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Curriculum The Economics of Water in India

The Economics of Water in India

How India uses, prices and fights over water: where water goes, city supply and leaks, tariffs, tanker markets, river disputes, dams and canals, drip irrigation, virtual water, wastewater reuse, floods and the road ahead.

  1. Is Water an Economic Good? Why water is both a basic right and a scarce resource, the diamond-water paradox, and why underpricing leads to waste. 📄 Read-aloud
  2. Where India's Water Goes How India's water is used across agriculture, homes and industry, why farming dominates, and what that means for policy. 📄 Read-aloud
  3. City Water and Non-Revenue Water Why Indian cities supply water only a few hours a day, how much is lost to leaks and theft, and why utilities struggle financially. 📄 Read-aloud
  4. Water Tariffs and 24x7 Supply How water tariffs work in Indian cities, why they rarely cover costs, and what cities that moved to 24-hour supply learned. 📄 Read-aloud
  5. The Water Tanker Economy How private water tanker markets fill gaps in city supply, why prices spike in summer, and the problems of informal groundwater extraction. 📄 Read-aloud
  6. Sharing Rivers: Interstate Water Disputes Why Indian states fight over rivers like the Cauvery, how tribunals divide water, and the economics of sharing a common resource. 📄 Read-aloud
  7. The Economics of Water in India: Checkpoint 1 Quick checkpoint - five questions on water pricing, water use, city supply, tariffs and tankers. 5 questions
  8. Dams, Canals and Big Irrigation Projects How big dams like Bhakra and Sardar Sarovar store water and power, their benefits and costs, and why many canal projects underperform. 📄 Read-aloud
  9. More Crop per Drop: Micro-Irrigation How drip and sprinkler irrigation save water and raise yields, why adoption is limited, and how subsidies try to spread it. 📄 Read-aloud
  10. Virtual Water: Exporting Water in Crops How water is embedded in the crops and goods a country exports, why India's rice exports carry huge amounts of water, and what that means for policy. 📄 Read-aloud
  11. Treating and Reusing Wastewater Why most of India's urban sewage goes untreated, how treated wastewater can be reused, and the economics of treatment plants. 📄 Read-aloud
  12. The Economics of Floods How floods damage India's economy each year, why urban flooding is rising, and the economics of prevention versus relief. 📄 Read-aloud
  13. India's Water Future The key reforms for managing India's water - pricing, efficiency, storage and governance - and a recap of the module. 📄 Read-aloud

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