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In Asia, more than 60% of the population does not have secure water supply piped to their houses. Even though there has been progress in terms of providing drinking water in Asia, when you look at the number of households that have piped water, the gures are dismal. In Bangladesh, for example, which is one of the most populous countries in Asia, only 6 percent of the population has access to piped water Asian Water Development Outlook 2013, the majority of the population living in Asia does not have access to a secure household water supply. As the indicates, people in Bangladesh followed by Cambodia, Nepal, Indonesia, Laos, India and Pakistan have to piped water sources. Philippines, Thailand and China have made progress in providing people access to piped water. South Korea, Malaysia and Japan are leading in providing piped water to its population. In Singapore, every household has access to tap water.

In the last two decades, more than 1.7 billion people in the Asia-Pacific region have gained access to safe water. Yet, there is acute water shortage in many parts of the region. No developing country in the region is having reliable availability of clean water. Growing population, pollution, expanding industrializing economies, water-related disasters and climate change are some of the key reasons for the shortage of clean water. The National Water Security Index developed by the Asian Water Development Outlook (AWDO) measures how far countries have progressed to secure reliable supplies of clean water. The index combines vet dimensions of water security, measured by key dimensions (KD), so besides household water security there is economic water.

Water is the most crucial natural resource for proliferation of life and human development. It is used virtually for all the human needs. Water grows crops, produces electricity and it is used to refine oil and gas, as well as to mine coal and uranium. Simply put, water security, together with food security and energy security, is ultimately tied to human security. Water scarcity a affects countries across Asia and a large share of the global population is living in water-stressed conditions. Asia is the world’s driest continent and also one of the most water polluted regions, as rivers and lakes are becoming polluted due to the population in influx. While the region is facing water shortage and pollution, the world’s fastest-growing demand for water is in Asia in order to satisfy the needs of a growing population and economy. The UN suggests that every person requires 20-50 liters of water a day just to ensure their basic needs for drinking, cooking and cleaning. Yet, water pollution in Asia.