IPM / YLM 1.

0 TEST SERIES – 2022

TEST CODE 5 : GS I SYNOPSIS

1. How will the planned Aditya L1 mission of ISRO help to understand the structure and the
internal mechanism of the Sun and its impact on Earth’s atmosphere?

Keywords Aditya L1 Mission, ISRO, Earth’s atmosphere

Introduction Briefly describe Aditya L1 Mission
Enumerate how the mission will help in the study of the
Sun e.g. study of its structure, Coronal heating, Solar
Body winds, and their impact on the earth, etc. Then briefly
give few challenges and the importance of the mission
for India.
Conclusion Conclude with a relevant suggestion.

Introduction:
Aditya L1 is ISRO’s 1st scientific expedition to study the Sun, to be launched in 2022. It will be a
nearly 400kg-class satellite with the major objective to study the processes that heat the solar
corona, accelerate the solar wind and produce Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs)

Body:
Internal Structure of Sun:

Aditya L1 will help ISRO study the structure and internal mechanism of the Sun:
• Study of Structure of Sun
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 o Internal Layers of Sun’s Atmosphere: ISRO’s mission will obtain near-simultaneous
images of the different layers of the Sun's atmosphere, which reveal how the energy
may be channeled and transferred from one layer to another.
o Study of origin and monitoring of near-UV solar radiation (through Aditya’s SUIT
instrument): UV rays drive Earth's upper atmospheric dynamics and global climate
o Study of the magnetosphere of the Sun (through Aditya’s magnetometer payload): It
will measure the variation in magnetic field strength at the halo orbit around L1
(Lagrangian point 1).
▪ Disturbance in Sun’s magnetic activity may create Sunspot activity, which
sometimes leads to Solar flares and CMEs
o Coupling of the solar photosphere to chromospheres and corona

• Study of Internal Mechanism of Sun

• Acceleration of Solar Winds and Solar Flares: The solar wind is a continuous stream of
charged particles that emanates out of the Sun in all directions, whereas Solar Flares are a
sudden flash of increased brightness on the Sun.
o Impact on earth: Increased activity of solar wind and flares can be dangerous to
astronauts and damage to satellites orbiting the Earth
o Aditya mission (through ASPEX and PAPA payload) will help study the mechanism
and predict the future incidences of Solar flares
• Coronal mass ejections (CMEs): A CME is the release of plasma and accompanying magnetic
field, in a very significant amount, from the solar corona. They often follow solar flares but
are much larger than them.
o Impact on Earth: CMEs may disrupt Earth's magnetosphere. In the past, they have
triggered regional power blackouts e.g. 1989 blackouts in Montreal, Canada
o Aditya’s (through VELC, SoLEX, and HEL1OS) will study the solar energetic particles'
flux reaching the L1 orbit, and forewarn such CMEs
• Help answer certain questions about:
o Coronal heating: Why the upper atmosphere of the Sun is so Hot (over 10 lakh K) while
its lower atmosphere is merely 6000 K.
▪ Our current understanding shows the presence of highly Ionized Ions (in form of
Plasma) raises the temperature of the upper atmosphere of the sun; the mission
will help in further study of coronal heating.
o Impact on Earth’s atmosphere: How exactly the Sun's radiation affects the dynamics
of the Earth's atmosphere on a shorter as well as on longer time scale is to be studied

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Challenges in Launching the Mission:

• India’s inexperience: Except for ASTROSAT (2015), India has not previously launched a
space-based astronomy mission
• Moving components on Aditya L1: This will increase the risks of collision; the earlier
mission of ISRO largely had stationary parts
Importance of the Aditya L1 mission:
• Prediction of Solar activities: the solar weather and environment affects the weather of
the entire solar system, including the earth
o It will help India predict the impact of Earth-directed solar storms
• Supplement ISRO’s other space missions: India’s quest to have a permanent presence in
Space need a detailed study of solar weather
• Scientific and research progress and indigenization of space industry: Many of the
instruments and their components for the Aditya L1 mission are being manufactured in the
country.
• Supplement missions of other countries: e.g. Japan’s Solar-C EUVST; NASA’s EZEI
mission, Parker Solar Probe, and Helios 2 solar probe

Conclusion:
Thus the Aditya-L1 mission project will enable a comprehensive understanding of the processes
of the sun and address some of the outstanding problems in solar physics. It will further an
opportunity for solar scientists from multiple institutions within the country to participate in
space-based instrumentation and observations of the Sun, thereby driving scientific interest in
astronomy.

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2. What are the basic objectives of watershed management? Suggest some steps for involving
communities in watershed management projects in India?

Keywords Watershed Management, Communities

Introduction Briefly define watershed and watershed management
Enumerate the basic objectives of watershed
management, also mentioning the need for such an
Body objective. Then outline the measures needed for
involving communities in watershed management with
successful examples.
Conclusion Conclude with a relevant suggestion.

Introduction:
A watershed is a geographical area in which the entire runoff tends to converge through the
existing drainage system to the common outlet of the area. It is the same as the drainage basin
and catchment area. Watershed Management (WM) is the course of action that manipulates
resources in a watershed for the benefit of people in a sustained manner, without adversely
affecting land, water, and plant resources.

Body:
Objectives of Watershed management:
• Conserve soil, rainwater: As per NITI Aayog’s Composite Water Management Index (CWMI)
report, India is facing the worst water crisis and by 2030 demand for water may outstrip the
supply.
o So WM aims to harness the surplus water in a watershed in addition to groundwater
recharge.
• Sustainable farming practices and stable crop yield: About 52% of the net sown area is still
rain-fed and is 3 times less productive, compared to irrigated areas. Also, India is a net water
exporting country due to the export of water-intensive crops such as Basmati rice.
o So, WM through suitable cropping and crop management systems aims to improve
farmer’s crop yield.
• Restore non-arable areas: About 30% of India’s land is degraded
o WM aims to restore land through horticulture, afforestation, agro-forestry, and
pasture land development based on the capability of the land.
• Enhance the income of the local communities: Resource dependent communities esp. the
tribal, are often vulnerable to the vagaries of climate
o WM aims to stabilize the income of communities and mitigate the risk due to aberrant
weather situations.

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• Optimal utilization of irrigation potential: there exists a wide gap between irrigation
potential utilized and the irrigation potential available due to non-maintenance of canal
system, no participatory management, changing land use pattern, etc.
o Therefore, WM aims for Integrated Watershed Management Practices. It also aims to
increase cropping intensity and land equivalent ratio through sequence cropping and
intercropping.
• Sustainability of surface and groundwater resources: Over-exploitation of groundwater has
led to cropping up of ‘Dark-zone’ in any part of India, with severe stress to groundwater
reserves. Also, the over-use of surface water has led to an increase in waterlogging and soil
salinity.
o WM aims for harvesting surplus water, groundwater recharge, and maximum retention
of surface water. It also aims to benefit the man-animal-plant-land-water complex in
the watershed.

Local communities can be involved in watershed management projects in India through:

• Awareness generation: through farmer producer organization, Kishan Mitra, KVKs, taking
help of SHGs, NGOs, and CSOs working for watershed management.
• Formation of user groups and water user associations: E.g. Andhra Pradesh Farmer
Managed Groundwater Systems (APFAMGS) have the mechanism of Joint Management of
Aquifers, Self-Regulation of groundwater extraction, and Induce behavioral change for the
sustainable use of water.

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• Conducting Participatory Rural/Urban Appraisal (PRA): It brings out the current resources
utilization map for the community and proposes immediate and long-term solutions to the
existing problems.
o E.g. In the outskirts of Bangalore, communities helped prepare multiple watersheds
(micro-watersheds) based on its use pattern, with an appropriate plan of action
initiated for each- e.g. preventing buildings coming upon water bodies, setting up small
individual treatment plants in each watershed to address pollution, creating rain
gardens, etc.
• Capacity development of user groups and watershed management committees: E.g. In
Madurai, as a part of the capacity building program, faculty members from Agricultural
College and Research Institute conducted workshops for user groups and women self-help
groups in community-driven watershed management
• Provide technical assistance as per need: Technical assistance in de-silting of river beds and
water bodies, creating boulder checks to control water flow, and recharging aquifers,
renovation of Ooranis or Johads, construction of farm ponds, Conservation agriculture-
Artificial and Natural Mulching, Zero Tillage, Micro-irrigation (MI) systems (sprinkler, drip),
etc.
• Mobilization of community contribution: through users’ charges or membership fees,
Rationalization of water tariffs, etc.
o E.g. Palampur model(HP) (Payment for ecosystem services) of financing can be used
wherein the city pays for the clean water and environment to the village communities
upstream
• Monitoring mechanism through Gram Sabhas, Ward committees, Social Audits: It will help
keep track of the proposed output and corrective actions to be taken through participatory
dialogues.
• Conflict resolution and follow-up: through consensus or voting. They should be perceived
as responsive, transparent, and fair in functioning.
• The inclusion, empowerment, and mainstreaming of women, the poor and vulnerable
groups in the decision-making processes: This will not only increase their income but also
enhances the social capital of the community.
• Networking and linking the Water user’s group with local developmental agencies (civil
society, government, private agencies) is vital for value addition as well as for continued
accessing of additional resources in the post-project period.

Conclusion:
The World Bank's watershed management projects in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand (in
higher elevation); Karnataka (in arid zones and rain-fed lowlands) combined participatory
micro-watershed planning for soil and water conservation with broader livelihood support
programs. This Consortium based approach has been successful in reviving water storage in

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catchment areas and well as enhance income for the communities. E.g. Ralegan Siddhi (MH,
through the efforts of Anna Hazare); Alwar (RJ, through the efforts of Rajendra Singh).

3. How will mainstreaming of the gender perspective in Water Resource management help in
achieving the goal of equity and sustainability in access to water resources in India.

Gender Perspectives, Water Resource Management,

Keywords
Equity and Sustainability
Introduction Give a brief introduction to gender perspective to water
List down how recognizing the role of women and girls
in water resource management will lead to greater
Body equity in its access and sharing and also provide greater
sustainability. Also, briefly suggest what should be done
to make that possible.
Conclusion Conclude with a relevant suggestion.

Introduction:
The NITI Aayog’s Composite Water Management Index (CWMI) has warned that India is facing
its ‘worst’ water crisis in history. In this, Women and girls are most affected by the lack of access
to essential water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities. As per the Centre for Social Research, on
average, a rural woman walks 5 kilometers to 20 kilometers a day just to fetch water. They face
health, security, and psychological vulnerabilities due to inadequate access to water and limited
decision-making control.

Body:
Mainstreaming a gender perspective in Water Resource Management (WRM) will ensure:
Equity in access to water:
• Equity in agriculture use of water: Women constitute 37% of the agricultural workforce.
Also, several studies point out that women spend twice the number of hours that men do,
working on fields in the cropping season.
o Therefore, an increase in women’s representation in Irrigation management
committees, FPOs, etc. will ensure optimum utilization of water resources and more
crop yield.
International Case study (source: World Resource Institute): Malawi (Africa)
government in the 1980s began providing piped water to low-income households,
through community-run tap committees to collect bills and manage systems. But men
made up 90% of committee memberships. They were often away from home, while
women were the ones using and managing water day-to-day. Over the years, the tap
committees failed. Then the government recruited women into the tap committees and

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trained them. Once women made up the majority of members, they paid water bills more
reliably, held regular meetings with high attendance rates, and redesigned communal
taps to be more user-friendly.

• Equity in water-sharing: Currently, Women and girls are mostly responsible for fetching
water in most households. This leads to unpaid domestic work and affects their health.
o Involving women in household decision-making will lead to more equitable sharing of
responsibility between men and women in the household.
o This will help curb the phenomenon of ‘Water-Wives’ prevalent in some parts of
Maharashtra wherein men have more than one spouse to collect water.
• Equity in Women’s Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Needs: Women usually have an
increased need for water during menstruation, pregnancy, the postnatal period, and also
for cooking and caring for children and sick family members.
o Mainstreaming gender perspective will lead to a greater share of water to women
thereby helping women and girls to meet their basic needs and participate equally
in society.
o Also, it would also help look towards the water need of Transwomen, who are
mostly neglected in society due to attached social stigmas.
• Equity in WASH-related employment: women’s representation in the water, sanitation, and
hygiene (WASH) sector was just 17% of the total WASH labor force with representation even
lower in technical jobs such as hydro-geologists, policymakers, regulators.
o Involving women in the WASH-related labor force will not only provide gender equity
but also will bode well for peace and security (esp. for many sub-Saharan countries,
which are fighting for critical water resources)
• For the equitable focus on health, sanitation, and child needs: UNDP research on 44 water
projects across Asia and Africa shows that women share water more equitably than men
do, especially in times of scarcity.
o Also, women's leadership focuses more on health, sanitation, and the needs of the child
which are directly related to water use.
Sustainability in access to water:
• For better water management and sustainability: The same UNDP research shows that
equal participation of men and women in water policies leads to better utilization of
available water resources and ensures its sustainability.
• Sustenance of projects: A study conducted on water supply projects in Gujarat (2000)
showed that when women participated in technical and decision-making capacities, there
was substantial and sustained improvement in the impact of projects.
• Sustenance in water governance: Women’s representation in governance is significant e.g.
about 43% of elected representatives in local bodies such as Panchayats and Ward
committees are women. Also, Women’s participation in MGNREGS is high and stands at
almost 55%.

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o This makes women well-suited in leading water management programs and policies in
their communities.
• Sustenance in the monitoring of Schemes: E.g. In Rajasthan, the campaign for social audits,
in which women play a major role, has contributed to enhanced awareness and increased
participation under MGNREGA. The state’s MGNREGA work sites have good facilities for
children and women as well.
• Sustenance of funding: E.g. In West Bengal, women-led associations influenced the
government to release MGNREGS funds to construct water supply structures that created
an additional water potential of 7.4 billion liters and benefitted 35,000 women.
o Also, in Jharkhand’s Lava Panchayat, women maintained 450 water pumps. UN study
pointed out that they even ran their village spare stores, charged user charges, and
resolved issues more efficiently than their male counterparts.
• Help meet SDG 5, 6, and 10: Water, sanitation and hygiene (SDG 6), Gender equality and
empowerment (SDG 5), and reduce inequalities within and between countries (SDG10)
o Empowering women in water resource management will be critical to meet these
goals.
Way forward:

Conclusion:
Thus the policies on water need to keep women’s needs at the center stage and enable them to
be agents of change. This can be done by investing in women’s leadership by the governments,
businesses, NGOs, and academic institutions. Access to water, if delivered well, empowers women
economically and socially. Done poorly, it may undermine women’s position at home and in the
community.

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4. Why are hydropower projects in the Himalayas risky? Do you think hydropower projects are as
clean and green as it is claimed to be? Justify your argument.

Keywords Hydropower projects, Himalayas, Clean and Green

Give a brief introduction to hydropower potential in
Introduction
India
Explain why hydropower projects in the Himalayas are
risky from the geographical point of view. Then go on to
Body reasons why hydro projects are not clean and green.
Also, give a counter-view, why hydropower is needed
for the country.
Conclusion Conclude with your opinion

Introduction:
Hydropower is electrical energy produced through the power of moving water. The Himalayan
region has a total hydropower potential of 104GW but realized potential is just 20GW. However,
the development of hydropower projects in the Himalayas is risky e.g. the recent Rishi Ganga
tragedy (Uttrakhand), the disasters of 2012 (flashfloods), 2013 (Kedarnath) shows that
hydroelectric projects come with huge hidden costs.

Body:

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Hydropower projects in the Himalayas are risky due to:

• High seismic zones: Entire Himalayan region comes under categories IV and V and about
15% of the great earthquakes (of magnitudes greater than 8) of the 20th century took place
in the Himalayan region.
o The 2015 Nepal earthquake caused damage to several dams of Nepal, knocking off a
third of Nepal’s hydropower.
• High population concentration: Highly populous regions of Delhi, UP and northern Bihar are
not far off from the Himalayan regions.
o This increases the risks that may occur due to the failure of dams (e.g. Kosi barrage
breach of 2008 caused the death of over 400 people)
• Risks of landslide: Nearly 97% of the total geographical area of Himachal Pradesh is prone
to landslides (as per the Geological Survey of India).
▪ Also, one in four hydropower projects in the Himalayan region are at risk from
landslides triggered by earthquakes and tremors (Institute of Earth and Environmental
Science, Germany, 2018)
o Himachal government’s Disaster Management Cell found that at least 10 mega
hydropower stations are located in medium and high-risk landslide areas.
o Therefore, Maharaj K. Pandit, a Himalayan ecologist, has suggested that the
upper Himalayas should be converted into a nature reserve by an international
agreement.

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▪ Also, the possibility of a Himalayan River Commission involving all the headwater and
downstream countries needs to be explored.
• Existence of sediment hotspot paraglacial zones in the Himalayas: These sediments at the
time of a cloud burst, contribute huge amounts of debris and silt in the river, thereby
increasing the river volume and the devastation downstream.
o The flash floods in these Himalayan valleys also carry a massive quantity of debris. This
prompted the Ravi Chopra committee to recommend not to build any projects beyond
2,200 meters or north of the Main Central Thrust (major geological fault).
• Decreasing Stability of mountain slopes in the Himalayas: Increased glacier retreat
and Permafrost Thaw will decrease the stability of mountain slopes and increase the number
of glacier lakes.
o Hydropower projects in such areas increase the risk of dam bursts and also increases
the impact of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs)
• Changing climate pattern with Climate Change: Climate change has led to erratic weather
patterns like increased rainfall and snowfall, intense spells of rainfall and avalanches, and
increased instances of cloudburst
o The erratic weather limits the usefulness of the hydro projects and increases the risks
to the residents of the region.
Hydropower projects are NOT as green and clean as it is claimed to be:
It is NOT green as:
• Impact on Mountain Ecology: The Ravi Chopra committee further concluded that 23
projects would have an “irreversible impact” on the ecology of the region.
o Hydrogeological impacts – drying of natural source of water and also the underground
water sources
o Muck dumping along rivers leading to increasing siltation in forests and pastures
o The Himalayan region is very rich in globally significant biodiversity, and large
hydropower development projects may disturb or destroy the habitats of several
terrestrial plant and animal species.
• The Hidden Cost of Hydropower: these various externalities and environmental hazards
often leads to the hidden cost of these construction projects which, in most cases, the
environment and the local communities have to pay
o E.g. the GHGs emitted during the construction and procurement of materials, the
ecological cost of submergence of large areas, etc.
• Projects disturb the natural environmental flow of rivers: Ministry of Jal Shakti had
previously maintained that the cleanliness of the river was premised on adherence to the
minimum levels of water flow in all seasons and the proposed hydro projects could hinder
this.
• Reports on environmental impacts biased towards the project proponent: EIA on the
impacts are often inadequate or biased in favor of the hydropower producers, with
economics as the main concern.

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o Risks of geological and seismic vulnerability of the project sites are often glossed over.
o Also, the absence of baseline scientific data makes it difficult to do an effective EIA
It is NOT as Clean as:
• Dams in the Himalayas aggravate the risks of existing disasters: MoEFCC’s affidavit (2014)
in the SC admitted that hydroelectric projects did aggravate the 2013 flood in Kedarnath.
o Mushrooming of hydro-power projects in the Himalayas directly linked to the
disasters: Ravi Chopra committee said that there was a “direct and indirect impact” of
these dams in aggravating the disaster.
• Negative impact on local communities and their livelihoods: Dams impact people through:
o Social displacement: e.g. Tehri dam (Uttrakhand): many people who were displaced by
the construction of the Tehri dam are still making rounds of government offices for
basic amenities.
o Ecological impacts: A study in Jammu and Kashmir revealed that local communities
perceived hydropower projects as a source of noise pollution, deteriorating water
quality, waterlogging, and soil erosion, as well as leading to losses in animal, bird, and
plant diversity.
o Environmental impacts: E.g. In the case of the Teesta hydropower plant (Sikkim,
2008): The local communities have been complaining about the sinking of mountain
slopes (due to tunneling), drying up of springs, and development of fissures and
landslides.
o Technological risks: Amelie Huber, a political ecologist, says that the dams in the
mountainous regions that are exposed to earthquakes, floods, extreme rainfall,
avalanches, and landslides, are “risk-laden artifacts”.
o Livelihood risks: Hydro projects also affect the common pool resources such as forests
and pastures, directly impacting the livelihoods of local communities.

However, hydropower projects are better than some of the other renewable resources such as
coal, petroleum, etc. Considering population growth and required industrial and infrastructure
growth, the government has been pushing to develop the untapped hydro potential of the
country e.g. National policy (e.g. Hydro Power Policy 2008), State-level policies (e.g.
in Uttarakhand and Sikkim). Hydro projects can be promoted if it is implemented ecologically:-
• Large, ‘smart’ hydropower projects may be developed: Minimizing the impacts on human
life, aquatic life, and terrestrial ecosystems.
• Microhydel projects may also be promoted: They have a less adverse social and
environmental impact on local communities.
• Subsidies for hydropower sector based on the ‘green’ tagging of the project

Conclusion:
Thus there is a need for an independent inquiry or audit of the social, environmental, and safety
norms compliance of the projects, as well as an independent dam safety cell that will have

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members from all concerned departments. Also, Rampur Hydropower Project (HP) is a good
example of benefit-sharing practice wherein, the project will set aside 1% of its profits to provide
all affected families with an annual cash income. They also receive development assistance in the
community amounting to 1.5% of the revenue of the project.

5. India’s draft Arctic Policy explores what the two regions can do for each Other. Discuss.

Keywords India’s Draft Arctic Policy

Give a brief introduction to the Arctic region and India’s
Introduction
policy
Explain how India can benefit from the Arctic and how
Body the Arctic can gain from India. Also mention few
Initiatives taken by India in the Arctic region.
Conclusion Conclude with a relevant suggestion.

Introduction:
The Arctic region comprises the Arctic Ocean and parts of countries such as Canada, Norway,
Russia, Greenland, Finland, the USA, Sweden, and Iceland. India this year unveiled its draft Arctic
Policy 2021, which says that India could be particularly impacted as changes in the Arctic have an
effect on water security, monsoon patterns, economic security, and critical aspects of national
development. But at the same time, the Arctic will open new opportunities for India as well.

Body:
India’s tie with the Arctic started when it signed the Svalbard treaty of 1920. Considering the
impact of climate change on the Arctic region and its connection with India’s monsoon, the need
for India’s active presence in all three poles was felt (the Himalayas is often called the third
pole). So, India has formulated a draft Arctic policy (2021) for its sustained vision and
involvement in the Arctic region.

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Additional information: Impact of the Arctic melting on India

• Threat to Food Security: Arctic amplification weakens the jet streams and consequently
impacts Monsoon rains. Also, the weakening of oceanic circulation causes drought, flood
spells in different regions of the world
• Threat to water security: Changing rainfall pattern increases the propensity for droughts &
floods and impacts the surface and groundwater recharge.
o E.g. increased seawater intrusion in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Lakshadweep, etc.
• Threat to coastal infrastructure: melting ice and weakening oceanic circulation will drive
heightened cyclonic activity the world over.
• Threat to human health: Changes in the Arctic have increased the cold waves in northern
India, which increased the cases of pneumonia, cold flu, etc.
o Also, melting permafrost threatens the release of new viruses and bacteria affecting
human health.
• Threat to Biodiversity: Marine heatwaves in the Indian Ocean amplified by the melting
arctic will threaten many species. The Indian Ocean is, presently, home to 30% of the world’s
coral reefs and 13% of global wild-catch fisheries.
o As the evolutionary adaptability of many species is limited and they may get wiped out.

Draft Arctic policy explores what the Arctic can do for India:
• Help improve scientific and Research understanding: India has a permanent research base
in the Arctic e.g. Himadri, IndArc.
o Linkage with Monsoon: the Arctic has currently the fastest-changing climate on the
earth. The Arctic can help India explore the linkage between changing Arctic climate
and its impact on Monsoon

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o Geographical knowledge of the pole: India is planning to expand the Arctic observation
work to other regions in the Arctic in the next few years to increase our geographical
knowledge of the changes
• Help improve our weather prediction model: Given the influence of the Arctic on the
monsoon and cold waves in India, its study could help improve the accuracy of our climate
models.
• Economic development: the Arctic contains reserves Oil (13% of the world’s undiscovered
oil), natural gas (30% of undiscovered gas), and mineral deposits – copper, phosphorus,
niobium, platinum-group elements, and rare earth.
o India could invest in areas such as “offshore exploration/mining, ports, etc. India has
already invested in Oil and Gas exploration of over $15bn in the Russian Arctic.
• Opportunities for investment in Renewables: Potential for exploiting renewable
(hydroelectricity, bioenergy, wind power, solar, geothermal, and ocean energy) to power the
Arctic is enormous for India
• Transportation and connectivity: the Arctic can help India reap the benefit of all year
shipping through Arctic ice-free water e.g. Chennai-Vladivostok Maritime Corridor, North
Sea-Baltic TEN-T Core Network Corridor
• National capacity building: Arctic can help India in various ways such as:
o Digital economy: India can establish data centers and cloud storage facilities as it
would require minimum energy for cooling
o Seed storage: Developing fail-safe seed storage facilities in cryospheric regions
o Learn from the experiences of Arctic Indigenous communities and explore their
possibility to be applied to communities in the Himalayas

What India can do for the Arctic region?

• Governance and international cooperation: India being given the observer status in the
Arctic council can influence climate change policies to help reverse the melting and use
resources of the arctic judiciously.
o In 2011, Shyam Saran, former foreign secretary of India stated that in a geopolitically
changing Arctic, emerging world powers like India and China must “place this region
on the international agenda.
• Mitigate the impact of geopolitical competition on the Arctic: China unveiled the ‘Polar silk
road’ recently, while other countries are in a race to exploit arctic resources as the ice-free
Arctic is easily accessible. This can impact Arctic flora and fauna.
o India can raise the voice for sustainable use of Arctic resources
• Sharing expertise in the management of indigenous and other communities: Indian
experience in empowering communities in the Himalayas e.g. cold desert of Ladakh can be
useful for the empowerment of indigenous Arctic communities
o Cultural and educational exchanges between the indigenous communities of the
glacial regions of the Himalayas and the Arctic.

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o The Arctic is home to almost 4mn inhabitants, of which approximately one-tenth are
considered indigenous people
• Encouraging sustainable tourism in the Arctic: through more Indian participation in sharing
its experiences
• Protection of species: India’s experience in Project Snow leopard, Project Tiger, etc. can
help save endangered species such as Polar bears, fin whales, Eskimo Curlew.
• Collaborate with stakeholders in the Arctic: India plans to engage with the Arctic, by
involving the state, the civil society including think tanks, academicians, scientists, and
other experts, building collaborations with institutions in the Arctic, such as the University
of the Arctic (UArctic).

India’s engagement in the Arctic:

• India is a signatory to the “Svalbard Treaty” (1920)
• Himadri station (set up in 2007): for research purpose
• India has an observer status in the Arctic Council (renewed in 2018)
• Observatories in Kongsforden and Gruvebadet
o IndARC is India's first underwater moored observatory (at Kongsfjorden fjord, Norway)
to study Arctic climate and its impact on Monsoon
• The Goa-based National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research to lead scientific research and
act as a nodal body for research in the Arctic
• MOSAiC expedition (2020) had an Indian scientist: Sent to study the physical, chemical, and
biological processes that coupled the Arctic atmosphere, sea ice, ocean, and ecosystem.

Conclusion:
The future of India will be, to a large extent, determined by the Arctic and the future of the Arctic
will also be determined by what takes place in India and other Asian countries. India needs to be
an active partner in sustainable use of opportunities provided by the melting of the Arctic as well
as work towards mitigating any impact that the Indian region will face.

6. Describe the different types of dryland farming methods used in India. How can it help Indian
Agriculture adapt to future water scarcity?

Keywords Dryland farming methods in India, water scarcity

Introduction Give a brief introduction to dryland farming in India
Describe different types of dryland farming techniques
in India. Give the data on water scarcity ad then explain
Body
how dryland farming methods can help Indian
agriculture be water resilient.
Conclusion Conclude with a relevant suggestion.

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Introduction:
Dryland areas are regions with low and erratic rainfall and no assured irrigation facilities. Dryland
farming refers to the type of farming which is operated in dryland areas (sub-humid to arid
conditions) and reflecting a typical cropping pattern of coarse grains millets and oilseeds, pulses,
cotton, etc. 68% of India's cultivated area are under dryland farming, accounting for 40% of the
farmers and 60% of the livestock population. It produces 44% of the food requirements of the
country, and thus plays a critical role in India's food security.

Body:
Different types of Dryland agriculture methods in India
Based on the amount of rainfall:
• Dry farming: Production of crops in dry areas receiving less than 750mm of annual rainfall
and without any irrigation facilities. The growing season is less than 200 days. Major dry
farming crops are millets such as jawar, bajra, ragi, etc.
• Dryland farming: The production of crops in areas receiving rainfall above 750 mm is known
as dryland farming.
o Almost 80% of maize and Jawar, 90% of Bajra, and approximately 95% of pulses and
75% of oilseeds are obtained from dryland farming in India.
• Rainfed farming: Production of the crop without irrigation in areas receiving 1150 mm
rainfall. Nearly 75% of India’s total arable area is rainfed and about 33% of wheat and 66%
of rice are produced in India’s rainfed areas.
Different techniques of dryland farming in India are:
• Dry sowing methods: such as Dry direct sowing method (e.g. using seed drilling) and Wet
direct sowing methods. In this, the seed is sowed directly into the soil. It reduces the
requirement of seed by more than 50% and water requirement considerably compared to
the traditional methods.
• Ecological conservation techniques: Includes all methods, including organic, which
regenerate ecosystem services like water infiltration and retention, prevention of soil
erosion, etc. Techniques used include no-till, strip cropping, multispecies cover crops,
terrace cultivation, shelterbelts, pasture cropping, etc.
• Mulching: refers to the covering of soil surface to reduce evaporation and increase soil
retention. Different types of mulch can be: Soil mulch (through intercropping), stubble
mulch (using plant remnants, cotton stems), and Plastic mulch (using polyethylene)
• Windbreak and shelterbelts: reduce the speed of wind due to which the evaporation loss is
reduced
• Weed control: weed competes with plants for soil moisture, so controlling weed can help
reduce water loss
• Anti-transpirants: chemicals that reduce the water loss by partially closing the stomata e.g.
Phenyl mercuric Acetate (PMA)
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• Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF): It encourages farmers to use low-cost locally sourced
input and cropping as per the agro-climatic conditions.
• Other techniques for dryland farming are: Alley cropping, tree farming, pasture
management, Silvi-pastoral management systems, and agro-horticultural system

Distribution of Drylands in India

Future water scarcity and agriculture:

• Niti Aayog’s Composite water management Index (CWMI) has warned that India is facing
its ‘worst water crisis’ in history.
• About 90% of water use in India is for farming. And that 80% of this irrigation is for water-
guzzling crops — rice, wheat, and sugarcane. Reducing this number is the most effective way
of solving India’s water problem.
• India is the largest extractor of groundwater in the world, most of it for agriculture purposes
(UNESCO World Water Development Report)
Dryland farming can help Indian agriculture adapt to future water scarcity situations in India:
• Adaptation by changing the cropping pattern:
o Diversifying the crops: From water-intensive crops in dry areas (e.g. Sugarcane in
Marathwada of Maharastra) to align it more closely with India’s agro-bio-geo-
ecological diversity
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▪ It also helps in improving nutrition, reducing energy demand, saving water, and
greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture.
o Changes in cropping patterns will also help in the development of agro-processing
industries as dryland farming is based on industrial crops e.g. cotton, oilseeds,
groundnut, pulses, and tobacco.
o Shifting to crops such as Jatropha cultivation can reduce the magnitude of the
petroleum crisis
• Adaptation by better Policies: Through diversification of procurement operations from
wheat and rice to less water-intensive crops, like millets, pulses, and oilseeds, especially in
India’s drylands. This can be done by creating demand for these crops through mid-day meal
schemes and ICDS.
o Giri Poshana (an initiative of ICRISAT and Tribal Welfare Department of Telangana)
distributes ready-to-eat foods containing millets, sorghum, and pulses to women and
children
o Democratization of water: Using water user’s associations, Irrigation management
committees, etc. where stakeholders come together to form democratic associations
to manage their shared resources collectively, equitably, and sustainably.
• Adaptation to the changing Rainfall Patterns: Climate change is leading to the shifting of
the Rainfall patterns across the country. This has resulted in more intense periods of heavy
rain and longer dry periods, even within the same regions.
o Yields from grains such as millet, sorghum, and maize are more resilient to extreme
weather conditions (United Nations' State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World
report 2018)
• Adaptation by more efficient irrigation system:
o E.g. cotton farmers in Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district are adapting to a package of
practices such as Micro-irrigation systems (drip, Sprinkler), that lower the use of water
(using in-situ soil moisture conservation)
• Adaptation by better farming technique: International Maize and Wheat Improvement
Centre (CIMMYT) pointed out that India has the potential to cut 18% of its annual GHG by
measures such as the adoption of zero-tillage, management of water in irrigated paddy,
adopting dryland farming, and efficient use of fertilizer.
• Adaptation by drought-resistant seeds: e.g. ICRISAT has found important factors for heat
and drought tolerance in chickpea, and is using them to genetically engineer these
tolerances in other crops.
• Adaptation by better use of data: E.g. Dryland farming techniques in Israel uses data
networks to track crop transpiration, total inflows, and recoverable outflows of irrigation
water and water lost due to evaporation. This leads to informed water management
practices.

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• Adaptation for livestock: Marginal drylands in the semi-arid regions offer the potential for
fodder production to feed the cattle population. Also, in dryland areas, the pasture lands
are more extensive and cattle breeds have greater per-capital yield.

Government Initiatives for dryland farming:

• Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY): Watershed development program, Har Khet
Ko Pani, Per Drop More Crop, Command area development
• Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bhima Yojana: weather-based crop insurance scheme
• Atal Bhujal Yojana: to ensure sustained groundwater management in overexploited and
ground water-stressed areas
• Drought Prone Areas Programme and the Desert Development Programme
• Mukhya Mantri Jal Swavlamban Abhiyan (Rajasthan): for effective implementation of
water conservation and water harvesting-related activities in rural areas.
• Jalyukt-Shivar project (Maharastra): It aims to make 5000 villages free of water scarcity
every year.
• Mission Kakatiya (Telangana): development of minor irrigation infrastructure, restoration
of tanks, and strengthening community-based irrigation management.
• National year of millets (2018): FAO approved India's proposal to observe an International
Year of Millets in 2023.

Conclusion:
Thus dryland farming is the chief contributor of pulses (ensuring protein security), oilseeds
(reducing import dependence), coarse grain crops (nutrition security), and cotton (livelihood
security). Drylands also contribute significantly to Rice and Wheat production. Given the water
scarcity scenario in many parts of the country, success stories of Ralegaon Siddhi and Hivere Bazar
(Maharashtra) and Sukhomajari (Haryana) in dryland farming can be emulated on large scale.

7. What do you mean by ‘cold wave’? How does the La Nina influence the cold wave conditions in
winters of north India?

Keywords Cold wave, La Nina, North India

Briefly define what is Cold wave condition with the
Introduction
example of the recent event.
Explain the reason for the cold wave in north India with
particular emphasis on the impact of La Nina. Also,
Body
enumerate some of the impacts of cold wave conditions
in India.
Conclude with suggestions given by IMD and NDMA
Conclusion
regarding cold waves.

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Introduction:
The cold wave is the condition of rapid fall in temperature of a place within the span of 24hrs,
thus impacting the social and economic activities of the place. As per IMD, a cold wave is declared
if the minimum temperature is 10 degrees Celsius or less and is 4.5 degrees Celsius less than
normal for two consecutive days (for plains) and for coastal region drop in temperature by few
degrees which create discomfort due to wind chill factor. India had cold wave conditions in part
of north India in 2019 as well as 2020 winter. Churu (Rajasthan) witnessed the lowest
temperature in 46 years of -1.5 degrees C.

Body:
India’s Cold wave zone: The cold wave mainly affects the areas to the north of 20 degrees – but
in association with large amplitude troughs, cold wave conditions are sometimes reported from
states like Maharashtra and Karnataka as well. The maximum number of cold waves occurs in
Jammu and Kashmir followed by Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Bihar, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.

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Reasons for the Cold wave conditions in India

• Impact of Western disturbance: Cold wave conditions form due to lack of western
disturbances. Western disturbances create precipitation and bring down day temperatures,
but night temperatures remain steady. They change the wind patterns in the northern parts
of India.
o Without the presence of an active western disturbance, cold winds from the
Himalayas continue to blow into the northern parts of India thereby allowing the
prevailing cold conditions to continue and intensify.
• Absence of cloud cover: Clouds helps trap some of the outgoing infrared radiation and it
radiates back downward, thus warming the ground
• Snowfall in the upper Himalayas: This creates a wind chill factor for the northern states
of India
• Downward subsidence of cold air: Subsiding air (from the upper Himalayas) further cools
down creating low-temperature conditions over North India for a longer period
• Impact of global warming: Global warming is said to weaken the polar vortex. This causes
the cold chilly wind to move south e.g. study has suggested climate change aggravated the
deadly cold wave condition in Texas (US) this year. The impact of Arctic winds moving south
also indirectly intensifies cold wave conditions in India.

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Impact of La Nina on Cold wave conditions in India:

The La Niña climate pattern is a natural cycle marked by cooler-than-average ocean water in the
central Pacific Ocean. In the winter of a La Niña year, winds blowing westward from South
America to Australia are much stronger than usual. This makes the water in the Pacific Ocean
near the equator a few degrees colder than it usually is. Even this small change in the ocean’s
temperature can affect weather all over the world.

La Nina is known to favor cold waves in North India.

It increases the severity of cold conditions, also the frequency and area covered under the grip
of a cold wave become larger e.g. winters of October 2020 were colder than usual (17.2 degrees
Celsius, the lowest since 1962) due to the impact of La Nina in the pacific. Delhi witnessed its
coldest November month in the last 71 years in 2020, recording four cold waves in the period
Mechanisms:
• Piping of Cold air: La Niña influences the Indian subcontinent by piping in cold air from
Siberia and South China, which interacts with the tropical heating to produce a north-south
low-pressure system.
• Impact of the north-south trough of low pressure: The pressure pattern going north-south
means lesser impact of western disturbances. The north-south trough tends to extend much
farther south into India. The cold temperature can go down as far as Tamil Nadu, but may
not affect the North East that much.
o The “wave” in the cold wave is the upper-air flow (the jetstream), which is gets
amplified into a strong ridge-trough pattern during a major cold wave.
o El Nino also creates cold wave conditions but more in the northwest-southeast
direction, thus missing a large part of India.

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Impact of cold wave conditions:

• Impact on agriculture in North India: It creates a wider gap between day and night
temperatures, this creates erratic winter conditions impacting agricultural practices in the
Rabi season, especially the growth of wheat that is the principal cereal crop in the north,
northwest, and central India.
• Impact on Cash crops: It might also affect the productivity of cash crops such as coffee
(Coffee growth is extremely sensitive to variations in temperatures), which grows mainly in
south India. The maximum temperatures will be lower than the normal and minimum
temperatures higher than the normal.
• Impact on Human life: Cold wave conditions increase the risk of contracting flu, and could
also lead to symptoms like nosebleeds and runny nose. It was also said to be responsible for
the 2nd wave of COVID 19 in many parts of North India.
o Cold wave conditions lead to loss of life particularly for the vulnerable section of people
like Old, infirm, destitute, etc. (In 2020, about 152 people died across India due to cold
waves. The highest number of deaths was recorded in 2011 when 722 people died.)
o IMD also warned of frostbite (where the skin turns pale, numb, and hard and is left
with black blisters)

Conclusion:
A recent AR6 report of IPCC warns that extreme weather events are going to increase in the
future. Cold waves too fall under such extreme events, which can severely and fatally affect the
very young, the elderly, and the infirm. Thus there is a need to follow the IMD guidelines (such as
not going out, using moisturizer, not consuming alcohol (causes hypothermia)) and NDMA
guidelines regarding precautions to be taken during this cold wave.

8. In terms of maritime capabilities, India is consistently being outperformed by many of its Asian
neighbors. Comment.

Keywords Maritime, Indian Ports

Give a brief context of India’s maritime infrastructure
Introduction
and issues
Explain the reasons for underperformance of India’s
Body
maritime infrastructure
Conclusion Conclude with relevant suggestion.

Introduction:
India has 7,516 km of long coastline with 12 major ports and just about 205 minor ports. Share
of Major ports in India's total foreign trade is around 95%, but these ports are constantly

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underperforming due to infrastructure and connectivity problems. India’s neighbors are

outperforming India in maritime domain.

Body:
As per 2018 World Bank's logistics performance index, India ranked at 44 out of 160 countries
(slipped from 35th rank in 2016). It underperformed its neighbor Singapore (ranked 7), UAE (11),
China (26), and Malaysia (41), which are its immediate competitors. E.g. average ship turnaround
time in Singapore is less than a day while it is over two days in India.

Reasons for India’s maritime domain lagging behind its Asian Competitors

Geographical reasons: India lacks deep natural harbors

• India’s eastern coast doesn’t have good harbor as
o It is an emergent coast (esp. Coramandal Coast). Thus, doesn’t have deep natural
harbor
o Continental shelf on east extends up to 500 km into the sea, so, difficult to develop
good ports and harbors. Ships can enter and leave only during tides.
o Eastern rivers form delta. It becomes difficult for ships to reach the east coast covered
with sediments.
• Western coast is coast of submergence (except Malabar Coast) and provide good natural
harbor but still the average draft ranges from 8m to 12m, lower than the draft range of 12m
to 23m at most international ports.
o Larger vessels with capacities greater than 10,000 twenty-foot equivalent units and
tankers are not able to navigate into most ports
Dependency on Sri Lanka and Singapore: Due to the lack of a deep seaport with 20 meters draft,
mother-vessels coming to India from anywhere in the world has to unload its cargo at
transshipment ports like Colombo (15 meters depth) or Port of Singapore (12 meters) to load
them into small ships and then sail it to Indian ports like JNPT (11 meters depth).

Saturated major ports: Western coast of India, has a capacity to handle 18 million TEUs every
year with JNPT and Mundra ports handling most of it. All the ports including JNPT have reached a
level of saturation with a steady increase of container cargoes compared to bulk and liquid
cargoes. By 2030, India should have a capacity to handle 25 million TEUs

Port related infrastructure issues:

• Design of existing ports is inadequate to meet the current requirements for quick
turnaround and handling of increased volumes, causing delays in the feeding and evacuation
of cargo
• Deficient dredging capabilities: low number of dredgers. E.g. the reduced drafts available
due to lack of dredging in the Hooghly River Port system

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• Outdated navigational aids and IT systems and Poor port maintenance

• Poor hinterland connectivity, road, and railway problems
• Overstaffed with unskilled and untrained labor and the development of such ports may
suffer due to frequent labor strikes, inefficiency and low labor productivity.
• The operational procedures adopted at our ports are not standardized or uniform in nature.
• Lack of finances: Port projects have long gestation periods and therefore the developers
have difficulty in accessing financing from banks and financial institutions.
Lack of efficiency of Indian shipyard: Indian vessels constitute only 1.3 per cent of total global
ownership compared to China’s 10 per cent. Most of these Indian vessels are purchased second-
hand from abroad, and even those newly built are mostly constructed at foreign shipyards.
• This has led to dismal throughput at our 28 shipyards; cumulatively accounting for 0.045 per
cent of the global shipbuilding capacity compared to China’s 40 per cent
India does not have a dedicated maritime financing agency, most of financing and insurance
deals of Indian shipping is done through Dubai or Singapore.

Figure 1: India major and minor ports

Government Initiatives in Indian maritime sector to improve its performance and maritime
capabilities are:
• Sagarmala project: seeks to develop a string of ports around India’s coast. The objective of
this initiative is to promote “Port-led development” along India’s 7500 km long coastline.
• Proposal to set up a single regulator – the Major Ports Regulatory Authority
• The government has introduced the captive port policy under which the government will
allow captive berths at major ports for private companies, to enable them to utilize these
facilities exclusively for their own goods.
• Central Port Authority (CPA) Act (2016): The act grants more autonomy to the major ports.
• Introduction of the Maritime Agenda aimed at bringing Indian ports on par with
international ports in terms of performance and capacity.

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o Around 352 ports have been identified to be upgraded as major ports

• 100 percent FDI under the automatic route for the construction and maintenance of ports
and harbors.
• Project UNNATI: aims to enhance the operational and financial performance of the 12
major ports.
• Major Ports Authority Bill was passed in budget this year, that will replace a 1963 law
governing country’s 12 major ports.
• Setting up a major port at Vadhavan in Maharashtra. The Vadhavan port has a natural draft
of about 20 meters close to the shore, making it possible for it to handle bigger vessels at
the port.
o Enabling call of container vessels of 16,000 - 25,000 TEUs capacity, giving advantages
of economies of scale & reducing logistics cost.

Conclusion:
India is the sixteenth largest maritime country in the world. The Indian ports and shipping
industry when complemented by schemes like Sagarmala and Bharatmala can help in the port-
led development which has the potential to generate employment, increase exports and boost
the economy taking forward the vision of ‘Make-in-India’.
There is a need for emphasis on minor ports as they are strategically located along most major
shipping highways, have a record of growing faster than the government-owned major ports. Also,
formation of Maritime Development Fund can enable access to adequate capital, supplement
present sources of finance, and curate financing schemes appropriate for individual sub-sectors
(ship-repair, spares, etc.)

9. Give reasons for increasing frequency of severe tropical cyclones that are developing in the
Arabian Sea in the past decade.

Keywords Severe tropical cyclone, Arabian sea

Introduction Give a brief context of tropical cyclone in Arabian sea
Enlist the reasons for increased cyclogenesis in Arabian
Body
sea as compared to Bay of Bengal
Conclusion Suggest mitigation measures

Introduction
Tropical Cyclones are low pressure weather systems that originate over oceans in tropical areas
and move over to coastal areas bringing violent storms, high speed wind (exceeding 62kmph),
very heavy rainfall and storm surges. Since 1990, there has been an increasing trend of severe
cyclonic storms over Arabian Sea.

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As per the IMD, during 2019, 8 cyclonic storms formed over the Indian seas. Arabian Sea
contributed 5 out of these 8 cyclones against the normal of 1 per year. As per IPCC there has been
increase in annual global proportion of category 4 or 5 tropical cyclones in recent decades. E.g.
Cyclone Kyarr and Cyclone Maha (2019) and more recently cyclone Nisarga and Tauktae
originated in Arabian sea.

Body:
Normally, the Arabian Sea is less susceptible to cyclonic storms than the Bay of Bengal due to
relative cold sea surface temperature (SST), however in recent years the Arabian sea has started
receiving tropical cyclones of high intensity frequently. Rightward movement of cyclones in
Northern hemisphere makes India’s western coastline more vulnerable as cyclones formed has
nowhere to go but the land.
Reasons for increased frequency of severe cyclones in the Arabian Sea are:
• Geographical location of Arabian sea: Arabian Sea receives fewer fresh waters from the
western rivers, which is preventing the cooling effect, as compared to Bay of Bengal. Higher
SST favors cyclone formation.
o Also, enclosed nature of the sea is promoting more evaporation and cloud formation
activities leading to more cyclones.
• Global Warming: Increased carbon emissions have led to warming up of Arabian Sea waters.
o Climate scientist Hiroyuki Murakami in his study found that 64 per cent of cyclones in
the Arabian Sea in recent years were caused by climate change.
O According to IPCC the sea surface temperature of the Arabian Sea has been rising for
about 40 years. The increase in temperature is in the zone of 1.2-1.4 degree Celsius.
• Wind Sheer or the change in direction and speed of the winds from bottom to the top of the
atmosphere. Generally, the wind shear is relatively strong in the Arabian Sea compared to
the Bay of Bengal and it prevent cyclones from developing vertically. But with increased
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere this wind shear is weakening in the Arabian Sea, thereby
supporting formation of cyclones.
• Positive Indian Ocean Dipole: A positive IOD means warmer-than-average SSTs to the
Arabian Sea and cooler-than-average SSTs near Indonesia. Currently, positive IOD event is
the strongest in at least 60 years and has boosted SSTs and thus cyclogenesis in Arabian sea.
• El-Nino Modoki (warming in the central tropical Pacific Ocean and cooling in the eastern and
western tropical Pacific Ocean) changes the atmospheric circulation over the north Indian
Ocean and creates conditions for cyclone formation in the Arabian Sea.

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Figure 2: Tropical cyclone

Mitigation measures
• Non – Structural Measures
o Early Warning Systems: Automatic Weather Stations, Doppler radars, High Wind
Speed Recorders, Ocean buoys, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles etc.
o Communication and Dissemination Systems: cellular telephone network, Disaster
Warning System (DWS) terminals, etc.
o Management of Coastal Zones: proper planning of the coastal areas for locating
communities and infrastructure in safer areas, protecting and restoring natural bio-
shields (mangroves and shelterbelts)
• Structural Measures
o Ensure availability of adequate numbers of shelters, community centers/school
buildings, places of worship, etc.,
o Provide at least one all-weather link road for each village that is accessible during
cyclone or flooding periods.
o Construction of ‘saline embankments’ is carried out to protect habitation, agriculture
crop and important installations along the coast.
o National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP): (with world bank) to strengthen
the structural and non-structural cyclone mitigation efforts and reduce the risk and
vulnerability of the coastal districts which are prone to cyclones.
o Community Based Disaster Management (CBDM) which is an approach to building the
capacity of communities to assess their vulnerability to both human induced and
natural hazards and develop strategies and resources necessary to prevent and
mitigate the impact.

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Conclusion:
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report says that extreme rainfall and
extreme sea level events associated with some tropical cyclones are being seen to have a
cascading impact on coastal areas. The IPCC reports indicate that pre- and post-monsoon storms
may increase over Indian Ocean in the future in a warming world. Thus, there is need for effective
implementation of mitigation and adaptation measures together with better data collection on
tropical cyclones to safeguard coastal communities and resources.

10. How does Asian desert dust affect Indian summer monsoon? Also, explain how monsoon
influences the dust thereby forming a positive feedback loop.

Asian desert dust, Indian summer Monsoon, Positive

Keywords
feedback loop
Introduction Give a brief context of new findings
Explain the phenomenon by which desert dust affects
Body
SW Monsoon and vice versa
Conclusion Conclude with relevant suggestion.

Introduction:
Asian desert dust ( very small particle of earth or sand) are atmospheric dust particles swept up
by winds from deserts in Western Asia such as Arabian desert, Iranian desert etc. Recent research
have shown that these dust particles after absorbing solar radiation can heat the atmosphere by
a phenomenon called ‘elevated heat pump’, enhancing the Indian summer monsoon. Also,
monsoons can increase the winds in Western Asia to produce more dust aerosols, thereby forming
a positive feedback loop.
Body:
The Indian summer monsoon typically lasts from June-September and is characterized by strong
winds in the summer. It is world's most powerful monsoon systems.
Indian monsoon is intensified by Asian desert Dust:
• Iranian Plateau being at higher elevation gets easily heated and creates low pressure. This
attracts winds from southern hemisphere (High pressure colder oceanic regions).
➢ Hot air over the Iranian Plateau strengthens the circulation over the deserts of the
Arabian Peninsula.
➢ The Iranian Plateau can thus increase dust emission from West Asia, as well as
monsoon circulation and monsoon precipitation.
• Dust from West Asian desert swept by strong winds into the Indian sub-continent absorbs
solar radiation and gets heated, it in turn heats the atmosphere around it (creating low
pressure), changing its air pressure and circulation. Thus it acts as pump to drive more
moisture laden winds to Indian subcontinent.

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• Dust particles from West Asia ie the aerosolized dust can serve as ice-cloud nuclei, also
known as the seeds for rain droplets. It thus increases the amount or has an impact on the
type of precipitation during the Indian summer monsoon.

Positive feedback loops: It is a circular loop which enhances or amplifies changes. In this case,
Monsoon increases the winds in West Asia and subsequently produces more dust aerosols.
A stronger monsoon leads to the heating up of upper atmosphere convection winds (can go up
to as high as elevation of 10km). When this pattern of air over the monsoon is heated, it produces
a wave. These waves have distinct parts facing either high pressure or low pressure and are
responsible for transporting air back to West Asia. The air comes upward over the Indian
subcontinent, then goes to West Asia and goes downward -- and when the downward air strikes
the surface, it can pick up a lot of dust aerosols.
Thus a stronger monsoon can increase the dust particles being transported from West Asia,
forming a positive feedback loop.

Figure: Asian Desert Dust impact on SW Monsoon

Apart from Asian dust particles other effect that enhances SW Monsoon is:
• Snow-darkening effect: Caused by landing of black carbon and dust particles suspended in
the air in snow-covered regions. This in turn darkens the snow, reducing their reflectivity and
leading to more absorption of sunlight. The process increases the warming of the land and
the troposphere above, which leads to enhanced low-level southwesterly winds.
• Solar-dimming effect in which the aerosols block the solar radiation from reaching the land
surface. This causes the surface temperature to cool down thus reducing the evaporation
and in turn reducing rainfall.
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Conclusion:
With increasing air pollution and projection of drier winds, impact of dust particles is predicted to
amplify. Understanding these impacts of Asian dust particles and other interactions will help us
better predict monsoon especially in view of global climate change.

11. Andaman and the Nicobar Islands and the Lakshadweep archipelago differ in their evolution
and topographical conditions but are battling similar pressures of ecological stress, seismic
impacts, and developmental activities. Elucidate.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI), Lakshadweep

Keywords archipelago, topography, ecological stress, seismic
impacts, and developmental activities
Introduction Give a brief intro about the two major Islands
Enumerate the differences in their evolution and
topographical conditions e.g. tectonic activity, coral
Body
formation, etc. Then describe the various pressures that
both the Islands face esp. in recent times.
Conclusion Conclude with a relevant suggestion.

Introduction:
Andaman and Nicobar Archipelago in the Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep islands in the Arabian
Sea are the major Island group in India, with different geography. However, in recent years both
the Islands have faced similar ecological and developmental pressures. E.g. there was opposition
to the Niti Aayog’s development plan for Little Andaman and Great Nicobar Islands.

Body:
The difference in the evolution and topography of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and
Lakshadweep archipelago
Features Andaman & Nicobar Island (ANI) Lakshadweep Archipelago
Formation Tectonic activity: They formed due to Hotspot volcanism: These
the collision between the Indian islands are a part of Reunion
Plate and Burma Minor Plate. Hotspot volcanism.
• They are the southward • They are the
extension of the Arakan Yoma northernmost of
range (Myanmar) which itself the Lakshadweep–
is an extension of the Maldives–Chagos group
Purvanchal Hills of the of islands, which are part
Himalayas of a vast undersea

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mountain range,
the Chagos-Lakshadweep
Ridge
Evolution Accretionary wedge: A&N is the It evolved as coral islands: It has
result of accretion of sediments and twelve atolls, three reefs, and
oceanic crust "scraped" from the five submerged banks
subducting Indian plate, and their
subsequent uplift above the sea.
Topography • Many of them are covered • The topography is generally
with thick forests and flat with lagoons (vast lagoon
inaccessible (over 80% of the of 4,200 sq. km), banks, and
land is recorded as forest land) reefs.
• Most of the islands are • Relief features such as hills,
mountainous with hill ranges streams, valleys, etc.
and valleys and the are absent. It has high forest
development of some coral cover (about 90% of the area)
Islands
Elevation The average elevation is 22m (The The average elevation of most of
highest point is located in North the Islands are 2 to 5 m above
Andaman Island (Saddle Peak at the mean sea level
732 m))
Orientations North-South: The Andaman group of Northeast-Southwest: Almost all
Island (in the North) are separated the atolls have a northeast-
from the Nicobar group (in the South) southwest orientation with the
by a 10-degree channel. islands lying on the eastern rim,
• They have a narrow and a mostly submerged reef on
longitudinal extent the western rim, enclosing a
lagoon.
Volcanism They are partly Volcanic (e.g. Barren No Volcanic activity
Island and Narcondam Island)

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Despite such differences, both the Islands have been facing similar kinds of pressures:
Ecological Stress:
• Stress on Mangroves: The 2019 Forest Survey of India (FSI) report has said the mangrove
cover has decreased by one square kilometer (compared to the 2017 FSI report) in ANI
o In terms of diversity, density, and growth, the mangroves of the ANI are the best in
the country but are under stress.
• Stress on Corals: Global warming (and its effects such as Marine heat waves), as well as
large-scale commercial fishing, is harming the fish stock of both the group of Islands and is
also impacting the Coral reefs.
• Stress due to Climate Change: The two groups of Islands are highly vulnerable to sea-level
rise esp. the Lakshadweep group. Environmentalists warn that in maximum, two-three
generations it may become inhabitable.
• Stress duet to Coastal erosion: ANI’s 89% of the shoreline has been eaten away by the Bay
of Bengal. Similarly, sea levels around Lakshadweep have risen by 0.4 mm to0.9 mm
annually, causing coastal erosion and submerging the smaller islets (e.g. Parili Islands was
100% eroded in 2017)
• Stress on Biodiversity: Due to the geographic isolation of these islands, a large degree of
endemism exists, which means that the ecosystems of these islands are vulnerable to
disturbances.
o Changes in the forestry practices (82% of Lakshadweep has privately owned coconut
plantations), and other developmental activities are endangering these endemic
species.
Seismic Impact:
• Impact of Tectonic Activity: ANI falls under “Seismic Zone V” (very high) as they lie near the
boundary of tectonic plates, whereas Lakshadweep falls under seismic zone III (moderate to
low).

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o In 2019, 138 tremors hit the ANI (as per USGS data). This calls for caution on any large-
scale developmental project in the region.
• Impact of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami: 2004 earthquake and tsunami uplifted
the northern Andaman coast. This resulted in a loss of 6500 hectares of northern Andaman
mangroves and nearly 97% of the mangrove cover of Nicobar Islands was razed due to the
2004 event.
o Similarly, the 1945 tsunami generated due to the Makran region earthquake had
affected Lakshadweep Island.

Pressures from developmental activities:

• From Island Developmental Agency: Formed in 2017, they are assigned to develop these
Islands with help of private-public partnerships. However, there have been allegations of a
top-down approach wherein the concerns of the communities have not been taken into
considerations.
o From NITI Aayog’s development plans for Little Andaman and Great Nicobar Islands,
were possessed by turtle researchers, saying the islands’ rich biodiversity will be greatly
affected by it.
• From Naval developmental activities: Both the groups of Island are strategically important
and therefore there is a significant presence of the Indian Navy esp. in ANI. This is putting
pressure on the fragile ecology of the region.
o Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) is the first and only tri-service theater
command of the Indian Armed Forces. Similarly, INS Dweeprakshak is a naval base of
the Southern Naval Command of the Indian Navy located on Kavaratti Island in the
Lakshadweep archipelago.
• From tourism and encroachment: Lakshadweep Island has a high population density and
ANI has seen inward migration of people from the mainland. This is having a major impact
on the fragile ecosystem of both these island groups.
o For ANI: Two major degradation hotspots identified for 2030 and 2050, are
Mayabunder and Diglipur regions.
o In the last 40 years, around 45-47 percent of the mangrove forests were destroyed in
the Andaman Islands and the main reason is the human impact coupled with climate
change and seismic effects.
o The environmentalist has warmed the adverse ecological impact of model tourism
projects — both land-based and water villas.
• Unsustainable Approach of development: Limited consideration has been given to the
traditional knowledge and practices of ocean resource utilization, land use, and livelihood
options adopted by the community
o Lack of inclusiveness in development: Current development strategies discount the
traditional wisdom of local communities in their overall strategy.

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• From Limited consideration to disaster vulnerability: Both the group of islands is prone to
natural disasters and more so in the light of aggravating climate change. However, this has
not received due consideration in the development strategies.
• Recent legislation introduced in Lakshadweep: Lakshadweep administration introduced
regulations on Animal slaughter, more than two children, acquiring land for development
purposes, and on anti-social activities:
o However, they have been criticized for the interference in food culture, reproductive
freedom, land use, and self-reliance of the people.

Some of the government measures to combat these stresses are: -

• Bifurcation of tourist areas and tribal areas;
• The majority of areas are protected areas (e.g. 95% of the Great Nicobar Island is national
parks, protected forests or tribal reserve); Also, SC banned tourists from Andaman-Nicobar
Trunk road
o 34% of Lakshadweep is protected areas
o Lakshadweep administration has created the world's first conservation area for sea
cucumbers
• Warning system for Cyclones and Tsunami: e.g. Early Tsunami Warning System installed
at Rangachang in Andaman and Nicobar;
• Plan for holistic development of the region e.g. through eco-tourism, etc.

Conclusion:
The culture and livelihoods of the people living on the islands are intrinsically linked to the ocean
and dependent on the health of the marine ecosystem. Any development planned for the ANI
and Lakshadweep group of islands must, therefore, be sensitive to impacts on fragile natural
systems and should be undertaken based on genuine consultation with the local community

12. 'Soil health is degraded in most regions of India'. In light of this statement, explain the need to
formulate a national soil protection policy in India.

Keywords Soil health, National Soil protection Policy in India

Briefly define what soil health and national soil
Introduction
protection policy is.
Enumerate the present status of Soil health in India.
Body Give some government schemes and then describe the
need for formulation of soil protection policy in India.
Conclusion Conclude with a relevant suggestion.

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Introduction:
Soil health is the continued capacity of soil to sustain biological productivity, promote the quality
of air and water environments, and maintain plant, animal, and human health. A 2016 report by
the ISRO found that about 29% of India’s land (currently 30%) (Including Soil) was degraded and
is continuously increasing. Therefore, Prof. Rattan Lal (leading soil scientist and the winner of the
World Food Prize 2020) has called for a ‘National Soil Protection Policy’ in India.

Body:
Status of Soil in India:
• A high amount of degradation: Soil degradation in India is estimated to be occurring on 147
million hectares (Mha) of land from various sources such as Water erosion (94Mha),
Acidification (16Mha), Flooding (14Mha), Wind erosion (9Mha), Salinity (6Mha), etc.
o Nearly one-eighth of the Indian landmass is degraded due to severe erosion.
• The extent of degradation: In eight states—Rajasthan, Goa, Delhi, Maharashtra, Nagaland,
Jharkhand, Tripura, and Himachal Pradesh—around 40 to 70 % of the land has undergone
degradation.
o Northwest India: Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Gujarat have maximum soil
degradation due to wind erosion.
o In Punjab, Haryana, and Western Uttar Pradesh soil organic matter content is as low as
0.1%.
• Skewed Ratio of fertilizer use: Current consumption of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and
Potassium (NPK) ratio is 6.7:2.4:1, (ideal ratio is 4:2:1):- so it is highly skewed towards
nitrogen (urea)

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o Kerela: 91% of the fields were found to be moderate to strongly acidic due to excess
phosphorus in the soil.

Government measures to improve soil health in India:

• Soil Health Card: It aims to promote soil management practices and restore soil health by
ensuring judicious use of inputs nutrients.
o Around 22.5 crore SHCs have been distributed, which has resulted in the decrease in
of the use of chemical fertilizers by 8-10% while enhancing the crop yield by 5-6% (data
from National Productivity Council (NPC))
o ‘Development of Model Villages’ which encourages sampling and testing of cultivable
soil in partnership with the farmers
• Land degradation neutrality: aims to achieve it by 2030
• Bonn Challenge ( to bring 150 million hectares of the world’s degraded and deforested land
into restoration by 2020, and 350 million hectares by 2030): India is part of it
• Sustainable land and resource management for livelihood generation at the community
level by making the local lands productive and healthier.
• Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas of India were released in 2016: It provides
baseline data for prioritizing action based on vulnerability and risk assessment.

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• Other schemes: Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana,
Integrated watershed development project, etc. as tools to tackle the problem of soil
degradation.
However, the above measures are not sufficient for soil protection as India has:
• Huge pressure for development: leads to rapid urbanization, encroachment on natural
wetlands, flood banks for housing purposes, without much consideration for soil
preservation.
• Impact of climate change: the historical, as well as present efforts, are not adequate to
reverse the impact of climate change on soil e.g. changes in the soil organic carbon, soil
erosion rates due to an increased frequency of high‐intensity rainfall events.
• Policy design constraints: Soil-related extension services are constrained, which limits the
scope of advisories given to farmers.
• Lack of awareness about poor soil health and measures to reverse them: since there is no
policy for the sustained awareness campaign
• Limited infrastructural backing: India lacks the needed testing equipment, soil testing labs,
and associated physical assets.
• Lack of trained soil scientists, extension workers: Lack of trained and skilled manpower for
testing and IT-trained personnel for interpretation of analysis reports. This affects the soil
conservation efforts and hampers the surveying of soil.
Need to formulate national soil protection policy in India:
• Importance of Soil: Soil health is vital for human sustenance and growth (see fig.)

• For Rights of Soil: Similar to the Right to life, the right to healthy soil need to be outlined as
part of the right to health.
o The policy would ensure people demand protection of soil health and measures against
its degradation as their right, from the government.

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• Soil protection important for the agricultural economy of India: Over 48% of the population
in India is dependent on agriculture and Soil health and fertility are the basis for sustainable
profitability of the farmers.
o The Soil protection policy would help in recommending optimal doses of fertilizers and
cropping patterns as per the scientific recommendation, leading towards sustainable
farming
• Protection against non-agriculture uses: E.g. In 2020, the Tamil Nadu government
announced the Cauvery delta region as a Protected Special Agriculture Zone, thereby
preventing non-agriculture use of the highly fertile region.
o Similarly, the National soil protection policy will also demarcate the prime agricultural
land and protect them against urbanization and other non-agricultural uses.
• Help meet India’s climate commitment: Soil is the largest reservoir of carbon among the
terrestrial pools. Globally, soil contains about 4000 bn tonnes of carbon (both organic and
inorganic), in comparison, the atmosphere and vegetation combined contain only around
1500 bn tonnes of carbon.
o The policy would help sequestrate atmospheric carbon in soil (and trees). It will be the
most cost-effective option to mitigate global warming.
• To reap the value of the potential carbon market: Farming carbon in soil (growing carbon
stocks in soil by retention of crop residues and recycling of bio-wastes) is a new commodity
that can be traded like grains, milk, meat, and other products.
o Also, farmers will be rewarded through payments for ecosystem services at a societal
value of soil carbon.
o The policy will help fast-track the potential carbon market.
• Help in generating dialogue for soil protection: The dialogue between scientists, and the
general public, and the policymakers for soil protection.
o The policy would help raise awareness about the importance of soil by revising the
school curricula at all levels and include education about soil and environments from
primary school onward.
o The policy would also help enhance environmental laws to respect the quality of soil,
water, and air.
o It would further help develop the soil protection resolution at a local, state, national,
continental, and global scale.
• Will help outline Dos and Don’ts of farming: The dos are residue mulching, no-till farming,
managed grazing, growing a cover crop or forage, using compost and bio-fertilizers, drip sub-
fertigation, integration of crops with trees and livestock, agro-forestry, recycling of all bio-
waste on land.
o The don'ts is no burning of residues, no flood irrigation, no removal of topsoil for brick
making, no excessive or imbalanced use of chemicals, no puddling and flooding of rice
fields.

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• Restore Soil Organic Carbon matter (SOC): Soil organic matter content is an indicator of soil
health, and it is about 2.5% to 3.0 % by weight in the root zone (top 20 cm).
o However, Extractive farming practices such as in-field burning of crop residues
(common in northwest India), excessive tillage, removal of crop residues, flood-based
irrigation, and indiscriminate use of chemicals have degraded the soil health. This has
led to low and stagnating crop yields.
o The policy will help revive the SOC in a timeline manner.

Conclusion:
As the One Health concept states— that the health of the soil, plants, animals, people,
environment, and the planet is one and indivisible. When the health of the soil is degraded, that
of humans, plants, animals follows a domino effect. Moreover, Covid-19 has aggravated the
problem of food and nutritional insecurity in India and elsewhere. Therefore there is a greater
need to advocate for Soil protection Policy in India.

13. Why is the majority of oil palm cultivation in India concentrated in just two states of Andhra
Pradesh and Telangana? Critically examine the limiting factors for oil palm cultivation and palm
oil production in India.

Oil Palm Cultivation, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana,

Keywords
Limiting factor
Give a brief introduction to the status of Oil palm
Introduction
cultivation in India
List down the reasons for its concentration in two states
of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Then describe the
Body limiting factors for cultivation as well as production of
palm oil. Also, give some of the government measures
in this regard.
Conclusion Conclude with a relevant suggestion.

Introduction:
Oil palm is an edible vegetable oil that comes from the fruit of oil palm trees. India has the
consumption of 25 million tonnes of edible oils but produces just 10 mn tonnes domestically
(from a primary source such as soybean, rapeseed, and secondary sources such as Palm Oil,
Coconut oil). Andhra Pradesh (83.5%) along with Telangana accounts for about 97 percent of
India’s total crude palm oil production. 60% of demand is imported. India was the largest importer
of palm oil in 2018.

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Body:
Reasons for the majority of Oil Palm cultivation in the two states of Andhra and Telangana are:
• Early introduction: Oil palm was introduced in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh in 1986 by
supplying indigenous seedlings. Seeing the success, the government-sanctioned the Oil Palm
Development Programme to Andhra Pradesh in 1992 under Technology Mission on Oilseeds
& Pulses (TMOP) and from 2004 under ISOPOM.
• State government policies:
o Notified area: E.g. Telangana government notified 329,000-hectare area for palm oil
cultivation in June 2020
o Subsidies: In Andhra Pradesh, Subsidies up to 85% are being provided on Plant
Material under Oil Palm Area Expansion Programme. Also, 50% assistance is being
provided to the beneficiaries for the components like Maintenance, Intercropping,
Borewell & Pump set, and Machinery and tools.
o National Food Security Mission (NFSM) – Oil palm: Under the program, the oil
processing units have to supply quality plant material, timely fertilizers, and technical
know-how to the farmers.
• Involvement of Private parties: The government has tied up the private companies in
developing oil palm seedling nurseries and processing mills in their respective states.
o The companies have established nurseries in their allotted zone for developing seed
gardens of oil palm and also extending technical support to the farmers.
o E.g. Telangana government has recently allotted “three zones to companies”
• Productivity: The productivity of the Oil Palm & Oil Extraction Ratio (OER) in both the States
is comparatively high compared to other states in India.
• In Andhra Pradesh, the average productivity stands at about 20 tons per hectare from the
bearing plantations compared to the 4 to 6 tonnes of crude palm oil/ha average
productivity in India.
• Central government policies: e.g. In Budget (2021-22), the government imposed an
additional tax on crude palm oil imports to cut down the imports and encourage India’s
domestic edible oil industry. Such policies have directly benefitted farmers in Andhra and
Telangana.

• Focus on absentee farmers (who don’t reside in their villages): Palm oil being a less labor-
intensive and a long gestation period crop requires investment in land for a longer period.
Both the state government, therefore, targeted absentee farmers to opt for Palm Oil
cultivation.
• Higher profit: Palm Oil returns per acre are higher than other oil seeds also have and a very
less incidence of pest and disease compared to other crops (except for whitefly attack). Inter-
crops like cocoa, pepper, and vegetables further increase the return.

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• Availability of water: Palm oil is a water-guzzling crop and therefore good irrigation facilities
in the Krishna-Godavari basin support its cultivation. E.g. West Godavari district tops with a
total area of 86,476 hectares under palm oil cultivation.
• The disinterest of other states for Palm Oil cultivation: States such as Maharashtra, West
Bengal, and Bihar have significant potential for palm oil but the central government (in Lok
Sabha) admitted that those state governments are not interested in pursuing palm oil
production due to small land holding, lack of guaranteed return and other factors.
o In the North-East states, palm oil cultivation faces the challenges such as hilly and
undulating topography and non-availability of flat land, etc.

Limiting factors for Oil Palm in India

For cultivation
• Palm Oil is called a water ‘guzzler’: Oil palm requires nearly 300 liters of water per tree
per day, as well as a high amount of Pesticide use in areas where it is not a native
crop, leading to water and consumer health concerns as well.
o Oil palm is not a sustainable crop e.g. Failure in Nellore and Anantapur districts (AP):
From over 4000ha under palm oil, coverage has reduced to only 850 hectares in 5
years. Many farmers removed the trees because of water scarcity.
o However, in the longer terms, its water consumption is much less than that of Rice,
wheat, and sugarcane. Palm Oil can be promoted in water surplus regions or regions
with good irrigation facilities.

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• Small landholdings of farms: 86% of farmers in India are small and marginal with a
landholding size of less than 2 hectares. This proves to be a big limiting factor for plantation
crops like palm Oil which require larger landholding for a longer period.
o However, present emphasis on land leasing, contract farming, and using the land of
absentee landholders will incentivize farmers for Palm Oil cultivation.
• The long gestation period of crops: Palm Oil requires 5-7 years of gestation period before
farmers can generate profit. This has a huge impact on the economic security of farmers in
India (The majority of farmers in India practices subsistence farming)
o However, the crop gives assured return from 7th to 25th year without much investment
and maintenance thus overcoming the initial loss of farmers.
• Environmental concerns: Palm Oil can trigger the conversion of forests being turned into
palm oil plantations, as is being done in Indonesia and Malaysia. In India’s northeast, many
of the pristine rainforests have been converted to palm oil plantations, triggering a debate
on Palm Oil’s environmental sustainability.
o However, 4 million MT of traditional oils is being produced in the country by using
15.80 million hectares of land. This much quantity of palm oil could be produced from
just 1 million hectares
• Oil palm farmers also use banned pesticides: many farmers use carbaryl for controlling
rhinoceros beetles; paraquat and glyphosate (for control of weeds) - banned but available
under different brand names.
o However, compared to other crops, the requirement of pesticides and weedicides is
low for palm oil
• Erratic monsoon: Climate change and its impact on the variability of monsoon, combined
with rained nature of agriculture in India (75% of arable land in India) leads to water scarcity
for crops such as Palm Oil which requires regular assured water for a longer period of time.
For Production:
• Fluctuation in prices: In contrast to Rice, wheat, and other crops (having MSP), prices of
Palm Oil are largely dependent on International production (esp. Indonesia and Malaysia).
Combined with currency fluctuation, the uncertainty in prices leads mill owners and Oil
producers to be cautious in their production, thus decreasing the demand for farmer's stock
of fresh fruit bunches (FFB).
o However, Government support in the form of subsidies and taxes on imports helps
reduce the impact on mill owners and farmers.
• Lack of logistics in Palm Oil production: farmers often themselves have to carry the palm oil
to factories due to a lack of supply chain network for palm oil.
o Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFBs) of oil palm are highly perishable and need to be processed
within 24 hours of harvest.
o Also, many times, mill owners don’t pay upfront and delayed payments hurt economic
viability for the farmers

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o Many millers and crushing units have shut down as many times imports of palm oil are
cheaper than domestic production.
• Limited land leasing and contract farming: Despite government efforts, many states still lack
laws on land leasing thus making the plantation of Palm Oil unprofitable on a small land.
o Also, companies find it difficult to directly make a contract with FPOs and individual
farmers due to limited implementation as well as lack of uniformity in contract farming
laws in different states.
• Competition from other economically viable crops such as rubber, areca nut, sugarcane,
banana, coconut: Palm Oil faces stiff competition from traditional plantation crops where
farmers already have the knowledge and available support. Also, there’s already exists tie-
up with the mills and consumer market.
• Impact on Tribal Lands: Emphasis on plantation crops and private contract farming could
also detach India’s tribe's people from their identity linked with the community
ownership of land and “wreak havoc on the social fabric”.

Government steps:
• National Mission on Oil Seed and Oil Palm (NMOOP, 2014) was merged with the National
Food Security Mission from 2018-19
o India has consistently increased its palm oil production over the last five years (2014-
15 to 2018-19) with an increase of about 45 percent
• National mission on Edible Oil- Oil Palm: Government has called for being Atmanirbhar in
Edible Oil. It has a target of achieving oil palm coverage of 10 lakh hectares and that the
“production of crude palm oil (CPO) is expected to go up to 11.20 lakh tonnes by 2025-
26 (from 3.7 lakh hectares at present ) and up to 28 lakh tonnes by 2029-30

Conclusion:
Thus, increasing the Oil Palm plantation can help reduce India’s import dependence on Edible oil
and benefit farmers. The use of drip irrigation, technology for extension of knowledge about
good practices in Palm Oil cultivation, automatic import tax on palm oil if international prices fall
below a certain level, etc can help palm oil become remunerative for farmers. Also, focus on
support oilseeds that are indigenous to India and suited for dryland agriculture, they can also
help achieve self-reliance without dependence on oil palm.

14. The lopsided Urban Transportation facility has made the cities an exclusive space for the “elite
and white-collar workforce”, leaving the Poor in India High and Dry. Comment.

Urban transportation facility, Elite and White-collar

Keywords
workforce
Give a brief introduction to the lopsided urban facility
Introduction
in the Indian cities
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Describe how the lopsided transportation systems favor

the elite but discriminate against the poor. Suggest
Body
what measures can be taken, including government
steps for increasing equity in urban transportation.
Conclusion Conclude with a relevant suggestion.

Introduction:
As per the estimates of 2011, 31.14% (currently about 34%) of the population lives in cities and
towns, up from 25.73% in 1991 (MoHUA 2019). But the rapid urbanization has been mostly
haphazard and unplanned, which has resulted in congestion, vehicular pollution, road accidents,
and poor public transportation system. While cities have focused on metro rails, buses, flyovers;
catering mostly to elites and professionals. The poor (who can’t afford them) have been severely
affected in their access to avenues of education, employment, among others.

Body:

How the lopsided transport facility favors elite and white-collar workforce but discriminates the
needs of the Urban Poor:
• Retrospective urban mobility planning: The growth of urban areas outside municipality
boundaries often results in sprawls and unplanned growth (consisting mostly of the poor).
But the urban transport planning institutions tend to plan for infrastructure and services
keeping in mind the areas for within municipalities primarily.
o While elite and those who can afford to use their personal vehicles, poor face the
hardship in commutation to work
• “Metropolitan bias” in the urban transportation policymaking and municipal funding:
Central and state government investments, policies, and the public discourse are focused on
metro cities, while tier II and III cities get little attention. They face higher congestion,
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• National Urban Transport Policy, 2006: envisages safe, affordable, inclusive, and reliable
urban transport through the establishment of multi-modal public transport systems.
• National Public Bicycle Scheme (NPBS, 2011): it aims to build capacity for the
implementation and operation of cycle sharing systems across the country. E.g. 1st public
bicycle sharing (PBS) initiative (Trin Trin) was launched in Mysuru.
• Draft road transport and safety bill 2014: Advocates provisions for Non-Motorised
Transport and pedestrian bicycle infrastructure in the cities
• Green Urban Transport Scheme, 2016: aims to improve non-motorized transport
infrastructure: dedicated lanes for cycling, pedestrians, adoption of intelligent transport
systems (ITS), and increasing access to public transport.
• Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS): BRTS is an important component of AMRUT mission
• National Transit Oriented Development Policy, 2017: It promotes living close to mass urban
transit corridors such as bus rapid transit (BRT) corridors.
• Sustainable Urban Transport Project (SUTP): promotes environmentally sustainable and
inclusive urban transport in India.
Conclusion:
Thus for the inclusive city transport system in India, there is a pertinent need for investment in
more cheap, efficient, and robust bus services, integrated bike lanes and pedestrian networks,
and a fairly regulated Para-transit on feeder routes. Pedestrian zones, bike lanes will help shift
traffic to the non-motorized vehicle for short distances (as in cities like Amsterdam and Paris). This
will greatly help in the mobility for the poor in India as well as will be environmentally sustainable.

15. How far do you agree with the view that there is an uneven relationship between India’s
resources and its demography, causing social misery, and undermining growth? Critically
comment.

India’s resources and Demography, Social misery,

Keywords
undermining growth
Give a brief introduction to the debate of population vs.
Introduction
development
Explain how India’s resources are constrained in
Body comparison to its high population. Then give the
counterview of the argument. Also, give suggestions
Conclusion Conclude with your opinion

Introduction:
With 1.3 billion people, India is the world’s second-most populous country and as per UN
population projection, India is expected to surpass China by 2024 and will have more than 1.6
billion people by 2050. PM Modi called the population growth as ‘explosive’. Various experts view
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the increasing population as the cause of social misery, undermining growth, and throwing
challenges in the field of education, health, nutrition, among others. However, many believe that
the correlation between population growth and developmental issues is flawed and dangerous
for India as the debate may degenerate into a class and religious divide.

Body:
India’s resources and its Demography: The present status
• Land Resources: India has only 2.4% of the world’s land areas but supports over a billion
populations. Also, nearly half of it is under agriculture, 24% forested and only 13% available
for development purposes.
• Water Resources: India has 16.7% of the world’s population, but only 4% of the world’s
freshwater resources. India is a water-stressed country and the worst sufferers of this crisis
are mostly women.
• Energy Resources: India is an energy-scarce country with over 80% of its petroleum
consumption being imported. Also, India’s energy consumption per capita is low (636kg oil
equivalent, US has 10times higher)
• Standard of life: India’s purchasing power index is much lower than developed countries
(less than half of the US). On Happiness Index India (UN Sustainable Development Solutions
Network) performs poorly (139 out of 149), than its neighbor
• Social Indicators: India’s huge population has been cited as the reason for stress on its poor
Health, Education, and Nutrition indicators.
o E.g. Regions with high populations in India (North and Central India) are also the region
with the highest rate of malnutrition, female mortality rate, lower literacy rate, and low
per capita income (while per capita income of Maharashtra is Rs 191000 that of Bihar
were low 41000 in 2019)
o The recent annual health survey (2010-2013) shows that more than 26 districts have a
TFR of 3.0, mostly in the nine states of northern and eastern India. They account for nearly
48% of the total population, and 70% of infant deaths.
• Economic indicators: High population and lack of other employment opportunities have led to
a lot of dependence on agriculture (48% population) leading to disguised unemployment, but
the contribution of agriculture remains low in the GDP (18%). The dependence has further
increased due to COVID19 related slowdown.
How rapid population growth is related social misery and low growth in the country?
• Family level: High fertility can reduce the amount of time and money devoted to each child's
development. It makes it harder to tackle poverty, because poor people tend to have large
families, and because they benefit less from government spending on the programs they use
most such as health and education (when public services cannot keep pace with population
growth)
• Challenge of Malthusian fears: Malthus had argued that lack of resources may lead to
higher mortality in the population.

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o However, this has been proved wrong on many parameters. Government data shows
between 2016 and 2019, there were no deaths reported in India due to lack of food
and water.
• Challenges in Population stabilization: States such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya
Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh — have higher fertility rates (Sample
Registration System data). This is detrimental to the aim of achieving population
stabilization.
• Challenge of Job creation: The country needs to create 8mn jobs per year to accommodate
its rising population otherwise it may turn out into social and economic issues.
o Migration for jobs- can lead to issues of sons of soil doctrine as well as strain on the
infrastructure, housing, and water availability.
• Challenge of Demographic burden: Lack of investment in human capital and lack of
opportunity of jobs may turn the opportunity of demographic dividend into the burden.
• Challenge of unsustainable Urban Growth: By 2035, the number of urban agglomerations
(having more than a million people) will get doubled (UN report). Thereby creating huge
stress on urban facilities to provide for access to good, affordable housing and mobility.
• Challenge of Ageing of Population: It will increase from 8% in 2015 to 19% in 2050 (UNFPA).
This will further exacerbate India’s finances (more dependent population) and health
infrastructure.
• Challenge of Increasing inequality: An increasing population and unequal distribution of
income will increase the inequalities within the country
• Environmental challenges: Higher consumption lead to higher stress on natural resources
and may not be sustainable for the future.

There is certainly uneven relation between India’s resources and its demography but its huge
population is not the cause of India’s developmental issues:
• India’s developmental issues are due to:
o Lack of skilling of its population: only 2% formally skilled while Korea has more than
96% skilled population
o Lack of focus on Health and Education: India’s investment in both these crucial sectors
is still very low compared to the world (India spends just 1.5% of its GDP on health
while France spends more than 11%)
o Lack of growth: South East Asian countries, China have similar population burdens but
were able to achieve higher growth due to their economic and trade policies and using
their human capital effectively. This created a virtuous cycle where development
further created human capital and high literacy and health led to more development.
▪ This can be seen in the Southern states of India where growth has been higher
leading to more investment in social and human capital and subsequently more
growth.

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o Social issues: India’s problems of social inequity, caste, communal divide,

underdevelopment (esp. in India’s tribal belts), has created various impediments to the
realization of demographic dividend
• Economic Survey 2018-19: observed that India is set to witness a “sharp slowdown in
population growth in the next two decades”. India’s huge population with an average age of
28years (one of the youngest in the world) has been India’s advantage in its economic
development
o Also, India is set to enjoy its demographic dividend phase till 2045 (one of the longest)
• Reaching demographic transition: Many states have already stabilized their population
(particularly southern states) and India will slowly move toward a stable population as
fertility rates fall.
o 24 states in the country have already achieved replacement level fertility (2.1) (NHFS-
4)
• Flawed perception: by associating population growth with issues of the country that more
people are chasing fewer and fewer resources may lead to conflicts- as this perception can
quickly degenerate into a deep class or religious conflict that pits the poor, the weak, the
downtrodden, and the minorities against the more privileged sections.

Measures that need to be taken to realize the potential of demographic dividend:

• Decentralized models of development: Each state must have its own differentiated
approach to accommodate different rates of population growth. E.g. populations’ growth in
the south and west India is much slower than in the central and eastern states.
o For Bihar and UP: The two-pronged approach of health system strengthening and
population control
o For Southern states (who are near or under replacement fertility): more resources
should move into the health system strengthening
• Utilize the potential of women and senior citizens: Raising women’s participation in the
labor force to the same level as men can boost India’s GDP by 27% (IMF report)
o Target 60-75 year old to ensure they remain employable
• Improve social security of Population: This can be done by incentivizing investments and
savings in retirement schemes, pension funds, etc. (Particularly for the informal sector, as it
constitutes the majority of the workforce)
• Creating Labor-intensive jobs: This was done by Asian Tigers (focused on the manufacturing
sector) and now by Bangladesh (textile sector) to provide decent jobs to its population.
• Focus on young population (below 35 years): by providing greater access to education and
livelihood opportunities and meeting the health needs of this population, including their
reproductive needs. This could help in harnessing the demographic dividend.
• Handling interstate and rural to urban migration: This can be done by ensuring uniformity
among states through targeted population control programs in high fertility regions and

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providing migrants affordable housing, education, employment opportunities, health care,

etc.

Conclusion:
Therefore, overpopulation is not the direct cause of underdevelopment but not an adequate
investment in human resource development does create challenges for development. Many
nations like Japan, South Korea, and Israel have already shown the path that the general populace
can be turned into a valuable human resource with proper planning, investment, and skill training.
This approach is the most suitable for a young country like India where more than half of its
population consists of people below the age of 30.

16. What is permaculture? Identifying its positive impacts, clarify to what extent it can be an
effective solution for India.

Keywords Permaculture; Identify, positive impact; Clarify, effective solution for

India.

Introduction Relevant introduction explaining Permaculture.

Body • Positive impact of permaculture,

• Its effectiveness in India.

Conclusion Relevant and optimistic conclusion.

Introduction:
• The concept of permaculture is relatively new, as it was developed by Bill Mollison and David
Holmgren in the 1970s and early 80s.
• Permaculture integrates land, resources, people and the environment through mutually
beneficial synergies – imitating the no waste, closed loop systems seen in diverse natural
systems.
Body:
• Permaculture studies and applies holistic solutions that are applicable in rural and urban
contexts at any scale.
• It is a multidisciplinary toolbox including agriculture, water harvesting and hydrology,
energy, natural building, forestry, waste management, animal systems, aquaculture,
appropriate technology, economics and community development.
• It is an ethical and positive design science, which helps in putting together various elements
(plants, animals, technologies, social structures, economics etc) in a thoughtful manner.
• The aim is to provide for the needs of human beings while working with nature.

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• The twelve principles of permaculture can be applied to not just cultivation or agriculture,
but to urban design and planning as a whole.

Permaculture’s positive impacts:

• It provides customized solutions by observing and interacting with nature while emphasising
on yield.
• It promotes energy storage through systems that collect resources (energy) at peak
abundance for use in times of need.
• It provides food self sufficiency by combining traditional and new practices in which all the
input is produced on the farm itself.
• It makes the best use of nature's abundance in the form of renewable resources thereby
reducing dependence on non-renewable resources.
• It ensures zero wastage by valuing and employing all available resources.
• Design from patterns to details: Observe patterns in nature and society and use them to
inform designs, later adding details.
• It integrates natural patterns rather than segregating, and allows different design elements
to work together to support each other.
• Use of small and slow solutions along with better use of local resources produces more
sustainable outcomes.
• Use and value diversity: Diversity reduces system-level vulnerability to threats and fully
exploits its environment.
• Use edge effect and values the marginal: It employs the edge effect of ecology to benefit
from the system's most valuable, diverse and productive elements.
• It always takes feedback and creatively responds to change so that the ecological system is
resilient and dynamic.

India has a unique position as it has a huge population as opposed to limited land resources. In a
global perspective, India has great potential for inventing, implementing and innovating
sustainable systems.
Permaculture can be beneficial in India as:
• For small farms: Permaculture originated as a design science for small-scale farmers to
create quantity produce, ease their work and also to address environmental degradation.
o In India, 67 per cent of farmland is held by farmers who cultivate less than one hectare
(ha).
• Use of multi-functionality aspect: India already employs the multi-functionality aspect of
permaculture in its agricultural practices.
o For instance, in India, a live boundary of a farm, which can have plants such
as shikakaiand (Acacia concinna) and mendhi (Lawsonia inermis), not only protects the
farm from humans and animals but also provides biomass.

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o Trees, such as glyriccidia (Gliricidia sepium) and pongomia (Pongamia pinnate) can
provide leaves to make excellent compost and mulch.
o A live fence may also have medicinal plants, or trees that provide timber or firewood,
or are utilitarian such as bamboo.
o The principle of multi-functionality in boundary protection utilises the fence space for
using and selling farm products.
• Resilient Ecosystems: Monoculture landscape cannot handle variables in conditions, and
quickly collapses into a problem rather than being a solution. Permaculture helps to create
combinatorial ecosystems such agroforests, etc which are the need of the hour for India.
o A permaculturally-designed farm has enough diverse elements that produce very well
in general and exceptionally well under variations. For example, many farms in
Telangana, Odisha and Maharashtra are following this.
o The diversity of plants increases not just the nutritive value and economic stability,
but also the resilience in times of drought, increased rain, or changes in weather
patterns, which are becoming increasingly common with climate change.
o Thus, a permaculture farm is more sustainable in the face of climate change.
o Even in the case of a calamity where even a permaculture farm gets destroyed, it
usually bounces back quickly.
• Water and resource security: Many of our farms leave out most of the rainwater that falls,
since they are not designed with a resource-conservation mentality. Because of lack of
diversity and design, exploitation of groundwater resources is at an all-time high.
o Permaculture uses earthworks to harvest rainwater, store it and soak it into the
landscape.
o It improves soils to improve soakage of rainwater, and thus, recharge local water
bodies and aquifers.
o Thereby, creating food forests, which not only reduce water usage, but also increase
the overall rainfall potential.
o It also considers the effects of sun and shade and windbreaks to reduce water usage.
• Food security ensured: With good permacultural design, every bio-region can be made
abundant.
o An intensive permaculture garden produces up to 35 times the amount of food per
square metre when compared to a conventional farm, with less than 20 per cent of the
resources used.
o There is also the issue of quality of food, nutrition and availability. Using permaculture
design, we can create all the nutrition requirements of the world on just 4 to 6% of land
in comparison to how much land is being used right now.
Conclusion:
The potential for permaculture in India is huge. It does not stop at mere revival of ancient systems,
rather a responsible and thoughtful approach, along with a keen sense of ethics and design, can
benefit India to be more sustainable.

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17. How far does geography of a place play an important role in attracting pollutants? Evaluate
with the help of suitable examples in context of New Delhi.

Keywords Geography of a place

Attracting pollutants
Introduction Define pollution and do mention what causes pollution

Body Various geographical features and how they aid in attracting

pollutants
Conclusion A relevant closing statement

Introduction:
Pollution is the introduction of harmful materials into the environment. It can be caused by the
natural as well as man-made factors.

Body:
Climate of a place and air pollution are closely related. Both depend on the geographical factors
of a place explained as follows:.
• Location: For instance, Delhi-NCR lies to the north-east of the Thar Desert, to the north-west
of the central plains and to the south-west of the Himalayas.
➢ As the winds arrive from the coasts, bringing with them pollutants picked up along the
way, they get ‘trapped’ in NCR right before the Himalayas.
• Mountains: Himalayas stop the horizontal transport of smog, or divert it in another
direction, unless the wind is strong enough to blow over it.
• Landscape and winds:
➢ Winds originating from over the desert landscapes gets trapped between two parallel
mountainous system.
➢ Hence, not being able to pass from one direction to other it settles down over the
region between two mountains hence, aiding the pollution.
➢ During the dry season, dust is blown in from the desert-dry countryside and deposited
in the city when the wind pressure drops as it travels over the buildings.
➢ Subsidence of air and high pressure during winters in continental cities like Delhi
further aggravates the pollution problem.

• Absence or low Speed of the wind: In Delhi the average wind speed in winter ranges
between one and three meters per second, A study by Sarath Guttikunda considering

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nineteen years of Delhi’s meteorological conditions revealed that in Delhi, pollution levels
are 40% to 80% higher in the winter months as compared to the rest of the year.
➢ Even on average, the PM (particulate matter) pollution levels exceed the national
ambient standard of 100 micrograms per cubic metre by two to three times. The lack
of winds that can carry away pollutants is one of the most important factors impacting
air quality.
• Continentality:
➢ Cities in coastal regions are prone to less pollution than cities
➢ As a landlocked megacity, Delhi has limited avenues for flushing polluted air out of the
city.
➢ Coastal megacities such as Mumbai have at least a chance to 'replace' polluted air with
relatively unpolluted sea breezes, whereas Delhi's surrounding regions are sometimes
even more polluted than the city.
• Cropping pattern and cycles: Depending on the geographical features farming practises are
established. As we know in the plains of Punjab wheat crop is harvested during the times of
winter. Hence, stubble burning takes place. It aggravates the pollution in adjoining Northern
Indian regions.
• Water pollution:
➢ To increase agricultural production, pesticides and fertilizers are utilized. Excess
amount of pesticide and fertilizer in fresh water gives rise to water pollution.
➢ River water moves slowly in the plain areas hence, it is possible that the pollutants may
accumulate in the water and result in pollution of major rivers.
• Land Pollution:
➢ Many of the same pollutants that foul the water also harm the land.
➢ Mining industries located in specific geographic regions due to their need of raw
materials, sometimes leaves the soil contaminated with dangerous chemicals.
➢ Also, many of the industrial areas are also established based on the availability of the
required raw material in the surrounding area and other factors. As concentration of
the industries takes place in one particular area due to geographical factors it helps to
aggravate the pollution problem
Way forward:
The northern India is cursed with factors beyond its control however it should not be an excuse
to do nothing, because there are still significant pollutants that arise from anthropogenic sources.

• These anthropogenic factors include manufacturing activity, power generation, construction

and transport, all these factors need to be kept under check and focus should be given on
new technologies to fight pollution.
• Introducing the new technological innovations such as smog towers installed in Delhi-NCR
• Increased use of clean renewable energy: As burning fossil fuels contribute major chunk of
pollution. Shifting to clean and renewable energy sources is the best way to reduce the

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intensity of pollution. For example, India is aiming to produce 175GW of renewable energy
by 2022.
• Countries around the world are tackling various forms of pollution. China, for example, is
making strides in cleaning up smog-choked skies from years of rapid industrial expansion,
partly by closing or cancelling coal-fired power plants
• Efforts to combat pollution will contribute to SDG 3 (good health and well-being). SDG target
7.2 on access to clean energy in the home, SDG target 11.6 on air quality in cities, SDG target
11.2 on access to sustainable transport and SDG 13 (climate action), as well as the goals of
the Paris Agreement on climate.

Conclusion:
While it may take several years to comprehensively deal with the issue across all sectors
responsible for pollution and for the time being we have understood that geographical
feature aids the pollution and pollution is emerged as one of the major global threats, in the short
run, there should be a mission-mode campaign to end stubble burning, to manage dust and to
remove the most polluting vehicles and factories. This will at the very least shave off the peaks.
Stubble burning can be addressed by an intelligent minimum support price mechanism and
agricultural policies that encourage crop diversification, awareness campaigns, and by putting a
price on stubble.

18. The major crops of India have been ideally distributed according to their specific geographic and
climatic requirements. Critically examine.

Keywords Major crops of India, Geographic and Climatic factors

Explain in brief the physical factors that determine
Introduction
distribution of crops
Analyze in detail how major crops are sown as per the
Body local geographic and climatic factors. Also contradict
how factors impact distribution of major crops.
Conclude with relevant suggestion esp. in light of
Conclusion
changing cropping pattern due to climate change.

Introduction:
When plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. The
principle Physical factors that influence localization of crops are topography, soil type, rainfall,
climate, and temperature. E.g. Cotton in Maharashtra, tea in Assam and jute in Bengal is dominant
crop as it provides favorable climatic conditions for their cultivation. However, there are other
factors as well (economic and social factors) which determine distribution of crops in some areas.

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Body:
Distribution of crops generally follows the agro-climatic condition of the place. The Planning
Commission has categorized 15 agro-climatic zones in India that represents the major climate and
growing period precisely. Each climatic zone has crops suited to the particular geography and
climate e.g. Western Himalayan zone (Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal) has low temperature all
round year, rainfall of 100-200cms and hilly terrain and therefore is good for walnut, Almonds,
Cherry, and Saffron.

Distribution of major crops as per their unique geographic and climatic requirements is:-

Major crops Geographic and Climatic Distribution

requirement
A.Food Crop: Climate: warm and humid West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh,
1.Rice(grown on climate Bihar, Assam ( grown as Kharif
25% of cultivated Temperature: 22-32°C crop, enjoys warm summer,
land) Rainfall: 150 cm annual rainfall riverine clayey soil and
isohyets are suitable for the abundant SW monsoon rainfall)
cultivation of rice Andhra, Odisha, Tamilnadu (
Soil Type: Deep clayey and Rabi and Kharif crop, Coastal
loamy( good at retaining moderate weather throughout
moisture and so ideal for rice) year, huge river delta provide
clayey soil)
In the irrigated hill terraces
(terraced cultivation), rice is
mainly grown
2. Wheat(cultivated Climate: temperate climate Wheat grows well in plain
on about 14% arable Temperature: 10-15°C (Sowing regions with moderate
land ) time) and 21-26°C (Ripening & temperature and rainfall : Uttar
Harvesting) with bright sunlight Pradesh, Punjab, Madhya
Rainfall: 25-75 cm Pradesh, Haryana (grown as
Soil Type: Well-drained loamy rabi crop( Ganga-Satluj plains,
soils are best for wheat cold winters)
Gujarat, Maharashtra (black soil
region in the Deccan)

3.Maize (grown on Climate: semi-arid climate Karnataka, Maharashtra,

3.6% of the total Temperature: 21°C- 27°C Madhya Pradesh (receives
sown area) Rainfall: 100cm rainfall alternate spells of SW monsoon
Soil Type: alluvial and red soils rains and sunny weather which
with good drainage is ideal for maize)

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B.Cash Crops: Climate: hot and Northern areas (UP, Bihar): has
humid
Sugarcane(grown on climate hot and humid summer and
around 2.8% of Temperature: 21-27°C good SW monsoon rainfall
Gross Cropped Area Rainfall: 75-100 cm. Southern areas (Maharashtra,
of India) Soil Type: well drained loamy
Karnataka): mostly irrigated
soil using pump, but quality is
better than north due to tropical
climate condition and longer
crushing season
C.Plantation Crops: Temperature: 20-30°C Assam, West Bengal, Tamil
nd
Tea (India 2 largest Rainfall: 150-300 cm Nadu (well grown only on well
producer after Soil Type: well-drained soil, drained slopes with good
china) rich in humus and organic rainfall
matter e.g. Slopes of eastern hills and
( Western Ghats have humid
climate and evenly distributed
rainfall without water
logging which provide optimal
conditions for terrace
farming of tea). Also, Soils of
the Darjeeling
hills contain humus, iron,
potash and phosphorus which
are
necessary for a tea bush to
grow)

D.Fibre Crops: Climate: needs 210 frost-free Concentrated to hot and drier
Cotton(occupies days and bright sun-shine for region in west and south India
about 4.7 per cent of its growth. with black soil (Gujarat,
the total cropped Temperature: 21-30°C Maharashtra, Telangana,
area) Rainfall: 50-100cm Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan)
Soil Type: Regur soils are ideal
for cotton cultivation

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Figure 3: Major crops distribution

However, distribution of major crops does not always follow geography and climate and other
factors sometimes predominates the physical factors:
• Economic Factors:
o Good Price and Assured market: E.g. Despite Marathwada region of Maharashtra
being dry, drought hit, still farmers grow water guzzling sugarcane as it provide them
assured market. The sugar factories pre-book the harvest.
▪ Sugarcane now uses about 70 percent of Marathwada’s irrigation water despite
accounting for four percent of cultivated land.
o Farm Size: small farmers with smaller size mainly produce food cereals (subsistence
farming) grain for their own requirements rather than cash crop
o Infrastructure facilities: Irrigation, transport, storage, trade and marketing, post-
harvest handling and processing etc
▪ Canal irrigation and tube wells have made it possible to grow rice in areas of less
rainfall such as Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh and parts of

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Rajasthan. Rice covers 62 percent of Punjab’s area under cultivation, up from 10

percent in 1970.
▪ Despite dry and extreme climate in Rajasthan, water availability due to Indira
Gandhi canal has led to replacement of traditional crops of Gram, Bajra, and Guar
to Rice, Wheat, and Cotton.
• Government Policies: Food Crops Acts, Land Use Acts, intensive schemes for paddy, for
cotton and oilseeds, subsidies affect the cropping pattern.
o MSP – farmers shifting to wheat, rice
o Green Revolution – skewed cropping pattern in Northern India towards wheat and rice
from coarse cereals and pulses
• Social factors
o Food habits also play a role – East and South India prefers rice as staple food while it is
wheat in North India.
o Sugarcane provides a bit of social status in the Marathwada village of Maharashtra. It
is because sugar factories are owned directly or indirectly by people close to politicians
from all political parties.

Case study of summer paddy: Many farmers in Chhattisgarh have been sowing the paddy crop
during the dry season (February-May), instead of the usual monsoon season, leading to a shortage
of water.
• This is due to increased irrigation coverage, Saur Sujala Yojana of government (farmers get
solar-powered pumps at subsidized rates)
• This led to water crisis in 2017 with over 62 percent of its Tehsils declared drought-hit.
• Government had to launch a campaign to discourage farmers from sowing summer paddy
and promoted millets, oilseeds and pulse crops during the Rabi season.

Conclusion:
The study, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, found that, by 2030 rice and
wheat are likely to see about 6-10 per cent decrease in yields, whereas the yields from grains
such as millet, sorghum, and maize are more resilient to extreme weather. Thus, there is need to
shift to climate resilient and sustainable pattern of cropping which is in alignment with geographic
and climatic condition of the place. Increasing the production of alternative grains (crop
diversification) in India can offer benefits for improving nutrition, for saving water, and for
reducing energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture

19. Reflect on India's large variety of wildlife making it a ‘biodiversity hotspot’. How does threat to
wildlife vary across regions in India? Discuss with examples.

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Keywords ‘biodiversity hotspot’, threat to wildlife

Introduction A brief about India’s biodiversity - mention facts and data.

Body • About Biodiversity hotspots

• India as a biodiversity hotspot for wildlife
• Variations in Threat to wildlife across India

Conclusion A relevant concluding statement

Introduction
• India is one of the world’s most biodiverse regions and contains 4 of the 36 biodiversity
hotspots in the world.
• India is one of the seventeen megadiverse countries of the world.
• Although the country covers just 2.4% of the world’s landmass, it contains 7- 8% of the
world’s biodiversity. India has approximately 90,000 species of animals, 500 species of
mammals, more than 2000 species of birds, and a wide variety of fish in its fresh and marine
waters.
• However, in recent times, India’s biodiversity is being threatened by various factors, a
majority of which are caused by human activities.

Body

About Biodiversity hotspots (Additional Learning)

• A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with significant levels of
biodiversity threatened by human habitation.
• The term was coined by Norman Myers.
• There are two qualifying criterias for a biodiversity hotspot
(a) A region must contain at least 0.5% or 1,500 species of vascular plants-
endemics.
(b) A region must have lost at least 75% of its primary vegetation.

India as a biodiversity hotspot for wildlife

• India has seven Natural World Heritage sites, eleven Biosphere Reserves (in the World
Network of Biosphere Reserves) and thirty-seven Ramsar Wetlands.
• The four biodiversity hotspots in India are the Western Ghats, the Eastern Himalayas,
Sundaland and the Indo-Burma hotspot.
• Endemic species of wildlife in India among the existing species - 12.6% of mammals, 4.5% of
birds, 45.8% of reptiles, and 55.8% of amphibians.

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• India is also home to 2.9% (172 species) of IUCM designated threatened species.

Additional information:
Biodiversity Hotspot Region Variety of wildlife in the hotspot

Indo-Burma region ● Six large mammal species have been

It includes portions of discovered since 1992 - the large-
North-East India, East antlered muntjac, the Annamite
Bangladesh, Southernmost muntjac, the grey-shanked douc, the
China, most of Myanmar Annamite striped rabbit, the leaf deer,
and Thailand, and all of and the saola.
Cambodia, Laos, and ● Endemic species of freshwater turtles
Vietnam are found.
● The region has almost 1,300 different
Only about 5% of natural bird species, including the threatened
habitats remain in relatively white-eared night-heron, the grey-
pristine condition, with crowned crocias, and the orange-necked
another 10 to 25% of the partridge.
land in damaged, but ● Ten species of the region are threatened
ecologically functional, - saola, Eld's deer, Cat Ba langur, fishing
condition. cat, giant ibis, Mekong giant catfish,
spoon-billed sandpiper, red-headed
vulture and white-rumped vulture, sarus
crane and the Irrawaddy dolphin.

Eastern Himalayas ● Wildlife includes snow leopards, the

Extends across eastern Indian rhinoceros, tigers, the Asian
Nepal, NE India, Bhutan, elephant, and the water buffalo at the
Tibet, China and Northern foothills of the Himalayas.
Myanmar. ● The Ghaghara and Kosi river basins have
dense forests that provide natural
The region’s topography habitat for many species of butterflies
majorly contributes to the and birds.
rich biodiversity and ● Other wildlife found at higher elevation
ecosystem. include the Asian black bear, the
Himalayan vulture and pikas.
● Arunachal macaque and Rhesus
macaque live in tropical cloud forests.
● Various species of sunbird and pheasant
are also common.

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Western Ghats ● The region has over 139 mammal

It is a mountain range that species, 508 bird species, 179 amphibian
covers the states of Kerala, species, 6000 insects species, 290
Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, freshwater fish species.
Goa, Maharashtra and ● Other species include the Bengal tiger,
Gujarat. Nilgiri tahr, Indian leopard, Nilgiri Langur
and gaur, a variety of birds, reptiles and
At Least 325 globally amphibians.
threatened species were ● Endangered species of birds include
found in the Western Ghats. rufous-breasted laughingthrush, the
vulnerable Nilgiri wood-pigeon, Nilgiri
flycatcher, and Nilgiri pipit, Malabar grey
hornbill,etc.

Sundaland ● This region has several endemic species

This biodiversity hotspot of animals - including a species of
covers the western half of orangutan, species of the Southeast Asia
the Indo-Malayan rhino, turtles, monkeys and tigers.
archipelago. It includes
Nicobar Islands.

Threat to wildlife across India:

• Indo-Burma region:
➢ Logging, mining, firewood collection and production of coal has contributed to
deforestation which in turn has led to loss of habitat.
➢ Construction of dams and reservoirs has impacted nesting birds and turtle species.
➢ Migratory birds and species are affected by loss of feeding habitat brought about by
intense fishing on mudflats and conversion of mangroves to aqua-cult,
➢ Turtles are threatened with extinction due to over-harvesting and loss of habitat
➢ Wildlife trade (food and traditional medicines) in markets in China- turtles, snakes,
tigers.
• Eastern Himalayas:
➢ Poaching is a serious problem. Tigers and rhinos are hunted for their body parts and
for use in traditional Chinese medicines.
➢ Snow leopards and red pandas are endangered species of animals that are sought for
their pelts.
➢ Mining, extensive logging and clearing of forests and grasslands, road and dam
construction
➢ Also the use of fires to clear land (often results in uncontrollable spread of fire) - leads
to habitat destruction.
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• Western Ghats:
➢ Loss of habitat and growth of population on the fringes of the ghats has led to an
increased number of human-animal conflicts (Ex: crop raids by elephants, killing of
livestock by leopards)
➢ Wild animals are often trapped and killed in order to protect crops, livestock and
people.
➢ Forest fires and uncontrolled tourism are additional threats to the biodiversity of
wildlife.
• Sundaland:
➢ Wildlife trade has majorly threatened several species - tigers, rhinos, turtles, geckos,
monkeys and bears are regularly exported
➢ Pet trade of orangutans, and caged bird trade are other factors
➢ Deforestation and loss of habitat are further reasons for wildlife threat in the region.
• Sunderban Mangroves and mangroves of alluvial deltas of Ganga, Mahanadi, Godavari,
Krishna and Kaveri rivers and on the Andaman and Nicobar group of Islands: The elevated
root systems are home to various species of fish, shellfish, crustaceans and birds and even
the Royal Bengal Tiger (Sunderbans).
➢ Siltation due to soil erosion, agricultural runoff, aquaculture, fuelwood extraction,
indiscriminate construction are some of the activities that are threatening the wildlife
of the mangroves.
• Corals of Andaman and Nicobar Islands: There are roughly 179 species of corals in the
Andaman and Nicobar islands. They are threatened with habitat destruction- subject to
sewage and industrial effluents, and are used as a raw material in cement factories, and
jewelry making.
• Threat to river ecosystems- fishes, dolphins and other forms of marine life are greatly
affected by water pollution and the presence of heavy metals, toxic effluents, hot water from
industries, organic wastes, and agricultural run-off. This leads to rapid oxygen depletion and
kills fishes. (Ex: pollution in River Ganga results in hypoxia, making it hard for marine animals
to survive).

Way ahead
• The government of India can ensure that the existing acts for wildlife protection and
conservation of biodiversity are strictly followed. (Ex: Wildlife Protection Act 1972, Wetland
Conservation and Management Rules 2010, Scheme of National Plan for Conservation of
Aquatic Ecosystem).
• The government must provide financial and technical assistance to research initiatives on
wildlife and its conservation and for centrally Sponsored Schemes, such as ‘Integrated
Development of Wildlife Habitats’, ‘Project Rhino’, ‘Project Great Indian Bustard’, ‘Project
Tiger’ and ‘Project Elephant’ (Ex: Wildlife Institute of India, Bombay Natural History society
are some of the wildlife research organisations).

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• The government (Wildlife Crime Control Bureau) must establish stringent rules with regard
to wildlife protection and take strict actions (such as prosecution of offenders) against
illegal trading and poaching.
• The government must clearly demarcate natural habitats of wildlife and prevent
encroachment, illegal construction and occupation in such areas. This will ensure that there
are no instances of human-animal conflict.
• The government must ensure that wildlife species, especially the threatened species are
contained in their natural habitat by creating protected areas (Natural parks, conservation
reserves, sanctuaries, etc) all over the country.
• The government must ban veterinary use of drugs that are harmful for the wildlife
population and encourage wildlife conservation breeding programmes to preserve
threatened species. (Ex: breeding programmes initiated by Haryana, West Bengal and Assam
to conserve the Gyps vulture species whose population rapidly declines due to veterinary
use of diclofenac drug).
• The centre must identify endangered species and sponsor for the recovery of the same.
(Ex: ‘Recovery of Endangered Species‘ is a component under ‘Integrated Development of
Wildlife Habitats‘ to identify and recover 16 species - including Snow Leopard, Bustard,
Dolphin, Hangul, Nilgiri Tahr, Marine Turtles, Dugong, Edible Nest Swiftlet, Asian Wild
Buffalo, etc. )

Conclusion:
The wildlife in India is being threatened due to various man made activities such as intense fishing,
overexploitation, illegal poaching and trading, deforestation and construction activities, pollution
and unsustainable aquaculture practices and others. The threat to wildlife varies across numerous
biodiversity hotspot regions in India (especially in Eastern Himalayan region, Western Ghats, Indo
Burma region, Sundaland, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and various mangroves across the
country). This can be controlled by implementing stringent policies and regulations, demarcating
natural wildlife habitats and financing research and conservation initiatives.

20. Examine raw materials and research as hindering factors to sustainable pharmaceutical
industries in India. Do you think location of pharmaceutical industries in India is largely
determined by downstream factors? Explain.

Keywords Raw materials, research, location, downstream.

Introduction A relevant introductory statement

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Body Issues with raw material and research

Factors affecting pharma industries shall be discussed by

focusing upstream and downstream factors

Conclusion Suggestive remarks.

Introduction:
India is called the pharmacy of the world with 20% of generic medicines’ global share being
provided by India alone.
While in 1969, 85% of its domestic needs were met through imports, the present position is that
around 90% of local needs are met by domestic supply.

Body:
However, the potential is seen to be very high, than what we see today. Rather than being 40
billion dollar industry today’s actual potential is 100 billion dollars as per experts.
Location and growth of any industry is affected by many factors. In this context following two
factors played hindering role in our pharma sector's rise:
a. Raw material issues
• We are highly import dependent when it comes to API i.e. Active Pharmaceutical
ingredients. Indian drug-makers import around 70% of their total bulk drug
requirements from China.
• The API import is actually growing at a rapid pace.
• India now depends on China fully for these ingredients to make not only advanced
drugs but also essential medicines like paracetamol, metformin, aspirin and a range of
antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin and amoxicillin.
• The effect of this dependence is lack of reliable supply of raw materials and poor
supply chain development needed for establishing pharma parks. This is needed for
economies of scale in the industry without which profit margins are going to be low.
• A generic drug industry where profit is endangered is a perfect deadly combination
since low profit which is accentuated by pricing norms of government will act as a
disincentive.

b. Research issues
• This is again coupled with profit issue basically. Lack of thick profits like western
companies has left less investible capital needed for R&D activity.
• The pharma companies invest not even 10% of their turn over in R&D.

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• The average cost of bringing a new medicine to market is now $2.18 billion, up from
$1.19 billion back in 2010.
• Indian manufacturers are yet to come with a new molecule which is basic indicator
of good R&D activity. While many molecules have been in phase-I, not even 4 have
reached phase-III and none got finalised yet. That is why we depend on molecules of
China.
• Above all, primitive R&D infrastructure, where even in 21st century manual
calculations are done is a concern.
• We have to digitalise R&D and manufacturing lines to predict perfect ingredient
combinations, select efficient batch for production, etc. Otherwise there is huge
wastage of time and resource due to manual activity.
Without research we are not able to produce own drugs and solve many indigenous problems like
growing lifestyle diseases.
More importantly, a draft policy talked about creating research and development facilities for API
production. It needs to be revisited in light of the country’s current medicine shortage.
Dominant locational factors: upstream or downstream?
Pharmaceutical industry in India is concentrated in west coast of India. Of the 10,630s of pharma
companies more than half are concentrated in few states of West India.

A. Downstream factor in this location is the market and supply infrastructure.

- Bulk of India's export market is in Africa and USA so west coast is very much suitable
for exports
- Also, the availability of well-developed ports, with connectivity to hinterland has a
thrust in concentration of industries here

B. However upstream factors like:

a. Availability of raw materials in proximity from petrochemical hubs of Gujarat and
Maharashtra eg. Jamnagar
b. Also, well developed research infrastructure and widespread medical colleges in
Karnataka
c. Policies of western states also lent ease of doing business especially the Special
Economic Zones model adopted by these states.
So, upstream factors also have larger role in location determination scenario.

Conclusion:
It is high time these knowledge-based economies of western States focus on research and
development so that our dream of making India’s pharma and bio-tech industry a 100 billion dollar
industry is achieved by 2025.

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