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The number of heatwaves in India are rising and the Centre has taken cognisance. In 2024, 554 heatwaves days were observed over the Indian region, compared to 230 days in 2023, Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Union Ministry of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences told the Rajya Sabha on December 5, 2024.
There has been a 40 to 50 per cent improvement in the forecast accuracy of all severe weather events like heavy rainfall, fog, heat/cold waves, and thunderstorms in the last five years by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Jitendra Singh told the Rajya Sabha.
The total forest fire incidences detected in the last forest fire season — November 2023 to June 2024 — were 203,544, as per data received from the Forest Survey of India, Dehradun.
This is less than the number of forest fire detections reported in the previous forest fire season (2,12,249), Kirti Vardhan Singh, Minister of State in the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) told the Rajya Sabha.
State governments / Union territory (UT) administrations take appropriate actions to protect forest areas under the extant provisions of the forest/wildlife Acts/ Rules. This included fencing around sensitive forest areas.
Some states have started leveraging AI-based solutions in protection of forests from illegal activities, encroachments, management of human-animal conflicts, etc. These solutions deploy surveillance systems such as cameras/sensors to monitor movements concerning forest areas and their boundaries, Kirti Vardhan Singh told the Rajya Sabha.
India’s tiger population has increased as per the All India Tiger Estimation done in 2022, with an estimated number of 3,682 (range 3,167-3,925) as compared to the 2018 estimation of 2,967 (range 2,603-3,346) and 2014 estimation of 2,226 (range 1,945-2,491).
The tiger population is increasing at a rate of six per cent per annum in India when consistently sampled areas are compared, Kirti Vardhan Singh told the Rajya Sabha.
Nine species of vultures are recorded from India. The population of the vultures in India in specific regions and habitats is not assessed. However, states/UTs carry out population assessment of vultures in their respective area at different times, which is not collated at the level of the MoEF&CC.
As per the details available with the MoEF&CC, the estimated population of vultures in India is — Long-billed Vulture (26,500), Slender-billed Vulture (1,000) and White-backed Vulture (6,000), Kirti Vardhan Singh told the Rajya Sabha.
Solar and wind power projects do not fall under the ambit of the Environment Impact Assessment Notification, 2006. Accordingly, they do not require recommendations from the Standing Committee for National Board for Wild Life when proposed inside Eco-sensitive Zones, Kirti Vardhan Singh told the Rajya Sabha.
A total of around 15.7 million water conservation and rain water harvesting structures have been completed or are ongoing in India since the inception of Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA).
An expenditure of Rs 1.15 lakh crore has been incurred though convergence with the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme alone, Raj Bhushan Choudhary, Minister of State for Jal Shakti told the Lok Sabha.
The Centre had notified the Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN (Jaiv Indhan-Vatavaran Anukool fasal awashesh Nivaran) Yojana 2019, amended in 2024, to provide financial support for integrated bio-ethanol projects. The aim was to set up advanced biofuels projects in the country using lignocellulosic biomass and other renewable feedstock.
Under this scheme, a total of 14 commercial-scale proposals and eight demonstration-scale proposals were submitted for approval. Of these, eight commercial-scale proposals including one from Andhra Pradesh and four demonstration-scale proposals have been approved, Suresh Gopi, Minister of State in the Union Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas told the Lok Sabha.