The essential requirement for the survival of mankind is water quality, particularly the quality of drinking water. Unfortunately, despite the importance of water for our survival, the water quality is not adequate and is different throughout the world, and it is influenced by natural and man-made factors. In each part of a country, measuring the quality of water helps a country understand what it should focus on for the longtime good health of its citizens and for the sustainability of their water supply. Checking the water quality on a local level is the most common method of ensuring the safety of a region’s drinking water. The testing in developed areas is conducted through water utilities or through various federal, state, and local agencies. In developing or developed countries, the testing is a l quality data ot less consistent and reliable.
Understanding Water Quality Measurement
One of the widely respected collectors of water quality is Yale University’s Environmental Performance Index, which tracks 40 performance indicators that include Sanitation and Drinking Water as a way to highlight the most environmentally friendly countries in the world. The EPI also tracks additional performance indicators like environmental health, climate change mitigation, air quality, waste management, biodiversity, fishery populations, etc. The EPI’s measurement of the water quality is in terms of “age -standardized disability-adjusted life-years lost per 100,000 persons as a result of exposure to unsafe drinking water. According to the DALY scale, the score of 100 indicates countries with the least contaminated and safe drinking water, and a score of 0% indicates 5%of the countries with the most contaminated water.
India’s Ranking in Global Water Indexes
As of 2026, India’s rank in the Global Water Quality Index, Composite Water Management Index and the Environmental Performance Index has been a matter of concern.
Under the Global Water Quality Index, India stands in the 120 th rank out of 122 countries as per the Niti Aayog and World Bank Data. India’s 70% of surface water is polluted, which has led to about 200,000 deaths from unsafe water.
The Composite Water Management Index, which is the Niti Aayog index. which measures each state’s water quality, has put out the result that states like Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have ranked the highest in effective water management. This report showed that India is currently undergoing its worst water crisis. It also highlighted that around 600 million, which is nearly half of India’s population, is currently suffering due to the scarcity of water.
Under the Environmental Performance Index, India got the 141st rank out of 180 countries in unsafe drinking water, with the EPI score being 18.30. While the score has mproved +8.60 over the ten years, it remains at the bottom.
Health Impact of Poor Water Quality
The key concern is that India currently faces severe water shortages, with only having last 2% to revive itself. Some regions have so little water per person that it is less than 1,000 cubic meters annually, which falls under the category of absolute scarcity, which is the same as sharing one glass of water among a large family every year. India uses about 25% of the planet’s groundwater for farming, which has emptied the underground reserves so much that even rain can’t fill them. Experts have predicted that without solutions like better irrigation and conservation, India’s economy could shrink by 6% of GDP by 2050, which is about the major industry’s output being lost forever.
Economic Impact of Water Scarcity
India’s bad water quality will harm the citizens' health and put our economy in jeopardy. The polluted rivers, which carry bacteria and chemicals from sewage and factories, lead to millions of diseases like diarrhoea, cholera, etc., each year, and they will especially make children in rural areas sick. Drinking of contimated also leads to kidney damage from heavy metals, which will hit the poor communities the hardest, where clean drinking water is barely available.
The farms that use about 80% of India’s water may fail during droughts, which in turn cut food production and lead to higher market prices. The factories in cities like Bengaluru have already halted operations as there have been shortages, which are costing people their jobs and loss of dollars in lost money in billions. By 2050, this could stop India’s growth by 6%of the GDP, which will slow down overall development.
Government Initiatives and Solutions
There are various initiatives that the government has brought to ensure safe drinking water, like Jal Jeevan Mission, Amrut 2.0, etc. Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, a pipeline of safe drinking water is provided to all rural households. It verifies the water quality regularly, and local treatment plants are built to ensure purity. Under Amrut 2.0, the target is to provide 100% tap connections and 24/7 water supply in cities by 2026, which include drink from tap systems, same as Puri’s model.
India’s rank in the water quality measurement indexes is wake up call for us and is also guidance as to what needs to change. We can no longer pretend that it is not a big deal; we really need to take action so that more don’t succumb as a result of drinking unsafe water. The last 2%is all we have to revive ourselves, as nature doesn’t forget, it makes us pay for our actions.
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