Besides topographical information, maps prepared for the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) require additional information on disaster management. A fresh initiative to generate maps specifically for NDMA’s activities has been started.

The evolution of Oriental Monsoon is a very complex phenomenon. Still more complex is the issue of climate change. It involves a whole range of climatic conditions which include solar radiation, temperature, pressure, wind, cloud and precipitation in a given period compared to the preceding periods and has a considerable impact on settled ecosystems.

MAR is a term that has been suggested for a process through which recycled water is stored in an aquifer under controlled conditions. As this water enters the sub soil and aquifer it is subjected to several organic processes which remove pathogens and harmful chemicals from the water, reducing contaminants which may adversely affect health and environment.

The process of urbanisation in India has been slow with lopsided concentration of population in large cities. Unsustainable cities marked by a variety of environmental problems are the outcomes. Innovative city planning and public awareness are steps to counter these processes.

The intensity and variability of monsoon rain depend upon several parameters of atmospheric circulation, which in turn are interlinked with global climate. Changes in global temperatures are likely to make about 1500 billion cubic metres of surplus rainwater annually available. To capture this, and to cope up with variability, India would need to develop appropriate science, technology and skill.

The Right to Education Act, 2009, is a missed opportunity as the glaring disparities between rural and urban areas, between poor and rich, social and religious groups are likely to remain unaffected if not get further accentuated in the years to come.

In India, snakes are sacred, held in reverence second only to perhaps the cows. The tribal people of Bastar, Chhattisgarh, have in fact adapted their lives around the reptiles and believe that snakes offer cures with great efficacy. Although modern medicine is known to use snake venom, but the traditional medicine systems of this region throw up challenges that are yet to be explored.

Asian countries are experiencing demographic transition from a young to an increasingly older population, unfolding against a context often characterised by persistent poverty, gender vulnerability, economic strain, constricted public resources and limited civil institutions to support the elderly.

Poverty statistics related to income largely ignores the gender dimensions of deprivation which are picked up by other measures such as levels of malnutrition, hours of physical work, morbidity and differential access to basic social services.