Lok Sabha Question No. 4190 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-27
Subject: Impact of Heat Waves
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: S. Jothimani

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO: 4190

TO BE ANSWERED ON 27.03.2023

## Impact of Heat Waves

## 4190:   MS. S. JOTHIMANI:

Will the MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:

- (a) the  steps  the  Government  has  taken  to  raise  public  awareness  on  the  impact  of  rising temperatures(particularly heat waves) on health, the environment and the economy, along with details of expenditure incurred by the Ministry and its Offices on such campaigns;
- (b) details  of  investments  made  by  the  Government  on  the  research  and  development  of efficient  irrigation  systems,  better  rainwater  harvesting  techniques  and technologies for recycling of water, along with incentives being provided by the Government to farmers and households to adopt such technologies; and
- (c) the  support  the  Government  provide  to  startups,  particularly  rural  startups,  aimed  at combating the ill-effects of heat waves on agriculture and health?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

(a) India's climate actions cut across various sectors and are being implemented through various programs  and  schemes  of  different  Union  Ministries,  Departments  and  State/  Union  Territory Governments.    The  Government  of  India  through  concerned  Ministries  and  Departments organises  workshops,  exhibitions,  campaigns,  competitions,  etc.  to  raise  public  awareness  on issues  related  to  environment  sustainability  and  climate  change.  Mission  LiFE  (Lifestyle  for Environment) has been launched to promote sustainable lifestyles and practices that conserve the environment and have climate co-benefits. This Ministry is also implementing the Environment Education Programme (EEP) with an objective to sensitize children/youth, on issues related to environment and to motivate them to adopt sustainable lifestyles. An amount of Rupees 50.07 crores was spent by this Ministry under the Environmental Education, Awareness and Training scheme in FY 2021-22.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has taken steps to increase public awareness on the subject  of  health  impacts  of  climate  change  including  heat  waves,  under  the  'National Programme on Climate  Change  and  Human  Health'.  Heat  wave  is  one  of  the  severe  weather phenomena for which India Meteorological Department (IMD) issues colour coded impact based heat wave warning for public benefit through mass media. IMD in collaboration with local health departments have started heat action plans in many parts of the country to forewarn about heat waves  and  also  advising  action  to  be  taken.  The  National  Disaster  Management  Authoirty (NDMA) and IMD are working with 23 States prone to high temperature leading to heat-wave conditions for supporting heat action plans.

(b)  Water Technology Initiative (WTI) has shaped and mounted several research-led solutions through National, International, and coordinated projects for water management and conservation which includes exploring the Agri-Water nexus. Varied projects in this area include groundwater recharge systems and integrated use of drip irrigation systems for enhancing crop productivity,  sensors  for  monitoring  of  water  balance  components,  solar  green  house  based hydroponic  solutions,  river  bank  filtration  technologies,  rainwater  harvesting,  etc.  under  the Indo-Dutch bilateral cooperation. Further, WTI has also supported two Water Innovation Centres (WIC) in Jodhpur and Ludhiana for the Agri-Water interdisciplinary research and development for  convergent  solutions.  Technological  approaches  have  been  adopted  by  Department  of Science and Technology for conservation of water through water efficient agricultural practices; augmentation  of  quality  of  water  from  available  and  accessible  sources;  and  renovation  for recycle.

The  Ministry  of  Agriculture  and  Farmers  Welfare  is  implementing  Per  Drop  More  Crop (PDMC)scheme, which focuses on enhancing water use efficiency at farm level through micro irrigation viz. drip and  sprinkler irrigation  systems.  The  Government  provides  financial assistance/subsidy to farmers for encouraging them to install drip and sprinkler irrigation systems under the PDMC scheme. Farmers are encouraged to take advantage of the PDMC scheme by wide  publicity  through  press  &  print  media,  publication  of  leaflets/booklets,  organization  of workshops, exhibitions, farmer fairs, information on State/Government of India web portals etc. Besides,  with  the  objective  of  facilitating  the  States  in  mobilising  resources  for  expanding coverage of micro irrigation, Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF) has been created with National Bank for  Agriculture  and  Rural  Development (NABARD). The objective of the fund is to facilitate States in mobilizing resources for expanding coverage of micro irrigation by taking up special and  innovative  projects  and  also  for  incentivising  micro  irrigation  beyond  the  provisions available  under  PDMC  scheme  to  encourage  farmers  to  install  micro  irrigation  systems.  In addition, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) imparts training and organizes field demonstrations  through  Krishi  Vigyan  Kendras  (KVKs)  to  educate  farmers  for  promotion  of efficient irrigation techniques/ micro irrigation for various crops.

(c)The  Government  with  an  intent  to  build  a  strong  ecosystem  for  nurturing  innovation  and startups in the country has launched 'Startup India initiative'. The action plan for 'Startup India' has  laid  the  foundation  of  Government  support,  schemes  and  incentives  envisaged  to  create  a vibrant startup ecosystem in the country. The action plan comprises of 19 action items spanning across  areas  such  as  'Simplification  and  handholding',  'Funding  support  and  incentives'  and 'Industry- academia partnership and incubation'.  The Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) under Startup India initiative provides financial assistance to startups across the country for proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry and commercialization.