COUNTRY PROFILE - INDIA

General

India is a large country in South Asia which ranks second in the world in population (998 million presently) after China, and is expected to be one billion in June 2000. This constitutes about 16% of the world population. About 72% of the Indian people live in rural area in 557,000 villages. The country ranks 7th in the world in area. India has great varieties and differences in its land and its people. The land includes a desert, jungles and one of the world's rainiest areas. India also has broad plaines, mountain rivers, tallest mountain systems in the world, and tropical low-lands. The people of India belong to many ethnic groups and religions, speaking 16 major languages and more than 1,000 minor languages and dialects. While Hindi is the principal official language, English is practically an associated official language.

Land

The country borders Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh. Most of the Northern India is lowland plains that includes the valleys of the Ganges and the Brahmputra rivers. Himalaya rises in the far North-Eastern parts of the country. Groups of rugged hills exist in extreme eastern India near Myanmar and the eastern parts of Bangladesh. The total geographical area of the country is 3287,263 sq. km.

According to Central Water Commission, about 8.5 M ha of land in the country is waterlogged while about 2.46 M ha land is estimated to be under inadequate drainage in irrigation commands. Similarly, out of 5.5 M ha of land affected by salinity, about 3.06 M ha is estimated to be affected due to irrigation related problems. Thus, the total affected land area is 14 M ha under waterlogging and salinity of which 5.52 M ha is caused by irrigation related problems and inadequate drainage.

India has three main land regions : (1) the Himalaya; (2) the Northern Plains; and (3) the Deccan, or Southern Plateau.

The Himalaya, the highest mountain system in the world, rises partly in China. It curves for about 2,410 kilometres from northernmost India to northeastern India. The Himalaya is as much as 320 kilometres wide in some places. It includes India's tallest mountain, Kanchenjunga which is 8,598 metres high. Many other Himalayan mountains are more than 6,100 metres high. Many kinds of wildlife, including tigers, monkeys, rhinoceroses, and several species of deer, live in the foothills.

The Northern Plains lie between the Himalaya and the southern peninsula. They stretch across northern India for about 2,410 kilometres, and have an average width of about 320 kilometres. The Northern Plains region includes the valleys of the Brahmaputra, Ganges, and Indus rivers and their branches. The Brahmaputra and the Ganges are India's longest and most important waterways. They rise in the Himalaya from the constant mountain snows.

This region makes up the world's largest alluvial plain (land formed of soil left by rivers). The soil ranks among the most fertile in the world. The flatness of the plains makes them easy to irrigate. Most of the Indian people live in this region.

The western part of the Northern Plains includes the Thar Desert, the Rann of Kutch, which is often flooded by sea- and river-water, and the Kathiawar Peninsula.

The Deccan, a huge plateau, forms most of the southern peninsula. It slants up toward the west, where it meets the Western Ghats, a rugged mountain range that is 1,500 metres high. This range falls sharply to a narrow coastal plain. In the east, the Eastern Ghats, another range, rises 610 metres at the edge of the Deccan. This range gradually slants down to a coastal plain much wider than the one in the west. The Western and Eastern Ghats meet at the southernmost point of the Deccan in the Nilgiri Hills. The Vindhya, which is 1,200 metres high, and other mountain ranges extend across India and separate the Deccan from the Northern Plains.

The Deccan has farming and grazing land, most of India's ores, and forests filled with elephants and other large animals. Major rivers in the region include the Cauvery, the Godavari, and the Krishna. They flow eastward through the Deccan to the Bay of Bengal. The rivers sometimes overflow in the rainy season.

Climate

Practically, the entire country except mountains, is hot from the month of March to September. The early part of the hot season is very dry, but from June onwards the monsoon rains bring relief from the extreme dry heat. The temperatures are mild in North and Central India from October to February. In far North, temperatures occasionally drop below the freezing point. The southern India lacks the cool season but October to February is not so hot as rest of the year. North-East and West Coast receive heavy rainfall.

Agriculture and Food

Agriculture provides about a third of India's national income. Against the total geographical area of 328.73 million ha, the net sown area is 142.5 million ha which is about 77% of the cultivable area in the country. During the period 1950-60, the food grain production was achieved at a perennial rate of 3.3% per annum and during the period of 1960-73, production was maintained at a rate of 2.6% per annum. The foodgrain production during 1970-1995 increased from 108 million tonnes in 1970 to 192 million tonnes in 1995 and the average foodgrain production per hectare of area increased from 8.71 quintals per hectare to 15.48 quintals per hectare. The per capita production of foodgrains during the period increased from 196 kg to 210 kg.

About 80 per cent of the farmland is used to grow India's main foods - grains and pulses, the seeds of various pod vegetables, such as beans, chickpeas, and pigeon peas. The major grain crops include rice, wheat, millet, and sorghum. Rice leads all crops in land area. Only China grows more rice than India. India has more cattle and buffalo than any other country. These animals are not butchered for meat, but are important to the economy because of the milk.

India grows more than half of the world's mangoes and leads all countries in the production of cashews, millet, peanuts, pulses, sesame seeds, and tea. The nation ranks second in the production of cauliflowers, jute, onions, rice, sorghum, and sugar cane, and is a major producer of apples, aubergines, bananas, coconuts, coffee, cotton, oranges, potatoes, rapeseeds, rubber, tobacco, and wheat. India is also the world's largest grower of betel nuts, which are palm nuts chewed as a stimulant by many people in tropical Asia. It is also a leading producer of such spices as cardamom, ginger, pepper, and turmeric.

In the past, India had to import much food. But improved farming techniques and use of irrigation and high-yield grains have greatly increased agricultural production. The government sponsors programmes to teach farmers scientific farming methods. It also provides credit to allow farmers to buy improved varieties of seeds and fertilizers. The government encourages increased food production by paying farmers higher prices for their crops. Despite a rapidly growing population, India now produces enough food to meet most of its needs. But such disasters as droughts and floods still sometimes cause food shortages in some areas.

Rainfall

The rainfall in India is confined to 3-4 months in a year and varies from 100 mm in the western parts of Rajasthan to over 1000 mm in Cherrapunji in Meghalaya.

The rainy season lasts from the middle of June to September. During this period, monsoons (seasonal winds) blow across the Indian Ocean, picking up moisture. They reach India from the southeast and southwest, bringing almost all the rain that falls on India. During the other two seasons, monsoons blow from the north or northeast.

The southwest monsoons are of great importance to Indian agriculture. If the monsoons bring enough rain to the country, crops will grow. Sometimes they fail to arrive in time, and crops fail as a result. Some monsoons drop too much rain, ruining crops and causing destructive floods.

Rain falls most heavily in northeastern India. Some hills and mountain slopes in this region receive an average of about 1,140 centimetres of rain a year. The world's heaviest recorded rainfall for one year fell at Cherrapunji. This city had 2,647 centimetres of rain from August 1860 to July 1861. The Thar, or Indian Desert in the northwestern part of the country receives less than 25 centimetres of rain a year. Some sections of the hot, sandy, and rocky, desert get only about 5 centimetres of rain annually.

Water Resources

The principal water resources used in India constitute surface waters through rivers and streams, and ground water. The entire country has been divided into 20 river basins comprising 12 major and 8 medium and small rivers combined together to form river basin. It has been estimated that out of total precipitation of about 400 Million Hectare Meter (Mha m), the water availability is about 186.9 MHa m. The average yearly utilisable water resources is estimated as below :

Surface water : 690 billion cubic meter (BCM)

Ground Water : 432 BCM

Total : 1122 BCM

The total live storage capacity of dams and reservoirs in the country is about 177 BCM. Dams to create additional live storage of 75 BCM are under various stages of construction. The dams under formulation/consideration will provide an additional live storage of 132 BCM. The current stage of utilisation of surface and ground water resources is about 70% and 30% respectively of the utilisable resources. The present pattern of utilisation is shown below :

Ultimate Irrigation Potential

At the end of 1996-97, Irrigation Potential created stood at 91.8 Mha against 22.6 Mha in 1951. The ultimate irrigation potential in the country is estimated to be 139.9 Mha of which 58.48 M ha will be from major and medium surface water projects, 17.38 Mha by minor surface water projects and 64.04 Mha by minor ground water schemes. The net sown area in the country is 142.5 Mha, the gross cropped area is 230 Mha, the gross irrigated area is 120 Mha and the gross irrigated area under food and non-food crops is 90 Mha. The rainfed area in the country is 110 Mha under which the gross area under food crops is 72 Mha.

Future Food Production

The demand for food in the future (year 2025) is estimated to be on an average 345 million tonnes which will have to be met both from rainfed and irrigated areas. Assuming the national average yield of 1.25 tonnes per hectare from un-irrigated crops and 2.75 tonnes per hectre for irrigated crops, the projected food production from irrigated area will be 198 million tonnes while that from rainfed area will be 148 million tonnes. Thus, a total of 346 million tonnes food can be produced in the country to meet the food requirement of the rising population.

Planned Development of Water Resources

In the initial period of water resources development, rapid harnessing of water resources was the prime objective. The State Governments were encouraged to expeditiously formulate and develop water resources projects for specific purposes like irrigation, flood control, hydro-power generation, drinking water supply, industrial and various other uses. With the appointment of Planning Commission in 1950 and implementation of Five Year Plans, agriculture development became a major objective of consistent plan of action embarking all success on the national economy stipulated by the requisite policy measures and institutional framework.

Environmental Protection Laws

Environmental Protection Laws have been inacted under the Environment (Protection Act, 1986), Air (Prevention and Control Policy Act, 1981) and Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution Act, 1974), Hazardous Waste Management and Handling Rules, 1989, Public Liability Insurance Act (Insurance Act, 1991) and the National Environmental Tribunal Act, 1995. The other Acts inacted are Wild Life Protection Act, 1972 and Forests Conservation Act, 1980.

National Water Policy

The country adopted a comprehensive National Water Policy in September 1987 which recognizes water as one of the crucial elements in the development planning. After the adoption of National Water Policy a number of issues and challenges have emerged in the development and management of water resources.

India and ICID

India joined ICID as a founder member country in 1950 and ever since India has been actively participating in the activities of the Commission. The Central Office of the ICID is located in New Delhi, India and functions under the direct supervision and guidance of Secretary General.

Late Dr. A.N. Khosla (1950-1954), and late Dr. N.D. Gulhati (1960-1963) were the past Presidents of ICID from the Indian National Committee. Secretary General Hon. Dr. K.K. Framji was also honoured with the title of President Hon. for his long services to ICID. Sixteen past Vice Presidents of ICID have also been from Indian National Committee. Presently, Mr. R.C. Jha, Chairman of Indian National Committee, which has its representation on several work bodies of ICID.

Indian National Committee has organized the First IEC (1950, Simla), Second IEC and 1st International Congress (1951, New Delhi), 4th IEC (1953, New Delhi), 17th IEC and 6th International Congress (1966, New Delhi), 3rd Afro-Asian Regional Conference (1982, New Delhi), 8th International Drainage Workshop (2000, New Delhi), and 60th International Executive Council Meeting and 5th Asian Regional Conference (2009, New Delhi).