Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called on farmers to conserve water to increase agricultural productivity in the country by cleaning ponds in their vicinity to improve the availability of water. Given the prospects of drought in several parts of the country and the looming water scarcity, Modi said that the government would help construct 500,000 farming ponds as part of the Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Scheme to augment water for irrigation. The Prime Minister explained that the ponds will be assets in conserving rainwater to help the farmers irrigate their land. He also asked farmers to use technology in the field of agriculture by supporting the Kisan Suvidha mobile application, which helps farmers keep track of the weather and the market prices of agriculture produce.
