Mapping Policy for Solar Irrigation Across the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus in India

The document examines how India's off-grid solar pump policies interact with water, energy, and food systems. It finds that many policies fail to account for these complex interactions, which can limit effectiveness or undermine goals in other sectors. The paper specifically maps policies at the Central Government level and in the states of Bihar and Rajasthan, recommending that solar pump policies be coordinated with groundwater sustainability efforts and that the PM-KUSUM scheme be carefully monitored.

• Many of India's policies, including those promoting off-grid solar pumps, fail to explicitly recognize or account for the complex interactions within the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus, which can reduce their effectiveness or negatively impact other objectives.
• The paper recommends that policies for off-grid pumps be integrated with expanded efforts to ensure the sustainable use of groundwater in India.
• The document advises the implementation of rigorous monitoring and evaluation for KUSUM, the Indian government's new scheme for off-grid solar pumps.

APA

Murali,, C. B. G. R. B. J. G. (2019). Mapping Policy for Solar Irrigation Across the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus in India. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/solar-irrigation-wef-nexus-india

Chicago

Murali,, Christopher Beaton,Vibhuti Garg,Dimple Roy,Andrea Bassi,Purva Jain,Mini Govindan,Rashmi. Mapping Policy for Solar Irrigation Across the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus in India. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2019. https://www.iisd.org/publications/solar-irrigation-wef-nexus-india.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Murali, |first1=Christopher Beaton,Vibhuti Garg,Dimple Roy,Andrea Bassi,Purva Jain,Mini Govindan,Rashmi |title=Mapping Policy for Solar Irrigation Across the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus in India |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=6 August 2019 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/solar-irrigation-wef-nexus-india |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{murali2019mapping, author = {Murali,, Christopher Beaton,Vibhuti Garg,Dimple Roy,Andrea Bassi,Purva Jain,Mini Govindan,Rashmi}, title = {{Mapping Policy for Solar Irrigation Across the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus in India}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2019}, month = aug, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/solar-irrigation-wef-nexus-india}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }