Lok Sabha Question No. 6477 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-04-06
Subject: Knowledge of Taxonomy
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: POONAM  MAHAJAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO 6477

TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.04.2018

## Knowledge of Taxonomy

## 6477. SHRIMATI POONAM MAHAJAN:

Will  the  Minister  of  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND  CLIMATE  CHANGE  be  pleased  to state:

- (a) whether the Government is aware that the knowledge of taxonomy is deteriorating fast in the country due to lack of trained manpower;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;
- (c) the sanctioned strength of the manpower position in the Botanical Survey of India and the number of vacant posts in all categories of taxonomy staff; and
- (d) the  action  taken  by  the  Government  to  augment  the  number  of  taxonomists  in  order  to meet an enormous task of documenting the plant and animal resources of the country?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (DR. MAHESH SHARMA)

(a) &  (b)  Yes.  Taxonomy  plays  a  vital  role  in  understanding  the  biodiversity  of  any geographic  region  in  general  and  plant  diversity  in  particular.  However,  this  traditional science is on the verge of extinction. In India, taxonomy is neglected at school, colleges and at university level too. It is mainly due to lack of interest among students in the discipline and significantly lower career prospects. In fact, even at research level, the funds allotted for taxonomic research are meagre, and there are only a very few organisations like BSI and ZSI doing exclusive research in taxonomy and systematics in India.

The  science  of  taxonomy  has  been  declining  for  several  years  now,  with  very  few qualified practicing taxonomists and teachers in lndia. ln 1999 the Ministry of Environment, Forests  and  Climate  Change  launched  an  All  lndia  Coordinated  Project  on  Capacity Building in Taxonomy which has trained several students in various groups of plants like Algae,  Fungi,  Lichens,  Bryophytes,  gymnosperms  and  some  families  of flowering  plants. But, the full cataloguing of diversity of life in lndia is far from complete.

The mission of the  AICOPTAX  is "Enhancement of country's capabilities for inventorying,  monitoring,  conserving,  community  participation  in  the  assessment  and utilizing  biodiversity  as  well  as  for  establishing  leadership  in  the  field  of  taxonomy  at regional  and  global  levels  -also  survey,  collection  and  maintenance  of  collections  of taxonomic  groups  including  microbes  for  which  no  information  is  available.  Out  of  30 identified  thematic  areas,  l5  have  been  implemented  so  far,  and  the  investigation  under AICOPTAX in the balance 15 thematic areas is under progress.

BSI  &  ZSI  are  the  implementing  agencies  for  the  scheme  and  are  responsible  for achieving quality milestones of the scheme.

(c)  The sanctioned Strength of the manpower position in the BSI and the number of vacant post in all categories of Taxonomy staff (as on 01.01.2018):

| Post       | Group-A             | Group-A          | Group-A   | Group-B             | Group-B          | Group-B   | Group-B             | Group-B          | Group-B   | Goup-C              | Goup-C           | Goup-C   |
|------------|---------------------|------------------|-----------|---------------------|------------------|-----------|---------------------|------------------|-----------|---------------------|------------------|----------|
|            | Sanctioned Strength | Main in position | Vacancy   | Sanctioned Strength | Main in position | Vacancy   | Sanctioned Strength | Main in position | Vacancy   | Sanctioned Strength | Main in position | Vacancy  |
| Scientific | 109                 | 81               | 28        | 46                  | 20               | 26        | 96                  | 59               | 37        | 124                 | 42               | 82       |
| Technical  | 1                   | 0                | 1         | 5                   | 2                | 3         | 30                  | 15               | 15        | 33                  | 13               | 20       |
| Total      | 110                 | 81               | 29        | 51                  | 22               | 29        | 126                 | 74               | 52        | 157                 | 55               | 102      |

## Total Strength: 110+51+126+157 (444); Total Man in Position: 81+22+74+55 (232)

(d)  This  Ministry  has  implemented  the  following  programmes  to  revamp  taxonomy  in  India. These are:

-  ALL IINDIA CO-ORDINATED PROJECT IN TAXONOMY to encourage the priority gap areas (e.g. virus, bacteria, microlepidoptera, etc.) in the field of taxonomy, education and training (fellowships, scholarships, chairs, career awards, etc.) and strengthening of BSI and ZSI as the coordinating unit
-  Green Skilled development programme (GSDP) on Taxonomy
-  Flora India Project in Taxonomy
-  Post Doctorate Fellowship Project in Taxonomy
-  MoU signed between BSI & Natural History Museum, London, UK for Scientific exchange on faunal Taxonomy
-  Training and capacity building in lesser-known taxa through national and international collaborations.
-  Awarding  of  Doctoral  and  Post-Doctoral  Fellowships  for  taxonomic  and  ecological studies in lesser-known taxa.
-  Updating the database on taxonomists of India and developing a network of taxonomists and institutions.

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