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Finance Minister Arun Jaitley expressed confidence that agriculture would withstand the ongoing drought, the situation calls for long term solutions. Increased water conservation and promoting cultivation of less water intensive crops can go a long way towards coping with the crisis. The other remedial option could be to adopt drought resistant crop varieties as has been done in some parts of Odisha for paddy/rice through the help of the International Rice Research Institute. This can maintain productivity and income of the farmers and also ensure price stability to the consumers. It is important for the government to sustain an increased investment in irrigation but at the same time gear up towards faster completion of the ongoing projects. Micro irrigation system comprising drip and sprinkler irrigation has greater potential to improve water use efficiency in agriculture. Despite various promotional efforts undertaken by State governments, their level of adoption and spatial spread has remained low. Studies show that micro irrigation system helps save water, reduce cost of cultivation and improve crop yield. Various studies showed that the net return per inch of water supplied through drip irrigation was 60 80 per cent higher than that of conventional irrigation system. However, among others, high initial capital cost, suitability of designs to different soil conditions, problems in receiving subsidy and small holdings are reportedly affecting the adoption of this technology. Subsidy being an important factor influencing adoption decision of farmers, delay in disbursement and appropriation by better off farmers seems to have affected the vast majority of resource poor small and marginal farmers in accessing this technology. The Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana is a good policy initiative that would accelerate public investment in both micro and macro irrigation. During the recently organised India Water Week, 2016, India has also partnered with Israel, a water scarce country, to learn and adopt innovative strategies to harness rainwater. Small vegetable growing farmers near Solan, Himachal Pradesh, have long adopted Israel's water saving technology through the assistance of the Mother Dairy retail chain that procures their fresh produce. It is an opportune time to scale up technology adoption. Finally, the shortage of drinking water can be addressed through promoting conservation and generating awareness among people to use the scarce resource with utmost care. Media reports indicate that the funds allocated by the Centre for drinking water projects have remained underutilised in many of the States hit by water scarcity. The States must act responsibly and gear up to come out of the current situation of water crisis. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley expressed confidence that agriculture would withstand the ongoing drought, the situation calls for long term solutions. Increased water conservation and promoting cultivation of less water intensive

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