

A uniquely Indian blueprint can weave heritage with modern engineering. Six moves can anchor this transition:

Set ambitious reuse targets: By 2030, mandate that 70% water in major cities and 90% in industrial clusters comes from reclaimed water sources, rewarding early movers with a water credit system, similar to the mechanism adopted in the renewable-energy sector.

Build purple networks: We need ‘purple grids’—dedicated pipelines carrying reclaimed water for cooling towers, construction, flushing and parks—backed by live monitoring that makes hygiene visible, auditable and trusted.

Make industry water neutral: Every factory should meet all water demand through reuse or rainwater. Modular water-treatment plants and closed-loop systems can be financed by linking to the actual litres recycled.

Recharge like our ancestors, verify like modern engineers: Use treated effluent for aquifer recharge and tank revival, verified through satellites, sensors and basin-level digital twins. Tradition and technology must work together.

Align agriculture with aquifer health: In stressed basins, procurement and crop insurance must shift towards less thirsty crops, while micro-irrigation becomes universal and power pricing is realigned—so pumping reflects prudence.

Build trust as infrastructure: People will accept reclaimed water only if they believe it is safe. Independent labs, public dashboards and QR-coded water taps can make quality transparent, visible and verifiable for every citizen.

Energy intensity, distribution complexity and public acceptance are the predictable obstacles. Yet each has solutions. Renewable energy can power treatment. Finance will be the accelerant: pooled municipal bonds, reuse-linked incentives, GST harmonisation for reuse technologies and viability-gap funding for purple networks can unlock scale.

By 2035, three benchmarks should define success: every metro meeting its non-potable demand with reclaimed water, every new factory adding no extra freshwater load and every stressed aquifer showing a five-year recovery trend.

The nations without rivers teach us that security is a choice. Our ancestors remind us that water security was once a culture before it became technology. Today, India stands at a hinge moment where both lessons meet. To build a Viksit Bharat, we must learn to see every litre not as a transient flow, but as a resource in circulation. This is not just water policy; it is nation-building drop by drop.

The author is director, Sintex & managing director, Welspun BAPL.