To provide safeguards against hazards of overexploitation and tighten the noose around the multi-million crore bottled water and soft drink industry in the country, the Centre is now planning a clear-cut policy on the ownership of groundwater and its pricing in the country. Ecologically and culturally, water is priceless and is being used for centuries for domestic, agriculture and personal and social needs. However, it the large-scale commercialisation of groundwater by bottled water and soft drink manufacturers that the government is now getting worried about.