Water shortage has been endemic for ages, despite the fact that an enormous amount of rainwater has always run waste to the sea. The present national rainwater resource is computed at 1,953 billion cubic metres, but its utilisation is only about 600 billion cubic metres. According to the projections made by the National Commission for Integrated Water Resources Development, even after taking into account population growth which creates pressure on agriculture and industry among other things, the demand is surprisingly far less than the available quantum of water. An annual maximum of 1,180 billion cubic metres will be needed by 2050. This means that if we are able to exploit our water resources effectively, there should be enough water for all. In fact, if the population of the country stabilises in the region of 1.6 billion by 2050, there should never be any water shortage at any time in the future.