The current water scenario in India poses a direct threat to the industries. Many

industries, today, are facing the problem of water scarcity that is not only affecting their

operations but has potential of forcing them to shut down the operations completely.

In the absence of any tool to measure and report water footprint of an organisation it

becomes difficult to sustain business operations and restricts the space for monitoring,

evaluating and reporting.

Therefore, there is an urgent need to introduce a Water Index. As there is no existing voluntary tool on reporting water footprint for industrial sector, it is envisioned that the Water Index will help in recognising the centrality of water in sustainable development and improve water governance within an industry by creating a clear and consistent approach for addressing the use of water throughout their value chain.

This study was completed and released in 2016 and provides a unique opportunity to demystify water related challenges faced by the industrial sector in India. In particular, the study focuses on two industrial sectors in India (Thermal Power Generation and Iron & Steel) and highlights how improvements in productivity, often achievable through better technologies, could be critical to address the impending water crisis.