New Delhi, Oct. 30 -- Umashankar Pandey, an environmental activist and Padma Shri awardee, spoke at the Bharat International Rice Conference (BIRC), commending the India Rice Exporters Association for hosting the event.

He highlighted the significant water requirement for rice cultivation, noting that it takes 2,000 liters of water to produce one kilogram of rice, compared to 100 liters for a lemon and 1,000 liters for wheat.

Emphasizing the need to minimize water usage due to its scarcity, Pandey declared his belief that the next global conflict could be over water.

He proposed a collaborative effort to launch a campaign for establishing a water university and a water museum, referring to Jal Shakti Vidyapeeth's ongoing initiatives in...