Episode Details

India is the world's largest groundwater-based economy, with more than half its 1.5 billion population depending on agriculture for their livelihoods — making groundwater depletion a critical threat. Researchers are investigating the Atal Bhujal Yojana, a $500 million World Bank–supported national program that takes a community-led, "inside-out" approach to groundwater management. But can village committees manage this resource sustainably and equitably? And what happens when the program is cut short?