The estimated number of incident cancer cases in Punjab was 41,337 in 2023, 42,288 in 2024 and 43,196 in 2025, Prataprao Jadhav, Minister of State in the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) told the Rajya Sabha.
The global age-standardised cancer incidence rate declined by 7.1 per cent between 1990 and 2023, from an estimated 220.6 to 205.1 per 1,00,000 population, according to the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2023 Cancer study, published in The Lancet.
In contrast, the World Bank lower-middle-income country group, the income category India is classified under, recorded a rise of 28.6 per cent in age-standardised cancer incidence over the same period, from approximately 97.8 to 125.7 per 1,00,000 population.
Country-specific estimates for India, reported elsewhere, drawing on the same GBD 2023 dataset, arose from 84.8 to 107.2 per 1,00,000 population between 1990 and 2023, a 26.4 per cent increase, translating to an estimated 1.5 million new cancer cases in 2023. These are derived from the GBD Results Tool-the online supplementary database accompanying this study, rather than from the printed journal article itself, Jadhav told the Rajya Sabha.
The government under the National Health Mission (NHM) implements National Programme for Climate Change & Human Health (NPCC&HH) through NCDC. The NPCC&HH launched the National Action Plan on Climate Change and Mental Health that recognises the impact of environmental factors including temperature on sleep patterns.
These environmental factors may have more pronounced effects on vulnerable populations such as the elderly, children, outdoor workers and those without access to cooling mechanisms. The MoHFW issues advisories to states/Union Territories (UTs) health authorities detailing the measures to be taken for prevention and management of heat-related illnesses.
Under the NPCC&HH, a dedicated cadre-based training module on climate change and mental health has been developed and disseminated for state and district nodal officers, medical officers, paramedical officers and for vulnerable populations mainly women, children and the elderly, Jadhav told the Rajya Sabha.
The Union Cabinet approved the National Mission on Natural Farming on November 25, 2024, to promote natural farming. Till date, 24,102 clusters have been formed covering an area of 1.260 million Ha area, 2.676 million farmers enrolled, 8,100 BioInput Resource Centres established, and 40,182 Krishi Sakhi/Community Resource Persons deployed under the Mission, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare told the Lok Sabha.
The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare is continuously monitoring the evolving monsoon situation and the possible impact of El Nino conditions on agriculture in the country, including in Tamil Nadu, in close coordination with the India Meteorological Department; various Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) institutions; ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture; Central Water Commission; Central Ground Water Board; Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre; the Department of Food and Public Distribution; the Department of Fertilisers and state governments.
Further, the sowing operations for Kharif 2026-27 are still underway in Tamil Nadu, and the first advance estimates for all major Kharif crops in the 2026-27 agricultural year (July-June) have not yet been released, Ramnath Thakur, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare told the Lok Sabha.
The Digital General Crop Estimation Survey (DGCES) has been implemented in a phased manner. It was initially launched as a pilot during the Kharif 2023-24 season in select districts of 10 states. Following the successful pilot, the programme was expanded during the Rabi 2023-24 season to 22 states/UTs.
At present, DGCES is being implemented across 23 states/UTs. This phased expansion has significantly strengthened the digital ecosystem for crop estimation by improving the coverage, transparency, timeliness, and quality of crop yield estimation across the country, Thakur told the Lok Sabha.
The average monthly income & indebtedness of agricultural households in the country is periodically estimated through the “Situation Assessment Survey (SAS) of Agricultural Households”, conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO), Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
According to the latest Situation Assessment Survey (January 2019-December 2019) conducted by MoSPI (through NSS 77th round) in the rural areas of the country, the average monthly income per agricultural household in the state of Andhra Pradesh is Rs 10,480.
According to the last two Situation Assessment Surveys conducted by NSO, the percentage of indebted agricultural households in Andhra Pradesh in 2012-13 and 2018-19 are 92.9 per cent and 93.2 per cent respectively. Since the last survey conducted in 2019, the extent of average monthly income per agricultural household and the percentage of indebted agricultural households for the years 2024-25 and 2025-26 are not available, Thakur told the Lok Sabha.