For decades, I’ve seen the fields of rural India weather the challenges of rugged terrain, erratic rainfall, and shrinking landholdings. Agriculture, the backbone of life here, often felt less like a path to prosperity and more like a test of survival. In regions with hilly, undulating terrain—interspersed with forest patches—nearly 70% of rainfall escapes as surface run-off, leaving the land dry soon after the monsoon. With most households dependent on rain-fed farming, sustaining livelihoods becomes increasingly difficult without reliable water sources.