Harwant Singh Aulakh, a farmer in his late sixties, grows basmati rice near Amritsar, just as his father and grandfather did before him. Amir Ghafourimanesh, a commodities importer in Tehran, Iran eats basmati rice leisurely as his father and grandfather do.
One produces, the other consumes – both connected by a grain that thrives on water. But there’s a paradox. Amir lives in a water-scarce nation where growing the thirsty basmati grain is unsustainable. Aulakh, too, lives in a water-stressed region, yet he continues to grow the crop, not for sustenance but for income.
Punjab, once called India’s breadbasket, is now an exporter of water-intensive crops to countries that can afford them but can’t grow them.
Since 1991, basmati has shifted from a local delicacy to a cash crop, with exports surging to over 37 times its previous total value.
But as Punjab reaps financial gains, it also drains its aquifers. In Sangrur, Barnala, and Patiala, the water table has been dropping by a metre a year since 1998, government data show. The state’s top two basmati-producing districts – Amritsar, Tarn Taran, and Sangrur, fifth from the top – over-exploit their groundwater, extracting more than can be replenished.
Despite government interventions to change this, free electricity for tubewells has kept farmers pumping unchecked since 1997.
As Punjab’s basmati exports boom, the cost is an escalating groundwater crisis. This data-driven investigation unpacks how Punjab’s basmati trade is accelerating its water crisis, why irrigation reforms are failing, and what is at stake for the future.
India feeds the water-stressed world
India is the world’s biggest exporter of basmati rice, supplying nearly three out of every four plates consumed globally, 2019 data from the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority show.
From 2013 to 2023, India exported its basmati rice to more than 170 nations worldwide.
The majority of it reached nations like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the UAE, and the Republic of Yemen in the Middle East and North Africa, the world’s most water-stressed region.
These five countries alone buy nearly seven out of every 10 bags of basmati rice that India exports.
Eight out of every 10 individuals in the Middle East and North African region face extremely high water stress, meaning demand exceeds supply, leading to overuse and depletion of water resources.
In South Asia, where all the basmati is grown, seven out of every 10 individuals is exposed to extremely high water stress.
People in these regions use at least 80 percent of their renewable water supply. It leaves little room for emergencies like droughts that slow down natural water recharge and put the region’s water security at immediate risk.
Sardara Singh Johl, an eminent economist and a Padma Bhushan laureate, India’s third-highest civilian award, sees the trade and movement of water-intensive crops from one region to another as water trade.
He says, “We are pumping water out from the ground, and day by day, it’s going down. It’s going into grains and moving out of state.”
“Just one kilogram of rice requires 5,000 litres of water for its production, one kilogram of wheat requires about 3,000 litres of water. And, we are exporting 22 million tonnes of food grains. Just imagine!” he said, pointing to the water-intensive nature of these crops.
Punjab leads
Basmati is endemic to the Punjab region of South Asia, which spans parts of both India and Pakistan.
Punjab produces the largest quantity of basmati rice, followed by Haryana and other states. In 2023, Punjab accounted for four out of every 10 bags of basmati rice produced in India. Arvinder Pal Singh, the owner of Lal Qilla Rice, one of the leading exporters of basmati rice, refers to these districts as the Basmati Belt.
He says, “The best area in Punjab to grow basmati rice is from Gurdaspur to Amritsar and Tarn Taran. The basmati produced here is best in terms of quality.”
Arvinder Pal Singh, the owner of Lal Qilla Rice, one of the leading exporters of basmati rice, refers to these districts as the Basmati Belt.
He says, “The best area in Punjab to grow basmati rice is from Gurdaspur to Amritsar and Tarn Taran. The basmati produced here is best in terms of quality.”
In 2023, Amritsar and Tarn Taran emerged as the top two biggest producers of basmati rice, followed by Fazilka, Muktsar, and Sangrur.
These five districts together account for half of the state’s basmati production.
Arvinder Pal Singh views basmati rice as a vital piece of India’s food export portfolio, driven by strong demand and premium pricing.
However, the rapidly declining water table – dropping over a metre annually in some districts, including in Sangrur, a leading basmati-producing region – raises serious concerns about its long-term sustainability.
Basmati’s rise
Basmati, like other rice varieties, is a thirsty crop.
Initially, water is needed at the root level for proper growth. Later, a puddle of water around the plant is necessary to prevent weeds, which would otherwise compete for nutrients and water in the soil.
Publicly available data show India started exporting its basmati rice about 38 years ago, with a significant surge in the mid-2000s.
Aulakh, who is in his late sixties, cultivates basmati rice in thirty acres of farm like his father and grandfather did before him. He remembers how surging exports shifted people’s perception and the price of the crop. Before exports began, basmati was sold for Rs 300 to 400 per quintal in the local market, he said.
“But as the exports began, prices surged to Rs 1,100 per quintal.”
Since then, basmati rice has secured a premium place in India’s food export basket, growing over 37 times in value. Basmati is not just high in demand but also earns more dollars than non-basmati rice.
Between 2013 and 2024, basmati accounted for just a third of India's total rice exports but brought in more than 50 percent of India's total export revenue from rice.
This growth in basmati rice exports raises a critical question: how have Punjab and its neighbouring states managed to meet this surge in production, and at what cost?
Hollowing aquifers in basmati’s land
Punjab is known for producing basmati rice, but this identity faces a grave crisis due to depleting aquifers.
Punjab has the second highest groundwater extraction rate in India after Uttar Pradesh, primarily for irrigation, according to five assessments conducted between 2013 and 2023 by the Central Groundwater Board of India (CGWB), a department under the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation.
The CGWB provides these assessments at the block level as well and classifies each unit as safe, semi-critical, critical, over-exploited, or saline based on their rate of extraction.
‘Over-exploited’ means more water is being pumped out from groundwater aquifers than their natural rate of replenishment.
In each assessment conducted from 2017 to 2023, six out of every 10 assessment units in Punjab have been classified as ‘over-exploited.’
Districts like Sangrur, Ludhiana and Jalandhar have consistently ranked among the top five consumers of groundwater for irrigation in all. assessments from 2013 to 2023. They are also some of the top producers of basmati rice.
Out of the five leading basmati producers, groundwater levels in three districts are in either critical or over-exploited categories.
In contrast, none were critical or over-exploited in Fazilka and just one-fifth are in this category in Muktsar, the other two leading basmati producing districts.
Karan Awtar Singh, chairman of the Punjab Water Regulation and Development Authority, explains: “In Muktsar and Fazilka, groundwater quality is poor. The water is often saline or brackish, making it unsuitable for farming. As a result, farmers rely more on canal water. This may be why groundwater stress in Muktsar is lower compared to Amritsar and Tarn Taran”.
He adds, “In Amritsar and Tarn Taran, surface water has historically been an ample source. The Upper Bari Doab Canal system exists there, but in Punjab, groundwater is free, leading farmers to overuse it and underuse canal water. Consequently, there is significant groundwater stress even in Amritsar and Tarn Taran.”
Farmers, however, argue that they often don’t get canal water as some canals are dry, forcing them to use groundwater.
Baldev Singh, a farmer in his late fifties, grows basmati rice on 20 acres in Amritsar.
He says, “We should get water from canals. The canal is just 300 feet away from my farm, but I use tube well water because the canal is dry. I urge the government to release water into the canals so that we can avoid using and depleting groundwater.”
The government explains that canals remain dry when water demand is low.
Canal water is released based on farmer requests through the village canal patwari under the indent system. These requests move up the system, and water is supplied accordingly. During certain months, such as November, when wheat sowing requires less water, demand decreases, and canals may remain dry, explains Awtar Singh.
An unprecedented crisis
Punjab has never faced a groundwater crisis of this scale.
Pointing to an old well, made using handcrafted bricks, Aulakh recalls, “The water was easily accessible until 2001. Since then, it has been falling year after year.”
“I still remember that in 1976, water was just a few feet below the surface–you could pull it up by hand. But after 2001, the water level began to drop. Now, it’s at the depth of 300 to 400 feet, and in many places, even deeper,” he says.
The severity of this crisis is evident in the data shared by Awtar Singh of the Punjab Water Regulation and Development Authority: “When groundwater extraction exceeds 100 percent of its recharge, it’s considered over-exploited. In Punjab, the problem is severe. Some blocks are over-exploited by 200 percent. We’ve categorised these into two levels: yellow for 100 percent to 200 percent, and orange for blocks exceeding 200 percent.”
He adds, “Out of 170 over-exploited blocks, 54 fall into the Orange category. Most of these are in southern Punjab, including Sangrur, Moga, and Ludhiana, with a few in central Punjab, like Jalandhar”.
A major cause for this crisis is paddy cultivation, including basmati, experts say, which has grown from a mere 6.6 percent of net cultivated area in 1960-61 to 65.57 percent in 2008-09, research shows.
In 2023-2024, Punjab reportedly broke its previous records by growing paddy on 31.93 lakh hectares, including 5.87 lakh hectares dedicated to basmati rice, marking a new record for this crop as well.
Johl, now in his late nineties, explains how Punjab got to this dire state.
In the 1970s, the government was eager to increase production and introduced the minimum support price policy to both stabilise prices and help farmers with their income. It also created multiple agencies from the Agriculture Prices Commission (now called the the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices) to the Food Corporation of India and Public Distribution System to cover the whole supply chain, from production to procurement, storage, and distribution, he said.
It created an environment where the area under paddy and wheat grew unchecked. The beginning of basmati exports also encouraged its production.
He believes a policy overhaul is long overdue.
“A policy should not be and is never static; it must be dynamic. At the time, the policy was appropriate, but we didn’t change it over the years. As a result, we landed into these problems.”
Punjab remains the biggest source of rice for the Food Corporation of India, which procured 26 percent of paddy from Punjab in 2023-24.
The increased paddy cultivation indicates higher groundwater consumption, as over seven out of every 10 litres of water used for irrigation are pumped from below the ground.
The state, to reduce the growing stress on its groundwater resources, has enacted the Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act. This prohibits farmers from cultivating paddy before a date notified by the authorities.
“Earlier, farmers used to sow paddy in the first week of May. It was a dangerous practice for groundwater depletion. Then, in 2009, the Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act was passed to prevent early paddy cultivation,” recalls Aulakh. “This was necessary because, during the summer months, the low relative humidity causes significant water loss through evaporation. However, with the arrival of the monsoon, cooler air and moist soil help reduce evaporation, conserving water for the crops.”
Thirsty new varieties
Basmati rice is sometimes sold as a solution to the water crisis since certain varieties of basmati are less intensive than other types of paddy, but experts say the benefits are offset by other factors.
New varieties of basmati have allowed farmers to plant them earlier, before the arrival of monsoon, thus requiring farmers to extract groundwater.
Even varieties designed to save water can have unintended consequences. For example, basmati 1509 was developed with water conservation in mind. It matures early and is thus supposed to save around 33 percent of water normally required for irrigation.
Instead, farmers say they often end up growing a third crop like pea between paddy and wheat, taking advantage of the short duration required for the crops to mature, undercutting the original aim and instead increasing overall water consumption.
Instead, industry leaders like Arvind Lal Singh find the longer-duration varieties, sown in July and harvested in October-November good for saving water.
Policy gaps in support for water efficient farming
The central government is running schemes such as Per Drop More Crop to save groundwater by making irrigation practices efficient. The programme funds farmers to install micro-irrigation systems like drip and sprinkler irrigation.
Under this scheme, small and marginal farmers can receive 55 percent financial assistance, while other farmers get 45 percent. Additionally, some states offer extra incentives or top-up subsidies to encourage farmers to adopt micro-irrigation.
These efforts, however, have not been successful in Punjab in the last nine years, and this is seen in the discrepancy in support Punjab receives compared to other states.
From 2015 to 2024, Punjab received only Rs 56 crore ($6.4 million) while states like Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have received the most funds, over Rs 2,500 crore ($287 million).
This is not because of a lack of funds but because of a lack of demand in Punjab, said a state government official.
Punjab’s area under coverage of micro-irrigation systems is just 1.2 percent of its area under cultivation.
State programs do not cover the right kind of drip irrigation for Punjab’s crop profile and subsidised electricity means farmers have no incentive to switch to efficient irrigation anyway, experts say.
The subsidy scheme does not cover the specific type of drip irrigation required for paddy production. As a result, farmers will have to cover the costs themselves, says micro-irrigation expert Rakesh Sharda, Principal Scientist (Plasticulture) at Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana. He says that a conventional drip irrigation system costs around Rs 1.8 lakh per acre. Without government support, farmers have little incentive to invest in these systems when they could use free electricity to pump groundwater for irrigation, he said.
This is why they have not been widely adopted by farmers despite delivering good results, such as saving water by up to 38 percent, says Sharda, who sees micro-irrigation as a panacea for Punjab’s groundwater crisis.
In addition, there is a lack of dedicated one-stop shops, such as those in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, that provide information and install such systems for farmers, Sharda says.
He says, “We have been implementing micro-irrigation schemes since 2006-2007. But it is a sad picture to portray that, to date, only about 50,000 hectares of area under cultivation has been covered by micro-irrigation. This is very small compared to the 40 lakh hectares under cultivation”.
Dhillon holds the availability of free electricity responsible for such a low adoption from farmers.
He says, “Farmers believe that paddy can only be grown in a flooded field, which is true to some extent. The availability of free electricity [to run tube well pumps] is also a major roadblock because when farmers are getting water for free then why would they go for a [micro-irrigation] system”.
What’s ahead for Punjab
Despite a worsening groundwater crisis, the areas under water-intensive crops including basmati rice, paddy, and wheat are growing instead of reducing. The decades-old policy of free electricity and water continues.
The question is how long it can go on.
Aulakh, the farmer, sums up the sentiment on the ground.
He says, “People in Punjab only consider something new when their existing options are exhausted. Right now, they’re getting free energy and water. They’ll turn to micro-irrigation only when their fields stop receiving enough water. The way we flood our fields for paddy won’t work in the future. And honestly, I don’t see any light at the end of this tunnel. All I see is darkness. Just darkness”.
Johl, the economist, issues an even starker warning.
He says, “there will be no water left in the next 30 years even for drinking if we continue on this path. Some scientists estimate it’s even worse; in 15 years, Punjab might not have any drinking water left.”
Reporting for this story was supported by the Environmental Data Journalism Academy - a program of Internews’ Earth Journalism Network and Thibi.
Story Methodology
This report is based on a combination of data analysis and field interviews with subject matter experts, farmers, and government officials.
The groundwater data from 2013 to 2023 was sourced from the Central Ground Water Board’s (CGWB) periodical assessment reports. The basmati production data was sourced from the Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority's (APEDA) Basmati Crop Survey Report VI for 2018, covering the period from 2013 to 2018, and Report VI for 2023. The data for production figures of rice was sourced from the Directorate of Economics and Statistics (DES), an attached office of the Department of Agriculture.
The data for micro-irrigation coverage was sourced from the government’s response to a question asked in Parliament.
The export data for both basmati and non-basmati rice was obtained from two reliable databases: Comtrade, a global trade database maintained by the United Nations, and Agri-Exchange, a government-run platform specialising in agricultural trade data primarily sourced from DGCIS.To ensure the accuracy and consistency of the data, both datasets were cross-verified. The comparison revealed alignment between the two sources, confirming the reliability of the export figures for both rice categories.
The data analysis was conducted using Google Sheets, with access provided through the accompanying link.
This report is republished with permission from IndiaSpend, a data-driven, public-interest journalism non-profit. It has been lightly edited for style and clarity.
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