With an estimated water footprint of 790 billion cubic metres for food production in India in the year 2007-08 and given the high average requirement of producing one kilogram of the major staples consumed in the country, assuring the sustainability of the national water resources is a matter of concern in the country. The present research study attempts to provide an analytical estimate of the water footprint along with the average quantity of water required for the production of major cereals, pulses, oilseeds, vegetables, fruits and sugarcane. The economic value of the water used in their production is estimated to serve as a pointer to the optimal use of water. A value added approach has been used to do so and water requirements for different crops have been estimated using the crop water requirement model.