With a population of one sixth of mankind India today is showing a steady growth in economy. If things go right, some experts believe, India's economy may overtake that of the US by 2050 to be the second largest in the world just behind China. But by then India's population will have grown to 1.6 billion, making it the most populous nation in the world. Although the present economy is largely agro-based with majority of population living in rural areas the ongoing development pattern shows a clear trend towards rapid urbanization. The country is heading towards a rapid transition in habitation pattern whereby over 50% of the Indian population will perhaps be living in cities and urban conglomerates in the near future. This will give rise to many infrastructure problems, the most important being the supply of clean water and nominal sanitation to its fast growing population. These are prime needs and high priority with adequate budgetary support should be provided to achieve these objectives. Also, this is the topmost priority in UN Millennium Development Goals and needs to be treated differently from the other resources problems keeping it above the rules of the marketplace.

Keyword: Urbanization, Population density, Safe water, UNMDG, Climate Change, Conservation, Desalination, Recycling, Reuse

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