Groundwater depletion from excess pumping using subsidised water pumps is a significant concern across northern India. Marginal farmers in South Kamrup district, Assam, have increasingly taken to small water pumps, of less than 2 horsepower capacity. Typically, such farmers invested in shallow tubewells, with 4-6 horsepower pumps, despite water being available at less than 5 m below ground level. However, unsustainable withdrawals, especially for growing paddy, led to the disuse of the pumps, and a shift to small pumps, which offer a lower capital cost. Such pumps are also lighter and can be easily transported from one marginal farm to another, with lower operating costs than larger pumps. Also, utilising local knowledge can also help improve the lot of the marginal farmer. Sikander Meeranayak, founder of the Sankalpa Rural Development Society in Hubli, Karnataka, helps local farmers revive and upgrade traditional water harvesting structures, combining them with modern techniques to improve water availability. His NGO has helped implement over 1,130 rainwater harvesting structures, seeking to channel monsoon rains into underground aquifers, via borewells, recharging them and storing water for future use.