Land degradation and desertification (LDD) has gained worldwide policy attention due to decline in land quality and the resultant economic burden accrued upon a vast population reliant on land-based natural capital. In India, the impacts are becoming apparent as 24 out of 29 states have been experiencing LDD since the early 2000s. Here, we adopt a mixed-method approach combining hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and multilinear regression analysis (MLRA) with contextual assessments to draw on, using state-level information from 2011–2013, an age-old question: do farming operations aggravate LDD? The HCA identified 11 states that currently lead the trajectory with the highest state-wise percentages of LDD areas under ‘water erosion’, ‘salinity’, and ‘water logging’, which are the three most widely reported impacts of farming practices on land systems’ sustainability as apparent in the relevant LDD literature. MLRA of the 11-state cluster revealed that state-wise NPK fertilizer-application rates (p < 0.01); number of moldboard ploughs (p < 0.01); net irrigated area (p < 0.01); groundwater-sourced irrigation (p < 0.05); and multiple cropping practices (p < 0.01) exacerbate LDD, while bio-pesticides (p < 0.05) and zero-till drills (p < 0.01) do the opposite. In recent years, the government has introduced several improved measures, such as nutrient-based subsidies (NBS) and integrated nutrient management (INM), to help farmers optimize agrochemical applications, thus moving from traditional practices (input intensive) to a more land-conservation-centric approach. However, at the cognitive level, farmers are unsure/unaware of the benefits. Moreover, due to various institutional weaknesses, lack of sensitization, extension services, capacity building, incentives, and certain inherent flaws in these newer strategies, their uptake remains low, while traditional practices continue at the grassroots. We attempt to broaden the regulatory purview by reflecting on the DPSIR framework (Driver–Pressure–State–Impact–Response), highlighting the role of indirect drivers of LDD that largely influence farmers’ preferences for certain practices. In the final section, we emphasize the need for a data revolution to support process-level research to be able to devise more informed and targeted LDD control–abatement strategies, which is currently largely absent.

Sustainable delivery of drinking water of adequate quantity/quality sits at the core of rural development paradigms worldwide. The overarching goal of this study was to assess operational performance of rural water supply services (RWSS) in India to help authorities understand challenges/shortfalls vis-à-vis opportunities. Data on habitation-level coverage, aggregated by states between 2013 and 2018, were obtained from the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) database, against two water supply norms, namely, 40 lpcd and 55 lpcd (litres per capita per day). Results indicate that certain states are faring better (providing full coverage to over 90% habitations) while others are lagging (e.g., the north-eastern region, and Kerala and Karnataka in the South, for both norms). Several states yet fail to provide 55 lpcd to over half of their rural habitations. Overall, RWSS is marked by high spatial heterogeneity, inequality and recurrent slip-backs (decline in year-to-year habitation coverage) that thwart the basic motto of NRDWP—Har Ghar Jal (Water for All). Ground-level experience reveals a mismatch between theoretical systems’ output (40 lpcd and 55 lpcd) and on-site delivery, and highly intermittent services. Moreover, frequent scheme failure/abandonment adds to systems’ uncertainties and water users’ plight. A multitude of operational/organisational flaws, associated with government waterworks bodies, at different levels of systems’ hierarchy, limit RWSS operational performance. To that end, the concluding section argues for a demand-driven RWSS model (bottom-up systems’ governance) and highlights the core tenets of the same that call for integration of environmental, social, cultural, ethical and political perspectives in RWSS systems’ thinking/design.