Groundwater plays an important role in our life support system as it is being used for different designated uses, especially drinking purpose. But due to unplanned urban development and development in both industrial and agricultural sectors, groundwater quality has deteriorated, resulting in groundwater pollution. Groundwater pollution has become a worldwide problem nowadays. Diffusion of urban sources like runoff from city streets, gardening and commercial activities in urban environment and effluents from industrial sites also aggravate the problem of groundwater pollution. Even some workers have reported the presence of pesticides in the groundwater beyond the permissible limit. The pesticides join the watercourses through different pathwaysthe runoff from agricultural lands, industrial and urban effluents, spray operations for crop and disease vector control, etc.and may ultimately reach the groundwater through infiltration and percolation. The pesticides may impart toxicity to the groundwater and cause various health hazards. A number of studies have been carried out by different workers covering the water quality aspects of groundwater. In the present paper, the status of the groundwater quality of India has been discussed.

Groundwater pollution has become a worldwide problem nowadays. Diffusion of urban sources like runoff from city streets, gardening and commercial activities in urban environment and effluents from industrial sites also aggravate the problem of groundwater pollution. The quality of groundwater varies from place to place along with the depth of water table and is primarily governed by the sources of dissolved salts and the nature of sub-surface environment. A number of studies have been carried out by different workers covering the water quality aspects of groundwater and it has been reported that the presence of total coliforms indicates bacterial contamination in groundwater, which may attributed to inadequate maintenance of hand pumps and unhygienic conditions around the structure. Further untreated sewage flowing into various open drains is one of the causes of groundwater contamination.

Although there are a number of pollutants which are nowadays found in the groundwater more than the permissible limit, the concentration of a few pollutants like nitrate, fluoride, toxic heavy metals and pesticides, if present more than permissible limit, cannot be ignored and should be taken care of. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), earlier known as Indian Standards Institution (ISI), has laid down the standard specifications for drinking water (BIS, 1991). In order to enable the users to exercise their discretion towards water quality criteria, the maximum permissible limit has been prescribed, especially where no alternate sources are available. The national water quality standards describe essential and desirable characteristics required to be evaluated to ascertain the suitability of water for drinking purpose.

Chemistry Journal, Groundwater Pollution, Urban Development, Agricultural Sectors, Industrial Sectors, Industrial Sites, Metallic Ores, Volcanic Rocks, Oxygenated Neutral Water Systems, Combustion Processes, Methemoglobinaemia, Groundwater Resources, Defluoridation Methods, Degradation Products.