State of India’s Environment

• India's land area is about 2.4% of the world's total but supports 17.5% of the world's population.
• India holds about 25% of the world's iron-ore reserves.
• India is rich in natural resources: soil, water, forests, fisheries, and minerals.
• Despite this, per capita availability of many resources is low due to population pressure.

• Intensive agriculture, faulty agricultural practices, and deforestation have caused land degradation.
• About 130 million hectares of land is degraded in India.
• Soil erosion causes annual loss of 5.3 to 8.4 million tonnes of nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium).
• Salinisation, water logging, and mining also degrade land.

• Forests are cleared for agriculture, development projects, and human settlement.
• India has lost significant forest cover; remaining forests are often degraded.
• Loss of forests leads to loss of biodiversity, disruption of water cycles, and soil erosion.
• The Chipko/Appiko Movement: A grassroots forest protection movement where villagers, especially women, hugged trees to prevent felling — it expanded to southern India as the Appiko movement.

• India receives significant rainfall but its distribution is uneven (spatial and temporal).
• Rapid industrialisation and urbanisation have led to water pollution.
• Over-extraction of groundwater threatens long-term availability.
• Water bodies are contaminated by industrial effluents, agricultural runoff, and domestic sewage.

• Motor vehicle growth: from approximately 3 lakh vehicles in 1951 to 35 crore vehicles in 2022.
• Two-wheelers and cars form the largest share of total vehicles.
• Vehicles are a major source of urban air pollution.
• Industrial emissions and thermal power plants also contribute to air degradation.
• Indoor air pollution from biomass burning affects rural households.

• Rapid urbanisation generates large volumes of solid waste (municipal, industrial, and hazardous).
• Poor waste management leads to land and water contamination.
• E-waste from electronics is a growing concern.

Pollution Control Boards:

• Both boards operate under the Environment (Protection) Act.
• They monitor air, water, and land pollution and take action against violators.

• Development that meets present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
• India's environmental challenges demand a shift from exploitative to sustainable patterns of resource use.
• Economic growth must be balanced with environmental protection.

• India holds vast natural resources but faces severe pressure from a large population (17.5% of world's population on 2.4% of land).
• About 130 million hectares of land is degraded due to erosion, salinisation, and deforestation.
• Soil erosion causes a loss of 5.3–8.4 million tonnes of nutrients annually.
• Motor vehicles grew from 3 lakh (1951) to 35 crore (2022), making them a leading source of air pollution.
• The Chipko/Appiko Movement was a people's movement to protect forests by physically preventing tree-felling.
• CPCB sets national pollution standards; SPCBs implement them at the state level.
• Sustainable development requires balancing economic growth with environmental conservation for future generations.