Mismanagement and lack of infrastructure sector in India drag on water

New Delhi, July 28. - The increase in demand, storage and poor distribution and mismanagement of the rain water will unsustainable resource in India by 2025 if the country undertakes reforms.
So far, India has remained true to a policy of high subsidies to consumption, but the neglect of its poor distribution networks and storage reaches the point that 54 percent of supply is lost through leakage.
"The country considers water as a raw material for free, rather than as an economic asset (...). Most significant is that the price is undervalued and to compensate, are receiving subsidies, "said the Spanish Commercial Office in Delhi in its latest report dedicated to water.
The water market in the Asian country lacks reliable indicators and measurement data presented defective or absent, although according to consultancy EA Water, water availability and population growth trends are opposite.
Insufficient funds available also creates maintenance problems for the very old facilities and construction of storage systems in the country that has barely infrastructure to keep 30 days of rain.
"The problem is not so much subsidies as mismanagement. Resources are not valued and there is much corruption. The water does not reach the users despite the subsidies, "the analyst explained to Efe Dipen Sheth, vice president of the consulting india Brics.
The population and industrial growth and the still unknown effects of climate change added to the Indian political pressure water, a resource whose availability is reduced by 86 percent by 2050, according to estimates by EA Water.
And along with these problems, experts cite as added difficulty the high seasonality of rainfall, concentrated by 75 percent between June and September with the arrival of the southwest monsoon.
So when the failure phenomenon, as this year, the situation is becoming even tragedy for the hundreds of millions of peasants of the country where two thirds of arable land are without access to irrigation and still depend on rain.
Indian agriculture, pending modernization, grew at an average rate of 3.7 percent between 2003 and 2008, well below the other economic sectors, partly because of its dependence on seasonal factors.
And this year the outlook is unpromising: the monsoon of 2009 is still weak in northern India, with rains in June were 43 percent below average and a worrying situation in 15 of the 36 meteorological divisions country.
"I'm crossing my fingers to see what happens at the end. We have not initiated a contingency plan, "said a few days ago Indian Agriculture Minister, Sharad Pawar, told the country's media to the threat of drought.
Water for agricultural use accounts for 70 percent of the total, while the textile, food, paper and energy consumption require increasing, which affects the quality and contamination of the item.
Currently, 15 percent of the aquifers are contaminated, although according to the Spanish Commercial Office rate will rise to 66 percent in 2030, and some people blamed the deficient monsoon soot contaminants cooking fires.
"70 percent of India's population uses biomass for cooking, generating a brown cloud of pollution that prevents the arrival of the monsoon winds," the scientist told IANS Syed Iqbal Hasnain of the Institute of Energy and Resources.
With this scenario, various economic reports predict for India and a crisis of sustainability, which neither the authorities nor the private water industry, fragmented and disorganized-face for now with guarantees.

The promise of the Indian market is still waiting for the unknown Spain

New Delhi, December 5, 2008. - The mutual ignorance, lack of brand image and the absence of direct air connection are some of the challenges that Spain must overcome to penetrate deep into the Indian market, where it occupies a modest position 42 between exporters.
"We need a much larger relationship, something that is in process. We already see signs that will grow and you have to give a big boost, "he told Efe the president of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Amit Mitra.
With that goal will take place in India's capital next week on "India-Spain Forum of investments and trade cooperation", organized by the FICCI and the Spanish Commercial Office, which will be attended by the Minister of Industry, Miguel Sebastián.
The event, the fourth of its kind organized in India, will go 46 Spanish companies will have the opportunity to explore "new opportunities for investment and business collaboration," the statement said.
The challenge is to strengthen the image and the presence of Spanish companies in a market where exports account for only 0.39 percent of the total in India, with a value of 742 million euros in 2007.
"We need to enhance our brand image Spain, still largely unknown in India. We must also intensify business contacts, which companies are encouraged to have a constant presence in India, "the minister explained to Efe trade of Spain in New Delhi, Teresa Solbes.
Spain aims to achieve a bilateral trade with India worth 7,000 million euros in 2012 from 2.929 million in 2007, according to the annual report of the Spanish Commercial Office in New Delhi.
Trade relations between the two countries grew by 337 percent in the last decade-a 22.74 in the last year-but the Office continues to consider the total amount as "small".
"The value is still low, but we must look at the trend, which is very positive. Spain has traditionally been focused in Latin America and has now begun to look to Asia. Our companies must compete in a globalized world, "Solbes said.
Spain draws an unfavorable trade balance with India, with imports last year to 2,187 million euros, mainly in textiles, leather, footwear, chemicals, fish and steel.
And in chapter exporter, Spain has based its trade with India in industrial goods and machinery, which account for 88.4 percent of the total, due in part to technical difficulties and high tariffs in other sectors suffer.
"Our trade deficit is a structural problem. I think one solution is to develop services. Our technology is sophisticated and goes well with Indian needs, so what we sell conforms to the country, "Solbes maintained.
The evolution of trade relations will be marked by the appointment of the Asian country as "priority" to open a trade office in Bombay and the signing of a Trade Agreement between India and the European Union.
But to achieve the objectives, Spanish companies should show more interest in India: "They should be encouraged to come to a much greater," claimed Mitra, who mentioned the lack of direct air link as a "constraint".
The Commercial Office in New Delhi is aware of 114 Spanish companies operating in India, compared to 34 of 2004, an increase of over 300 percent in less than five years, but that some very low levels.
"This is a complex market that has its own characteristics, so it requires perseverance, Solbes said. It is not as intuitive a market, such as German. The Indian market has conditions that call for adaptation. "
At least in the first eight months of 2008 the trend has been positive, with exports to India grew by 11.88 percent over the same period in 2007, with a value of 535.7 million euros.
Remains to be seen what impact on expectations the economic crisis, which also felt its effects on India.