10 Comments

Dear Anil,

An excellant article on significance and contribution of environment to economic development .The rising population of developing countries and the affluent consumption and production standards of developed world have placed a huge stress on enviornment. Many resources have become extinct and the wastes generated are beyond the absorptive capacity of the earth.The industrial development has polluted and dried up rivers and other water bodies making water an economic good.

The developmental activities in India have resulted in pressure on its natural resources. Air pollution , water contamination, soil erosion,deforestation, changes in monsoon pattern , wildlife extinction are some of the most pressing environmental concerns of India.India supports around 17 % of worlds population and 20% of livestock population on a mere 2.5% of worlds geographical area. Global Warming and depletion of ozone layer are the challenges which need to be tackled at a global level to attain the Sustainable Development goals.

Satyen Chawla has captured the raw beauty of Varandha Ghats beautifully .

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Dear Vandana, Thank you for your kind remarks and also for widening the scope of the debate. Absolutely, the picture was beautiful. Best. Anil

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Anil, that was a great article. I deal with climate change, environment, sustainability & related stuff, and found the science behind the research you did extremely relevant. You are so right; it's the spatial and temporal variations that make the heterogeneity in the distribution and patterns of precipitation so disruptive for the economy at large. The increasing frequency of the "extreme climate events" (yes, that's the terminology used by the scientists) ought to have made the policy makers more proactive than what it is. But these things are never easy; so, fingers crossed !

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Dear Dr Mazumdar, Thank you for your kind remarks. Feel chuffed as they come from a domain expert. Agree with you absolutely. Policy needs to be proactive and not reactive, especially to campaigns. Best. Anil

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An important article considering the number of families dependent on agriculture for a living. The sowing of the crop has to be timed with the arrival of the monsoon. So prior knowledge of trends is crucial. If required consultancy services from the best should be employed by the State and Central government. Not only will the farmers be benefitted but also the government will be spared from writing off loans and providing relief for crop faluire. Food security is part of national security. Definitely science has progressed enough to trace out a logical and predictable pattern. On target as usual Anil, considering the agricultural data will be out soon.

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Dear Gautam, Thank you so much for your comments and kind words. Much appreciated. Actually a lot of start-ups are doing some great work at the grassroots. But all of them have to step on egg shells given the politically sensitivity nature of the agriculture constituency. But at a policy level there has to be a greater transparency on their thoughts. At the moment we do not know whether they are aware of the problem in the first place. At the same time institutions like the Parliament need to initiate a national debate on this--unfortunately they are caught up in a political slugfest. So fingers crossed. Best. Anil

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A well written article about a relevant topic. The article throws light on the change the changes which are being noticed slowly by more and more people.

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Thank you Ashu. Best. Anil

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Hi Anil. Since few years anecdotally one felt that there was 1 or 2 weeks time shift on the monsoon period. Though am surprised that there is not much research on this phenomenon. International private agencies keep a good track of everything monsoon as they professionally provide paid analysis of crop patterns to large companies dependent on agri products as RM or as a market. Maybe there is some research there.

In any case your highlighting the need to shift the paradigm is very timely.

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Dear Nimesh, thank you for your response. Maybe there is research. Like the case of sulochana gadgil one had cited I am sure some research must be going on. Institutions like IMD have but recently started opening up to the public. Guess it will take some getting used to. Till then 🤞. Best. Anil

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