Some of the facts related to drought are mentioned in this chapter. Drought is a threat to the humanity; it is a threat to the plant and animal kingdom. We also know that the area occupied by the drought is increasing as the population is increasing on this earth and we need to understand deforestation and desertification is progressing in a very rapid speed. Now it is our duty to make all drought prone areas in to adequately irrigated land, make the people to involve in the process of re forestation and prevent desertification. Reticular canal system for interlinking rivers will help in the process of irrigating all the drought prone lands and helps in re forestation.

1. Contentsof Section5: Reticularcanal system forInterlinkingIndianRivers.
Chapter8-Facts and figuresrelatedtoDroughtinIndia.
8.1-F&F – Indiadigsdeeperintothe drought.
8.2-F&F – More than100 millionare atriskdue to drought.
8.3-F&F – Millionsof deathdue todrought.
8.4-F&F – Droughttranslate into a fall ingrowth.
8.5-F&F – EnvironmentalissuesinIndia.
8.6-F&F – Rapidgrowthof populationanditseffectonnatural resourcesandenvironment;
8.7-F&F – WatersupplyandsanitationinIndia.
8.8-F&F – Pollutionof Ganga.
8.9-F&F – Droughtas climaticanomaly.
8.10-F&F – Seasonal rainfallsanddroughts.
8.11-F&F –Withoutrain mostof the crops will be destroyed.
8.12-F&F - GDP was knowntodrop whenthere wasa bad drought.
8.13-F&F – Sun-blisteredwestandcentral regions.
8.14-F&F – Food—fruitsandvegetables—wouldnotexistwithoutpollinatorsvisitingflowers.
8.15-F&F – Water,the stuff of life,hasbecome the source of dangerousfriction.
8.16-F&F – Typesof drought.
8.17-F&F – National commissiononagriculture classifiesdrought.
8.18-F&F – Drought- the silentthreattorural economy.
8.19-F&F – Droughtmonitoring.
8.20-F&F – Space technologyfordroughtmonitoring.
Chapter 8: Facts and figures related to
Drought in India:
8.1 . F&F – India digs deeper in to the drought.
[Drought:
With water supply running out, India digs deeper in to their drought.
Posted Oct 01, 2006 at 07:08AM by Mabie A. Listed in: Natural Resources Tags: India.
Having resources at hand that will sustain the life in any country is a big must, particularly if your
population has gone past the one billion mark in the status quo. But what if you're running low on
these resources, and there isn't much the government can do about it? Obviously, that scenario
spells trouble.
The regionof Indiaseemstobe facingitsmost challengingobstacle with their water supply running
unbelievably low. In the past decade, more and more parts of the country have fallen into a dry
spell, experiencing little to no rain.
The most apparent implication of this dry spell that they cannot sustain the kind of lifestyle they
indulged in before and would like to develop further, particularly food production. Gone are the
dayswhentheywouldtill theirlandsandwaitforharvesttoput foodon the table, and to sell to the
markets.Now,farminghasbeentakenoverbydigging.And the dry season isn't making the fight an
easy one.

2. Because of the rapid decline in their water supply, India's people have turned to digging wells in
orderfor themto have accessto thisfundamental natural resource. But because of lax government
policiesandaseeminglyloose structure inthe implementation of whatever little policies they may
have, the people of India only digs more, and their problems grow deeper.
In the districtof Jaipur,upto 80% of the groundwaterblocksare already deemed to be in danger of
runningout.EvenPunjab,considered tobe one of the few remainingfertile, rain-drenched pockets
of the country is not spared with 79% of groundwater blocks classified as overexploited or critical.
The situation is exacerbated by the indiscriminate digging of the locals for water wells. But then
again, who can blame them, really? If they do not dig up wells, they will not be able to sustain
themselves and most likely perish from thirst. That is why most people, especially those who are
luckyenoughtohave theirownparcelsof land,digupwellsfortheirwatersupply,eventhoughthey
are very well aware that they are running on low. Because of the excessive diggings over the past
years, water in wells have dropped to as much as 130 ft, twice as deep as ten years ago.
"We are close to the finishingpoint,"saysafarmerfrom Peeple Ka Bas. "The water is almost gone."
It isindeedasad state,especiallysince wateris considered to be one of, if not the most important,
natural resource that man needs to survive.
For now,governmentefforts include water deliveries via train just so the residents of small towns
can fill their buckets with water for 15 minutes every 48 hours. Source [45]
]
WithRCS undergroundwaterinall the placesof the nation will reappear, all the present bore wells
and openwellswill be filledwithqualitywater.There will notbe anynecessitytodignew bore wells
with RCS. The free flowing surface water of the RCS will be good enough to use for domestic
purposesprovidedthe RCSisnotcontaminatedbythe activityof the people.Strictpoliciesonsolid –
liquid – gaseous waste disposal will lead to prevention of contamination of surface water.
8.2 . F&F – More than 100 million are at risk due to drought.
[India: More than 100 million at risk: Low rainfall during the last two years has caused severe
drought conditions in 11 Indian States. An estimated 130 million people - 15 percent of the
population - in more than 70,000 villages and 230 urban centres are at risk. Apart from economic
loss due to low agricultural production, loss of animal wealth, inadequate nutrition and primary
healthcare,the impactof the droughtis likelytoretardthe developmentprocess.The mostseverely
affected States are Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh.
UNICEF is seeking US $3.575 million in funding in support of relief efforts to help an estimated
populationof 60 millionpeoplein the five worst affected states. Of these, approximately 9 million
are childrenand1.2 millionare pregnant women. The immediate short term measures include the
trucking of water, the rehabilitation of wells and hand pumps, the purification of water sources,
surface waterstorage,mobilitysupport,waterpurificationtablets, vitamin A, oral rehydration salts
and hygiene education flyers. The long-term strategy addresses household water security through
the promotion of rooftop rainwater harvesting; the sustainability of community water sources
throughgroundwaterrecharge structureswithuserparticipation;andthe environmental protection
of these sources. Sanitation and hygiene education are also underway. Source [46]
]

3. WithRCS – the rain fall onall the areas becomesbetterbecause the cloudswill form locally. People
need not wait for the rain to come for their cultivation and domestic purposes because RCS will
supply adequate water to all the places continuously.
Impact of droughtlike lowagricultural production,lossof animal wealth, inadequate nutrition, and
retardationinthe development process will never occur with RCS. Even the most severely drought
affectedStateslike Gujarat,RajasthanandAndhraPradeshwillgetadequate water for all the water
related activities in all the days of the year through RCS.
The immediate short term measures like ‘trucking of water, the rehabilitation of wells and hand
pumps,the purificationof watersources,surface waterstorage,mobilitysupport,waterpurification
tablets, vitamin A, oral rehydration salts and hygiene education flyers’ are not going to give
permanent solution for the problem and the money spent in this way can be utilized to create the
permanent solution like creation of RCS.
The long-term strategies like ‘household / MV buildings water security through the promotion of
rooftoprainwaterharvesting;the sustainability of community water sources through ground water
recharge structures with user participation; and the environmental protection of these sources.
Sanitation and hygiene education’ can be easily done through the VPA in the MV.
8.3 . F&F – Millions of death due to drought.
[Drought in India has resulted in tens of millions of deaths over the course of the 18th, 19th, and
20th centuries. Indian agriculture is heavily dependent on the climate of India: a favorable
southwestsummermonsoon iscritical insecuringwater for irrigating Indian crops. In some parts of
India,the failure of the monsoonsresultinwatershortages,resulting in below-average crop yields.
Thisis particularlytrue of major drought-prone regions such as southern and eastern Maharashtra,
northern Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Gujarat, and Rajasthan.
In the past,droughtshave periodically led to major Indian famines, including the Bengal famine of
1770, in which up to one third of the population in affected areas died; the 1876–1877 famine, in
which over five million people died; and the 1899 famine, in which over 4.5 million died. All such
episodes of severe drought correlate with El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. El Niño-
related droughts have also been implicated in periodic declines in Indian agricultural output.
Nevertheless,ENSOeventsthat have coincided with abnormally high sea surfaces temperatures in
the Indian Ocean—in one instance during 1997 and 1998 by up to 3 °C (5 °F)—have resulted in
increasedoceanicevaporation,resultinginunusuallywetweatheracrossIndia.Suchanomalieshave
occurredduringa sustainedwarmspell that began in the 1990s. A contrasting phenomenon is that,
insteadof the usual highpressure airmassoverthe southernIndianOcean,anENSO-relatedoceanic
low pressure convergence center forms; it then continually pulls dry air from Central Asia,
desiccatingIndiaduringwhatshouldhave beenthe humid summer monsoon season. This reversed
air flow causes India's droughts. The extent that an ENSO event raises sea surface temperatures in
the central Pacific Ocean influences the degree of drought. Source [47]
]
We will notreadnewslike this with RCS, we can eradicate the word ‘Drought’ with RCS may not be
the ‘Flood’.

4. It isbetterthat we needtodo permanentsolutionsfor eradication the drought situation at least by
the sufferings that we are under and from the history. People dying due to various reasons during
drought can be prevented with the permanent solutions like RCS.
Contrastingphenomenonlike ‘insteadof the usual high pressure air mass over the southern Indian
Ocean, an ENSO-related oceanic low pressure convergence center formation; it then continually
pulls dry air from Central Asia, causing India's droughts’ can be prevented from the RCS, thus the
periodic declines in Indian agricultural output can be prevented.
8.4 . F&F – Drought translate in to a fall in growth.
[Howdoesa drought translate into a fall in growth? Since agriculture constitutes about 25 per cent
of GDP,a fourpercentage pointdecline inagriculturalproductionshoulddirectlytranslateintoaone
percentage pointdecline inGDPgrowth.Inaddition, there are other effects. The linkages between
agriculture and GDP arise from both the demand and the supply side. On the demand side, when
agriculture does well, rural incomes rise. A rise in rural incomes leads to greater demand for
industrial products.Ithasbeenseenthatconsumergoodsdowell when rural incomes rise. In some
casesthe impactisimmediate, in others the effect comes with a lag. The sales of shampoos, soaps
and bicyclesmight respond immediately, whereas the sales of motorcycles, fertiliser, tractors and
televisions may have a lagged impact. Source [48]
]
Whenwe eradicate the droughtthenthere isno questionof fall ingrowth.We canexpectgoodrural
income with RCS – VPA – MV – MN. This good rural income leading to better industrial product
demand can be managed with VP Factories after assessing the type of demand and this income
again will be distributed to the people and the nation thus the indivual income and the national
income improves and the people will lead quality life.
8.5 . F&F – Environmental issues in India.
[EnvironmentalissuesinIndia:The rapidgrowingpopulationand economicdevelopment are leading
to the environmental degradation in India because of the uncontrolled growth of urbanization and
industrialization,expansionandmassive intensificationof agriculture,andthe destructionof forests.
Major environmental issuesare ForestandAgricultural landdegradation,Resource depletion(water,
mineral,forest,sand,rocksetc) Environmental degradation,PublicHealth, Loss of Biodiversity, Loss
of resilience in ecosystems, Livelihood Security for the Poor.
It isestimatedthatthe country’spopulationwill increase to about 1.26 billion by the year 2016. The
projected population indicates that India will be the first most populous country in the world and
Chinawill be rankingsecondinthe year2050. Indiahaving18% of the world'spopulation on 2.4% of
world'stotal area has greatlyincreased the pressure on its natural resources. Water shortages, soil
exhaustion and erosion, deforestation, air and water pollution afflicts many areas.
India's water supply and sanitation issues are related to many environmental issues. Source [49]
]

5. Populationcan be effectively controlled with VPA- VPH-MV-MN. We can achieve better economic
developmentinthe absence of enviornamental destruction. Enviornmental destruction decreases
because the total area consumed in the form of villages is going to decrease (Total number of
villages is going to decrease from 6 lakh villages to 40 thousand VPA), the total area consumed by
the roads and infrastructure is going to decrease, the VPA will actively involve in the process of
forestcreation in their village limits, fuel consumption is going to decrease since people need not
use vehicle inside their village panchayath limit and with CRS - CRTS, VPA will involve in the
preventive process of land degradation / erosion by implanting plants at appropriate places,
desiltingandreutilizationof the same soil asmanure ispossible withRCSthusthe topsoil depositing
at the river delta region can be prevented, water shortage will never occur with RCS, air pollution
can be prevented to the maximum by non utilization of vehicles inside the village – mass
transportation – minimizingthe transportation – transportation of ready to utilize or ready to store
productsinsteadof transportingthe rawmaterialsand again the ready to use materials back, water
pollution can be prevented by not discharging any waste to the water paths – proper treatment of
the waste – recycling of the waste in an appropriate way can be done through VPA.
8.6 . F&F – Rapid growth of population and its effect on natural
resources and environment;
[One of the primary causes of environmental degradation in a country could be attributed to rapid
growthof population,whichadverselyaffectsthe natural resources and environment. The uprising
populationandthe environmentaldeteriorationface the challenge of sustainabledevelopment. The
existence orthe absence of favorablenatural resourcescan facilitate or retard the process of socio-
economicdevelopment.The three basic demographic factors of births (natality),deaths (mortality)
and human migration (migration) and immigration (population moving into a country produces
higherpopulation) produce changesinpopulationsize,composition,distribution and these changes
raise a number of important questions of cause and effect.
Population growth and economic development are contributing to many serious environmental
calamities in India. These include heavy pressure on land, land degradation, forests, habitat
destruction and loss of biodiversity. Changing consumption pattern has led to rising demand for
energy.The final outcomesof this are air pollution, global warming, climate change, water scarcity
and water pollution. Source [49]
]
The man powerof the populationcan be effectively utilized in the process of protecting the nature
in a scientific way through VPA like implanting the plants and creating forest or converting thin
forestinto thickforest.Increasedutilizationof natural sourcesof energylike solarenergyinstead of
fire wood, migration and urbanization can be well controlled with VPA.
8.7 . F&F – Water supply and sanitation in India.
[Water supply and sanitation in India: Out of India's 3,119 towns and cities, just 209 have partial
treatment facilities, and only 8 have full wastewater treatment facilities (WHO 1992). 114 cities

6. dumpuntreated sewage andpartiallycrematedbodiesdirectlyinto the Ganges River. Downstream,
the untreated water is used for drinking, bathing, and washing. This situation is typical of many
riversinIndiaas well as other developing countries. Open defecation is widespread even in urban
areas of India. Source [49]
]
All the cities, towns and the VPA will have scientific method of treatment of waste and recycling
systemandthus theireffectonthe environmentcanbe controlledlocally. Since even the cities and
the VPA on the banks of Rivers treats the waste and utilizing the treated water for the growth of
trees like neem, rose, teak and so on, no water generated as the waste water will enter in to the
rivers directly. The MV is planned in such a way that it is away from the water pathways and the
distance between the MV and the water pathway should be in such a way that even during the
seasons of flood the water should not touch the village limits and there should be sufficient area
available to create the forest area by utilizing the treated waste water from the village.
No one will enjoyopenairdefecationsince everyone will have goodattractive toiletsandbathrooms
in their own house in the MV.
8.8 . F&F – Pollution of Ganga.
[Pollution of Ganga
To know why 1,000 Indian children die of diarrheal sickness every day, take a wary stroll along the
Ganges in Varanasi. As it enters the city, Hinduism’s sacred river contains 60,000 faecal coliform
bacteria per 100 millilitres, 120 times more than is considered safe for bathing. Four miles
downstream, with inputs from 24 gushing sewers and 60,000 pilgrim-bathers, the concentration is
3,000 timesoverthe safetylimit.Inplaces,the Gangesbecomes black and septic. Corpses, of semi-
cremated adults or enshrouded babies, drift slowly by. The Economist on December 11, 2008.
Source [49]
]
Notonlythe citiesbutall the VPA comingoneitherthe sidesof the rivers will treat the waste water
intheirvillage limitandwill be utilizingfor develepmet of trees like neem – rose – teak wood, thus
the fecal matterenteringinto the river will be avoided. All the partially flowing and contaminated
riverswill be flushedwiththe waterof RCSand thus the waterbecomessafe forthe people touse in
the down stream.
8.9 . F&F – Drought as climatic anomaly.
[Agricultural drought;
Agricultural Drought scenario in India;
Drought is a climatic anomaly, characterized by deficient supply of moisture resulting either from
sub-normal rainfall,erraticrainfalldistribution,higher water need or a combination of all the three
factors. About two thirds of the geographic area of India receives low rainfall (less than 1000 mm),
whichisalsocharacterizedby uneven and erratic distributions. Out of net sown area of 140 million
hectares about 68% is reported to be vulnerable to drought conditions and about 50% of such
vulnerable areaisclassified as ‘severe’, where frequency of drought is almost regular. Abnormally

7. lowrainfall in1979 in Indiareportedtohave reduced the overall food grain by as much as 20%. The
1987 drought in India damaged 58.6 million hectares of cropped area affecting over 285 million
people. The 2002 drought had reduced the sown area to 112 million hectares from 124 million
hectares and the food grain production to 174 million tons from 212 million tons. The total food
grain production in India has to be stepped up from 212 million metric tons to 300 million metric
tons by 2020 to meet the food demands of growing population. Therefore, there is a need for
effectivemonitoringof agricultural drought,itsonset,progression and impact on crops to minimize
the damages.
All the developingcountries,being primarily agrarian, are very much dependent on the vagaries of
seasonal rainfall and climatic conditions and hence more vulnerable to droughts. On an average,
severe drought occurs once every five years in most of the tropical countries, though often they
occur on successive years causing severe losses to agriculture and allied sectors. More than 500
millionpeopleliveinthe droughtprone areasof the worldand 30% of the entire continental surface
isaffectedby droughtsor desertificationprocess.The waterneedsinagricultural sector are going to
be very high, as several thousand tons of water is required to produce each metric ton of food
grains. Therefore, there is a need for effective monitoring of agricultural drought, its onset,
progression and impact on crops to minimize the damages. Source [50]
]
Thiswill neveroccurwithRCS,all the landswill getadequate water with RCS at any time of the day,
any dayof the month,any monthof the yearand anyamount of water.People need on wait for the
rain to occur for their particular area. Adequate water at appropriate time will lead to good yield.
It is easy to get the water as per our requirement with RCS, thus we will not have damages to the
sown and cropped areas and the productivity in the field of agriculture will improve.
8.10 . F&F – Seasonal rain falls and droughts.
[Agricultural Drought scenario in India
All the developingcountries,being primarily agrarian, are very much dependent on the vagaries of
seasonal rainfall and climatic conditions and hence more vulnerable to droughts. On an average,
severe drought occurs once every five years in most of the tropical countries, though often they
occur on successive years causing severe losses to agriculture and allied sectors. More than 500
millionpeopleliveinthe droughtprone areasof the worldand 30% of the entire continental surface
isaffectedbydroughtsor desertificationprocess.The waterneedsinagricultural sector are going to
be very high, as several thousand tons of water is required to produce each metric ton of food
grains. Therefore, there is a need for effective monitoring of agricultural drought, its onset,
progression and impact on crops to minimize the damages. Source [51]
]
WithRCS all the landswill getsufficientwaterinall the years.Withbetteragriculture andforestland
creation we can prevent processes like desertification.
8.11 . F&F –Without rain most of the crops will be destroyed.
[Without rain most of the crops will be destroyed.

8. Drought fuels India farmer fears.
Maharashtra is one of India's most prosperous states - but despite that, farmers have been
committing suicide for the past three years in despair at crop failure, drought and Growing
indebtedness.
There, the steady rise in farmers' suicides has become a shameful public scandal, even forcing the
new Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to pay a visit earlier this month.
In denial
According to statistics provided by the Cotton Growers Association of Maharashtra, 330 farmers in
the cotton and soya bean-growing region of Vidarbha committed suicide in the last three years.
Lack of rain
"If it does not rain - and rain well - in the next eight to 10 days, 35-40% of all the crops will be
destroyed. If there is no rain for 15 days, the situation will get very serious". The civil servant who
runs the Nagpur division admits the situation is bad. Source [52]
]
Water scarcityand lossinagriculture will neveroccurwithRCS inany part of India.Farmersneednot
waitor rain inany seasonof the year,water foragriculture will be available in sufficient quantity all
the time of the year. Thus RCS will bring an end to the farmer’s suicide due to loss in agriculture.
8.12 . F&F - GDP was known to drop when there was a bad drought.
[Drought-proofing India.
Ila Patnaik Posted: Aug 09, 2004 at 0000 hrs IST

9. Forecasts for GDP growth in the Indian economy have been revised downwards as a result of the
monsoon scenario. But even though growth projections for agriculture are negative, the growth
projection for GDP remains positive. Growth is not expected to fall drastically. For instance, in
CRISIL’s recent forecast, agricultural GDP is projected to be minus 2.5 per cent, as a result of the
drought. But GDP growth projections have only been revised downwards from 6.2 per cent to 5.6
per cent. This is a big change, as compared with previous decades when GDP was known to drop
when there was a bad drought.
How doesa droughttranslate intoa fall ingrowth?Since agriculture constitutesabout25 percent of
GDP, a four percentage pointdecline in agricultural production should directly translate into a one
percentage pointdecline inGDPgrowth.Inaddition, there are other effects. The linkages between
agriculture and GDP arise from both the demand and the supply side. On the demand side, when
agriculture does well, rural incomes rise. A rise in rural incomes leads to greater demand for
industrial products.Ithasbeenseenthatconsumergoodsdowell when rural incomes rise. In some
casesthe impactisimmediate, in others the effect comes with a lag. The sales of shampoos, soaps
and bicyclesmight respond immediately, whereas the sales of motorcycles, fertiliser, tractors and
televisions may have a lagged impact.
On the supply side, increase in agricultural production increases the supply of food and raw
materials. Cereals, fruit, vegetables, milk, meat, eggs, etc enter the consumption bundle of all
households.Theirplentiful supplyandlowerprices, following a good monsoon, reduces the cost of
living.Real incomesof boththe urbanand rural populationsincrease. Theybothhave more tospend
on non-agricultural products.Also,thereare a large number of industries that use farm products as
raw materials. Products such as sugarcane, jute, cotton and oilseeds are directly used by industry.
Cleaper raw materials augur well for these industries.
These linkages were very strong in the past.
In the 1950s a lessthan5 percent decline inagriculture ledtoa fall inbothGDP-industryandintotal
GDP. But this has not happened since the 1990s. The last time GDP saw an actual decline was in
1979-80. This was the result of both a very bad monsoon, which resulted in agricultural output
falling by a shocking 13 per cent, and an oil price shock. In that year, industrial growth declined by
over 3 per cent, and GDP fell by 5.2 per cent.
However, in the 1980s and 1990s when agricultural output declined, though industrial growth
sloweddown,industrial productiondidnotfall.Evenwhenagricultural output fell by 5.2 per cent in
2002-03 (a verybad monsoon),industrial growthremainedpositive andGDPgrew at 4 percent. As a
consequence of the change in the importance of agriculture in industrial and total GDP in the
economy,the Indianeconomyiswitnessingindustrial business cycles, rather than monsoon cycles.
What isresponsible forthischange?The mostimportantfactor is that non-agricultural sectors have
beengrowingfaster.Consequently,the share of agriculture inGDPhas beendeclining, while that of
industry and services has been increasing. A fall in demand arising from a drop in agricultural
incomes can be devastating if the bulk of industrial demand depends on it. However, if the non-
agricultural economyisbiggerandstrongerandthe demandfor industry only slows down, then the
impact is not so devastating.
Whena drought hitsincomes(eitheramongstfarmersoramongstotherhouseholds),the household
tries to protect consumption by using savings or credit. Higher savings have given households
greaterpowerto smooththeirconsumption.The increase in household savings since the 1980s has
led to a build-up of wealth, which allows households to smooth consumption even in bad years
when their income declines, by dissaving.

10. The increase in the availability of retail credit to households in recent years has allowed urban
householdstoborrowandspendirrespective of the rains,whichhelpssustainnon-agricultural GDP.
In addition,the exportdemandformanufacturinghasaddedtothe reduction in the dependence of
industrial demand on Indian agriculture.
The resultof the change inthese patternsof growthisstriking. The mean GDP growth rate has risen
sharply.If we compute an average mean growth rate of GDP every year for the preceding 10 years,
startingin1961, we findthat thisrate has risenfroma 3-4 per centsluggishgrowthrate,oftencalled
the Hindu rate of growth, to over 5 per cent. Further, the volatility of the growth has gone down
sharply.Indiaisnolongersubjecttosharp upsand downsinproductionand income. While it is true
that the monsoonwill pull downgrowth,raise expenditureondroughtrelief andreduce tax revenue
collection, but its impact will be limited. All the ills of the economy can no longer be placed at its
door.
Traditional issues in agricultural policy — such as improving irrigation — are still necessary for
reducing the vulnerability of agriculture to monsoons. But the growth of non-agricultural sectors,
high household savings rates and access to credit have created conditions under which consumer
demand does not dry up in a year of drought. Drought-proofing India critically hinges on obtaining
high growth rates of industry and services.
Source [53]
]
In the recent years because of development of sectors like industry, IT, servise sector leading to
increase in the GDP, still the major population of the India and the better increase in the GDP
dependsonthe people whodepend on agriculture in India. Unless other wise we make the drastic
changesinthe agriculture forimprovingthe productivity by improving the irrigation the GDP of the
nationwill notincrease drasticallyandwe will be inaslowerphase as copared to many other nation
in this rapidly progressing world. Creation of RCS will solve the problems related to irrigation and
thusthe people dependentonagriculture willproduce more income andtheyalso produce demand
on the industryfortheirneedsandthusthe industryandthe agriculture segment together will lead
to better GDP.
8.13 . F&F – Sun-blistered west and central regions.
[South Asia reels from drought and famine
Source: The Christian Science Monitor
Date: August 27th, 2000
Justas Indiais recoveringfromthe devastatingcyclone thatrippedthroughthe east last November,
wells have recently dried up and crops have withered in the drought afflicting the nation's sun-
blistered west and central regions.
Large parts of western and central India, particularly Gujarat and Rajasthan states, have been
hardest hit by the crisis. Officials say it is impossible to estimate how many people have died, but
urge international interventiontostemacute hunger,mass exodus, and locust invasions. Source [54]
]
WithRCS we will notbe seeing the people dieing from drought, suffereing from hunger and so on.

11. 8.14 . F&F – Food—fruits and vegetables—would not exist without
pollinators visiting flowers.
[World food supply at risk, experts warn
Source: CNN
Date: August 16th, 2000.
One-third of all our food—fruits and vegetables—would not exist without pollinators visiting
flowers. But honeybees, the primary species that fertilizes food-producing plants, have suffered
dramatic declines in recent years, mostly from afflictions introduced by humans. Domestic
honeybeeshave lostasmanyas one-thirdof theirhivesandtheirwildcousinshave becomevirtually
extinct in many places around the world. A variety of troubles threaten the pollinators: Endless
wavesof developmentdestroy nesting and feeding grounds; pesticides decimate them along with
other beneficial insects.
Agribusinessincreasinglytreatshoneybees as a mass commodity, exposing them to uncontrollable
plagues of pests. Source [54]
]
With RCS – VPA – MV – MN there will be better biological cycles. It is possible to stop using all the
pesticides with VPA thus the harmful effects of the same on the useful pollinators.
8.15 . F&F – Water, the stuff of life, has become the source of
dangerous friction.
[Thirsty planet
Source: Agence France-Presse
Date: July 2, 2000.
Water, the stuff of life, has become the source of dangerous friction, with developing nations
jousting over water supplies as their populations soar and their environment deteriorates.
"Worldwide,atleast214 riversflowthroughtwoor more countries,butnoenforceable law governs
the allocation and use of international waters," Sandra Postel, a senior researcher for the
Worldwatch Institute, points out.
Accordingto the WorldCommission on Water, a 20-percent increase in fresh water will be needed
by 2025, when the world’s population of six billion people is expected to have increased by three
billion.
Ismail Serageldin,vice president of the World Bank, made an ominous prediction in 1995: "Many of
the wars of this century were about oil—but the wars of the next century will be about water."
The biggest flash point is the Middle East, a region that is predominantly desert in climate, has a
huge rate of population growth, shrinking aquifers and a seething tradition of strife.
Water, water everywhere--but only 0.8% to drink.
Work isto beginoncanals intendedtosiphonmillionsof cubic meters of the Nile daily and channel
themintothe WesternDesert--transformingthousandsof square miles of "the howling waste" into
farms brimming with fruits and other crops.
But the plan involves a commodity--fresh water--that is becoming worryingly scarce in the Third
World.Many observersfearwarcoulderuptas Egypt and itsneighbors--Sudan,Ethiopiaand Eritrea-
-struggle for access to the Nile's dwindling waters.

12. Egypt planstodivertan annual 5.5 billioncubicmetersof Nile water into canals to turn four million
hectaresof sand intoprime agricultural land.Egyptrecentlythreatened to attack Ethiopia for taking
too muchfrom the Nile.Nowitwantstoincrease its own55.5 billioncubicmetersannual extraction.
World Bank vice-president Ismail Seageldin says: "Many wars this century were about oil, but the
wars of the next century will be about water."
Sevenpercentof the world'spopulation has not enough water. By 2050, this will be 70 percent. Yet
our planethas1,400 millionmillionmillionlitersof water:100 billion liters a head. But 97 percent is
salty and much of the rest is trapped underground or stored as polar ice. Only 0.8 percent of the
Earth's water is accessible--and drinkable: about a billion billion liters.
It is enough on average. But some countries have too much. Others have too little. Source [54]
]
I thinkthe nationhas tounderstandthe seriousness and act according for the supply of water to all
the parts of the countryon emergency basis. If we take rest for few years by not taking any serious
thoughtto getthe waterforall the people of the nationandif we planthe same aftersome years by
that time we may be in a position to do the project but the international laws may stop us not to
carry out any such projects and the people of the nation is going suffer from the deficiency. The
word ‘war for water’ needs to be understood efficiently.
8.16 . F&F – Types of drought.
[What is drought?
Droughts can be of three kinds: -
1. Meteorological drought:Thishappenswhenthe actual rainfall Normal:19 per centabove normal.
19 per centbelownormal rainfall inanareaissignificantlyless than the climatological mean of that
area.The countryas a whole mayhave a normal monsoon,butdifferentmeteorological districtsand
sub-divisionscanhave belownormal rainfall.The rainfallcategoriesforsmaller areas are defined by
their deviation from a meteorological area's normal rainfall – Excess: 20 per cent or more above
normal,Deficient:20 percent belownormal - 59 percentbelow normal,Scanty:60 percent or more
below normal.
2. Hydrological drought: A marked depletion of surface water causing very low stream flow and
drying of lakes, rivers and reservoirs.
3. Agricultural drought:Inadequate soil moisture resultinginacute cropstressand fall in agricultural
productivity.
Earlier years of all-India drought 1987, 1979, 1972.
Drought 2001-2002.
Drought and flood affected regions.

13. This year, 19 per cent of India's land area experienced 'moderate drought’; 10 per cent
suffered 'severe drought'
 Rainfall inJuly(most important for agriculture) was 49 per cent 'deficient'. The last time this figure
fell below 45 per cent was in 1911
 When there is more than 10 per cent rainfall deficiency, and more than 20 per cent of the area of
the country is under drought, the situation is called "all-India drought"
 In 2002, rainfall deficiency was 19 per cent, and 29 per cent of India was under drought .
Meterological sub-division. Rainfall (per cent
below normal).
SEVERE DROUGHT
West Rajasthan -71
East Rajasthan -60
MODERATE DROUGHT.
Haryana -36
Chandigarh -36
Delhi -36
Punjab -36
Coastal Andhra Pradesh -26
Rayalseema -33
North Interior Karnataka -31
South Interior Karnataka -44
Coastal Karnataka -30
Tamil Nadu -45
Kerala -35
Lakshadweep -45
(Source: Down to Earth, January 15, 2003.)
Drought 2000-2001
During the drought of 2000-2001, a total of eight states have fallen foul of the rain gods. These
included Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Chattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra

14. and Tehri Garhwal districts in Uttaranchal. Some states were in their second or third consecutive
year of drought.
Frightening figures: States hit by drought
 Chhattisgarh: 10,252 villages in 12 of 16 districts, 9,400,000 people affected.
 Gujarat: 12,240 villages in 22 of 25 districts, 29,100,000 people, 107,00,000 cattle.
 Madhya Pradesh: 22,490 villages in 32 of 45 districts, 12,700,000 people, 8,570,000 cattle.
 Orissa: 15,000 villages in 28 of 30 districts, 11900,000 people, 39900,000 cattle.
 Rajasthan: 31,000 villages in 31 of 32 districts, 33,000,000 people, 39,900,000 cattle.
 Himachal Pradesh: All 12 districts affected, 4600,000 people, 88,000 hectare of crop area.
 Maharashtra: 20,000 villages in 26 of 35 districts, 45,500,000 people, 258,000 cattle.
Uttaranchal: One district affected.
In the 70 importantwaterreservoirsinIndia,the storage positionisofficiallydescribed as the
lowestina decade.Groundwaterlevelshave fallenconsiderablyinthe eightdroughtshitstates.Ina
numberof districts,saysthe nodal agriculture ministry,the fall inwaterlevelsisat the rate of over 2
metresa year- thisincludeseight districts in Chattisgarh, 13 in Gujarat, 30 in Madhya Pradesh, 18 in
Orissa and 15 in Rajasthan.
Source: Catchwater, a CSE newsletter, June 2001. Drought 1999-2000. Source [55]
]
WithRCS all the droughtprone statesof the Indialike Rajastan,Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Panjab,
Andrapradeshand Rayal seema,Karnataka,Tamilnadu,andKeralacanbe irrigatedwell.The areasof
the India which are coloured blue are flood prone that does not mean the flood is due to rain over
that area,but it isdue to the convergence of riverwateroverthere.With RCSall these water will be
divertedattheirtributarylevel at a higher level and thus more water entering to the areas colored
blue will be avoided and this water will be supplied to the drought prone areas which are colored
brown in the map.
8.17 . F&F – National commission on agriculture classifies drought.
[Types of drought;
Several definitions of drought are available in literature. In India, National Commission on
Agriculture (1976) has categorized drought into three types, viz., meteorological drought,
hydrological drought and agricultural drought based on the concept of its utilization. The National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) defines agricultural drought as a combination of
temperature andprecipitationoveraperiodof several monthsleadingtosubstantial reduction (less
than 90%) in yield. India Meteorological Department (IMD) classified drought as an occasion when
the rainfall fora weekishalf of the normal or less,whenthe normal weeklyrainfall isabove 5 mm or
more. If such 4 consecutive weeks occur from middle of May to October, it is considered as

15. agricultural drought. From agriculture perspective, drought is a condition, in which, the amount of
water needed for transpiration and direct evaporation exceeds the amount available in the soil.
In meteorological terms,adroughtis"a sustained,regionallyextensive,deficiency in precipitation".
All other definitions are related to the effect or impact of below normal precipitation on water
resources, agriculture, social and economic activities; hence the terms hydrological drought and
agricultural drought.Inquantitative terms,the definitions could vary among countries and regions.
In India, the definition for "meteorological drought" adopted by the Indian Meteorological
Department(IMD) isa situationwhenthe deficiencyof rainfall atameteorological sub-divisionlevel
is 25 per cent or more of the long-term average (LTA) of that sub-division for a given period. The
droughtis considered"moderate",if the deficiencyisbetween26and 50 percent, andsevere"if itis
more than 50 per cent.Based on this definition, the National Commission on Agriculture has given
the following broad classifications
* Hydrological drought: prolonged meteorological drought resulting in depletion of surface water
fromreservoirs,lakes,streams,rivers,cessationof springflow andfall ingroundwaterlevelscausing
severe shortage of water for livestock and human needs;
* Agricultural drought: when soil moisture and rainfall are inadequate during the crop growing
seasonto supporthealthycropgrowth to maturity, which situation causes extreme crop stress and
wilting?Itisdefinedasa periodof fourconsecutive weeks(of severe meteorological drought)with a
rainfall deficiencyof more than50 percent of the LTA or witha weeklyrainfall of 5 cm or less during
the periodfrommid-Mayto mid- October(the Kharif season) when80per centof the country’stotal
crop is planted, or six such consecutive weeks during the rest of the year.
Droughtdiffersfromothernatural hazardsinmany respects -mostcomplex andleast understood of
all disasters. While it is difficult to demarcate the onset and end of drought but the effects of
drought accumulate for a considerable period of time. Prolonged droughts or abnormal weather
conditionssuchasextendedwinters,coldsummers, floods, biological factors like plague of locusts
or rodentsresultinfamines.Onanaverage, severe drought occurs once every five years in most of
the tropical countries,thoughoftentheyoccuronsuccessive yearscausingmiserytohumanlife and
live stock. The crisis brought out by this hazard directly hit poorest and most deprived sections of
our societythusdestroythe life,economy, infrastructure, environment and society because all are
inter linked.
Period Drought years
No.
of
years
1801-25 1801,04,06,12,19,25 6
1826-50 1832,33,37 3
1851-75 1853,60,62,66,68,73 6
1876-
1900
1877,91,99 3
1901-25 1901,04,05,07,11,13,15,18,20,25 10
1926-50 1939,41 2

16. 1951-75 1951,65,66,68,72,74 6
1976-02 1979,82,85,87,2002 5
Source [56]
]
We should understand that the drought is not the new problem and it will be there only for few
yearsand thengoesoff.Thisisthe humansufferingsexistingfrommanycenturiesandthe severityis
increasingasthe populationincreases.WithRCSwe can eradicate all typesof drought permanently.
8.18 . F&F – Drought - the silent threat to rural economy.
[Drought – the silent threat to rural economy;
Agriculture is the immediate victim of drought disaster – impacting crop area, crop production and
farm employment.Droughtsin the beginning of the season adversely affect the sown area leaving
large portions of agricultural lands as fallow. Mid season droughts result in poor crop growth and
reductionincrop yields.Reduction in income and purchasing power of farmers turns the small and
marginal farmers into agricultural laborers leading to increase in unemployment. Consequently,
farmers and farm workers tend to migrate to urban areas in search of employment opportunities.
Shortage of drinkingwaterandstarvationforfoodare the otherconsequencesthat emerge. Fodder
problem drives away the animals to distress sales. Thus climate is the initial causative factor for
drought; the implications are manifested by human interactions with the situation. Source [57]
]
Since agriculture is the main profession of the nation and the immediate victim of the drought
disaster is the agriculture, we need to take measures to eradicate the drought immediately on
emergency basis and the solution for this is the RCS. Since the Drought causes damage to the crop
and thusthe farm employment,the marginal farmemploysare the people whoare goingtoaffectat
the firstand leadstomigrationto urbanareas insearchof employment.Thusif we create RCSall the
farmers will have better income in their own village and will not migrate.
8.19. F&F – Drought monitoring.
[Conventional mechanisms for agricultural drought monitoring;
Conventionally agricultural drought conditions are characterized by ground observations on
meteorological parameters such as rainfall, aridity and agricultural parameters such as sown crop
area, crop condition and crop yield.
Meteorological observations;
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) prepares rainfall maps on sub-divisional basis every
weekthroughoutthe year.These mapsshow the rainfall received during a week and corresponding
departures from normal. During monsoon season, these maps are indicative of development of
drought. In addition, IMD also provides the information on weekly rainfall and its deviation from
normal at districtlevel forthe entire country.Thisinformationisuseful to identify the districts with
deficit/scanty rainfall and the prevailing meteorological drought.

17. IMD also monitors drought using water balance technique which addreesses agricultural drought.
The aridity index is calcumated using the formula;
Aridity Index = Water deficit/Water need;
(Actual Evapotranspiration – Potential Evapotranspiration) / Potential Evapotranspiration.
The departure of aridityindex fromnormal percentage termsisusedtodefine the variouscategories
of droughtseverity.Anomalyupto25% is atrtributedto mild drought, 26-50% to moderate drought
and >50% to severe drought. IMD has been bringing out weekly aridity anomaly charts from 1979
onwards,basedondata fromdifferent observatories, covering south west monsoon period. These
charts showthe departures of actual aridity from normal aridity giving indication of the severity of
waterdeficittowaterdemandrelationshiponweekly basis. IMD is also preparing detailed maps of
rainfall, temperature (maximum and minimum), cloud cover, relative humidity and analyse this
information with prevailing crop conditions and an Agromet Advisory Bulletin is prepared and
disseminated to users. Based on rainfall, temperature, soil moisture and evaporation, various
indicators of meteorological drought indicators have been developed by researchers as shown in
Table 2. Some of these indiceslike Palmer’sindex,StandardisedPrecipiatationIndex, Crop Moisture
Index are being used operationally in some of the countries.
Year Index
1916 Munger’s Index
1919 Kincer Index
1930 Morkowitch Index
1942 Blumenstock Index
1954 Antecedent precipitation index
1957 Moisture adequacy index
1965 Palmer’s index (PDSI, PHDI)
1968 Crop Moisture Index
1968 Keetch Byram Drought Index
1981 Surface water supply index
1993 Standardized precipitaion index
Source [58]
]
It becomes easy to monitor these parameters all over the nation through VPA and all these
parameter becomes better with RCS and we can also compare these data before and after the
complete establishment of RCS.
8.20 . F&F – Space technology for drought monitoring.
[Space technology for agricultural drought monitoring;
Unlike point observations of ground data, satellite sensors provide direct spatial information on
vegetationstresscausedbydroughtconditions.Satellite remote sensing technology is widely used
for monitoringcropsandagricultural drought assessment. Over the last 20 years, coarse resolution
satellite sensorsare beingused routinely to monitor vegetation and detect the impact of moisture
stresson vegetation.AVHRRonNOAA’spolarorbitingsatelliteshasbeencollectingcoarse resolution

18. imageryworldwide withtwice daily coverage and synoptic view. The NOAA AVHRR NDVI has been
extensivelyusedfordrought/vegetationmonitoring,detectionof droughtandcropyieldestimation.
The Drought Monitorof USA usingNOAA-AVHRRdata,Golbal InformationandEarlyWarningSystem
(GIEWS) and AdvancedReal Time Environmental Monitoring Information System (ARTEMIS) of FAO
using Meteosat and SPOT – VGT data, International Water Management Institute (IWMI)’s drought
assessment in South west Asia using Modis data, are proven examples for application of coarse
resolutionsatellite imagesforoperational droughtassessment.India’sNationalAgricultural Drought
AssessmentandMonitoringSystem(NADAMS) project stands as an example for operational use of
bothmoderate resolutionandcoarse resolutionsatellitedataforoperational droughtassessment at
different spatial scales.
Drought indices from satellite data;
The crop/vegetationreflectshighinthe near infrareddue to its canopy geometry, the health of the
standing crops / vegetation and absorbs high in the red reflected radiance due to its biomass and
accumulated photosynthesis.
Stressedvegetationhasahigherreflectance thanhealthyvegetation in the visible (0.4-0.7 microns)
region and lower reflectance in the near infrared (0.7-1.1 microns) region of the electromagnetic
spectrum.Vegetationindicestake the advantage of thisdifferential response in the visible and near
infra red regions of the spectrum.
Usingthese contrastcharacteristicsof near infrared, red and middle infra red bands which indicate
both the health and condition of the crops/ vegetation, different types of vegetation indices have
been developed as shown below ;
 Difference Vegetation Index
 Ratio Vegetation Index
 Infrared Percent Vegetation Index
 Perpendicular Vegetation Index
 Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index
 Weighted Difference Vegetation Index
 Greenness Vegetation Index
 Atmospherically Resistant Vegetation Index
 Normalized Difference Vegetation Index
 Normalized Difference Wetness Index
 Enhanced Vegetation Index
Among the various vegetation indices that are now available, Normalized Difference Vegetation
Index (NDVI) is an universally acceptable index for operational drought assessment because of its
simplicity in calculation, easy to interpret and its ability to partially compensate for the effects of
atmosphere,illuminationgeometryetcNDVIisatransformationof reflected radiation in the visible
and near infrared bands of NOAA AVHRR and is a function of green leaf area and biomass.
NDVI is derived as under;

19. NDVI= (NIR-Red)/(NIR+Red)
Where Near Infra Red and Red are the reflected radiations in these two spectral bands.
Water, clouds and snow have higher reflectance in the visible region and consequently NDVI
assumes negative values for these features. Bare soil and rocks exhibit similar reflectance in both
visible and near IR regions and the index values are near zero. The NDVI values for vegetation
generallyrange from0.1 to 0.6, the higherindex valuesbeingassociatedwithgreatergreenleaf area
and biomass.
In general,growthanddecayof crop canopy representssimilaritiesinthe temporal vegetationindex
profile duringthe cropgrowth.The peakof this profile corresponds to peak vegetation cover of the
crop. Interpretation of vegetation index (VI) profile can be used to derive information on the crop
stage. Further VI level at peak vegetative stage or the time integration of VI profile is related with
accumulated biomass in the crop or crop condition or crop yields. Lowering of VI values reflects
moisture stress in vegetation, resulting from prolonged rainfall deficiency. Such a decrease in VI
could also be caused by other stresses such as pest/disease attack, nutrient deficiency or
geochemical effects.The seasonal VIprofile isthusreflective of vegetation dynamics and condition.
Comparison of VI profile of the reporting year and a previous normal agricultural year provides
assessment of drought impact in the scale of previous agricultural scenario. Source [59]
]
With space technology the team at the centre and at the state can assess the VPA who are doing
well andnotwell inagriculture andidentifythe cause forit and suggest the solutions for those who
are not doing well and takes the tips from the VPA who are doing well. With RCS we can achieve
better things and eradicate drought.
Sources:
[45] India-IntroductionArticle Detail - Science News - QJ_NET.mht.
[46] Internet: Drought disasters – UNICEF.
[47] Drought in India - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.mht.
[48] Internet: Drought-proofing India.
[49] Internet: Environmental issues in India - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
[50] Internet: Welcome to NRSC – Drought. National Remote Sensing Centre, ISRO/DOS, Govt. of
India. Recent update in Feb-2009. 2006-2008 National Remote Sensing Centre, ISRO/DOS, Govt. of
India. Recent update in Feb-2009. Designed & Developed by CMC Limited.
http://dsc.nrsc.gov.in:14000/DSC/Drought/index.jsp?include1=homelink1_b1.jsp&&include2=homel
ink1_b2.jsp# Welcome to NRSC - Drought.mht.
[51] Internet: Welcome to NRSC – Drought.
[52] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3916559.stm By Zubair Ahmed BBC correspondent in
Maharashtra.
[53]India-IntroductionDrought-proofing India.mht.

20. [54] Famine.mht.
[55] Types of Drought in India.mht.
[56] Welcome to NRSC - Drought1.mht.
[57]Welcome to NRSC - Drought2.mht.
[58] Welcome to NRSC - Drought3.mht.
[59] Welcome to NRSC - Drought4.mht.