ICA partners with Indian NGOs working on issues such as rural livelihoods, women’s empowerment, and natural resource management. / Bulbul Mankani

India is facing an unprecedented groundwater crisis. According to government and World Bank data, nearly 85 percent of rural drinking water and 60 percent of irrigation depend on groundwater — yet the water table is falling fast. Over-extraction for agriculture, unplanned urbanization, and erratic monsoons have turned large parts of the country into water-stressed zones.

States like Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan — once green revolutions’ pride — are now witnessing wells run dry. Despite government programs promoting rainwater harvesting and watershed management, implementation remains uneven. Urban areas waste millions of litres daily while rural communities struggle to access safe drinking water.

Climate change is intensifying the problem, shrinking recharge periods and increasing dependence on deeper, often contaminated aquifers.

Experts warn that if current trends continue, 21 Indian cities could run out of groundwater soon. Reviving traditional water systems, enforcing sustainable extraction, and managing demand are no longer options — they are urgent imperatives for India’s survival.

Time is running out as the world runs dry

This is where Indians for Collective Action (ICA founded in 1968 in California) timely focus on this crisis is so critical. The annual fundraiser in Palo Alto this year shared its mission’s alignment with water conservation through their Ponds for Farming project. They support recharging groundwater to sustain agriculture in drought prone regions.

ICA believes in empowering local communities to become self-reliant through collective, sustainable action. The organization partners with Indian NGOs working on issues such as rural livelihoods, women’s empowerment, and natural resource management.

Projects on rainwater harvesting, watershed management, and revival of traditional water systems fall directly within ICA’s scope.

This year their chief guest shared her story in Hindi and inspired everyone with what can be done by one person.

The Mittal Patel effect

“I was born in Gujarat, into a world that offered me education and opportunity — privileges denied to millions around me. As I studied civil engineering, I often wondered how knowledge could serve people who lived beyond the city lights. That question changed my life.

One day, while traveling through rural Gujarat, I met members of nomadic and de- notified tribes — communities constantly on the move, without homes, documents, or recognition. They were citizens of India, yet invisible in the eyes of the state. Children were denied schooling, women had no access to healthcare, and families lived in fear of eviction. Their pain became my purpose.

Glimpses from the event / Bulbul Mankani

In 2005, I founded the Vicharata Samuday Samarthan Manch (VSSM) — a platform to help these marginalized groups find identity and dignity. Our first mission was simple but powerful: to help people get voter IDs, ration cards, and Aadhaar numbers. Over the years, VSSM has helped thousands of families secure land, build homes, and send their children to school.

My work took me to deserts, riverbanks, and highways where these forgotten Indians lived. Each story strengthened my belief that development is not about infrastructure — it is about inclusion. Recognition transforms lives; belonging empowers people.

I’ve faced resistance, exhaustion, and doubt, but I’ve also witnessed hope — the sparkle in a woman’s eyes when she holds her first ration card, the pride of a child who writes their name for the first time.

Today, when I see the communities we once called ‘nomads’ settling with dignity, I know that change is possible — one document, one family, one life at a time. My journey with VSSM is far from over, but it has taught me this: when you fight for the unseen, you rediscover the soul of humanity.”

ICA youth leadership

Young students were sent to Anandwan and Hemalkasa to experience the grassroots work there - a rehabilitation centre for Leprosy and for the visually and hearing impaired. Their accounts show a hands on experience that they never get as pre-med students here. One account shared had one of the girls assisting the delivery of two babies back to back!

This year’s Giving Week has been heartening with so much grassroots work made possible with Indian American funding.