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Wheat yield in India is projected to reduce by 6-25 per cent in 2100 and maize yield by 18-23 per cent, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, minister of state in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, told the Lok Sabha.
Rainfed rice yields in India are projected to reduce marginally (less than 2.5 per cent) in 2050 and irrigated rice yields by seven per cent in 2050 and 10 per cent in 2080 scenarios. The minister cited National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture’s (NICRA) assessment while responding to a question.
The impacts of climate change on agriculture and other sectors are being assessed by the relevant ministries from time to time, Choubey claimed.
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research initiated a network project, NICRA, in 2011 to study and address the impacts of climate change on agriculture. However, climate change is likely to benefit chickpeas with an increase in productivity (23-54 per cent).
Further, a number of research and development projects have been supported under the national missions to assess the impact of climate change on coastal vulnerability, health, agriculture and water, Choubey added.
The Central and state governments are closely coordinating with all the agencies concerned to mitigate the effect of land subsidence in Joshimath, Choubey told Lok Sabha.
Due to land subsidence, many structures have been reported to have moderate to major damages. Cracks have been observed in 863 buildings and after considering people’s safety, 296 families with 995 members have been shifted to safer places, as reported by the state government, he added.
The Uttarakhand government has issued orders for paying Rs 100,000 as an advance for rehabilitation and Rs 50,000 as displacement allowance to each affected family.
For this purpose, Rs 45 crore have been released. As of January 30, 2023, it is reported that a total of 235 affected families have been distributed Rs 3.50 crore as relief assistance, he said.
The state government has arranged temporary accommodation for the affected families, for which Rs 950 per room per day and Rs 450 per person for meals are being provided.
For those not availing of these temporary accommodations, an allowance of Rs 5,000 per month is being provided to affected families for six months. Free medical check-ups and free medicines are also being provided to the affected people in the relief camps, Choubey said.
In India, the data on the class distribution of income is not compiled centrally. However, household consumption expenditure data collected by National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) could be used to capture the economic disparity in terms of consumption expenditure, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the Lok Sabha.
NSSO has collected the latest data on household consumer expenditure in its 68th round, conducted in 2011-12.
The Gini coefficient (index measuring the inequality between different expenditure classes of the population) in rural areas is almost the same in 2004-05 and 2011-12 at 0.27 and 0.28, respectively. In the urban areas, the coefficient increased marginally to 0.37 in 2011-12 from 0.35 in 2004-05.
As of 2015, there were more than 8.7 million end-of-life vehicles, and this would increase to 21.8 million by 2025, Choubey told Lok Sabha, citing a 2016 study.
The government is implementing the new Pollution under Control Certificate regime in compliance with the Central Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Rules, 2021, he added.
Rs 14,084.72 crore has been released for the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) from 2014-15 till January 31, 2023, Bishweswar Tudu, minister of state for Jal Shakti (water resources), told the Rajya Sabha.
Of this, Rs 13,607.18 crore has been released by NMCG to state governments, state missions for Clean Ganga and other agencies for implementing projects related to Ganga rejuvenation, Tudu added.
Namami Ganga Programme was launched in June 2014 for a period up to March 31, 2021, to rejuvenate the Ganga and its tributaries. The Programme is extended up to March 31, 2026.
The Roadmap for Ethanol Blending in India 2020-25 has projected a reduction of carbon monoxide emissions by about 50 per cent in two-wheelers and about 30 per cent in four-wheelers by using E20 (20 per cent ethanol blending in petrol) compared to E0 (neat petrol).
Hydrocarbon emissions are estimated to reduce by 20 per cent in both two-wheelers and cars, Rameswar Teli, minister of state in the ministry of petroleum and natural gas, told the Rajya Sabha.