Landscape Review: Innovation Gaps in India’s Agritech Startup Ecosystem

Given the push for investments in the water sustainability space, businesses need to be better informed about where the big problems lie so that projects can be properly planned and executed. But there’s a data gap. Our comprehensive study of three important river basins — Cauvery, Ganga and Krishna — aims to address this gap.

We explore how to bring aquifers back into balance by increasing recharge and reducing abstraction. We also make the case for a system of water credits to effectively drive collective action.

Water security plans (WSPs), which describe the current state of water challenges in the region under study and the interventions planned, are an important component of rural water security programmes. Based on our review, we argue that WSPs need to be more streamlined and must shift focus towards using water more efficiently (demand-side water management) and equitably.

This report details the ‘pain points’ or challenges CSOs face as they attempt to intervene at different stages in the farming process. This is based on fieldwork we carried out in four states – Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

We conducted a series of interviews with Civil Society Organisations and philanthropic organisations to understand the role of data, maps, and digital tools in rural water security programmes. This report summarises our insights and suggested solutions.