Consider the following statements : Statement-I : According to the United Nations’ ‘World Water Development Report, 2022’, India extracts more than a quarter of the world’s groundwater withdrawal each year. Statement-II : India needs to extract more than a quarter of the world’s groundwater each year to satisfy the drinking water and sanitation needs of almost 18% of world’s population living in its territory. Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

Answer: C. Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect. Statement-I is CORRECT. According to the UN World Water Development Report 2022 (and similar UNESCO reports), India is the world's LARGEST groundwater extractor. India extracts approximately 25% of global groundwater (about 230 cubic km annually), more than the next two countries (China and USA) combined. This is well-documented in UN and FAO water statistics. Statement-II is WRONG. The reason India extracts so much groundwater is NOT drinking water and sanitation. Over 85-90% of India's groundwater is used for AGRICULTURE (irrigation), particularly for rice and wheat in Punjab-Haryana-Western UP and sugarcane-cotton in Maharashtra. Drinking and domestic use accounts for less than 10% of total groundwater extraction. The over-extraction is driven by subsidised electricity for pumping and water-intensive cropping patterns, not population needs. So Statement-II misattributes the cause of India's groundwater dependence. Source: UN World Water Development Report 2022 / CGWB Annual Groundwater Year Book.