Intense solar radiation, lashing winds, and little moisture i.e. less than 10 inches (25 cm) of rainfall create some of the harshest living condition in the biosphere called hot desert. In hot desert ecosystem generally with cloudless skies, the sun quickly heats the desert by day, producing the highest air temperatures (recorded as 57.8º C in Death Valley, California) in the biosphere.
In contrast, the nights are very cold, as the temperature goes down tremendously due to loss of heat into the atmosphere through radiation. There is little water and temperatures vary widely, one may bake during the day and freeze at night.
High temperatures during daytime and persistent winds accelerate water evaporation and transpiration of water vapour from plants. High evapotranspiration and low rainfall is the chief characteristic of desert ecosystem, thus producing sparse perennial vegetation of widely spaced shrubs. The winters are quite cold, temperatures sometimes below freezing point, while heat during summer is intense and scorching. Scarcity of rain fall in deserts ecosystem can be due to high subtropical pressure (Sahara and Australian deserts), geographical position in the rain shadows (western North American deserts) and due to high altitude (Tibetan, Bolivian or Gobi deserts).
Deserts ecosystem cover about 14 percent of the earth’s land and occur mainly near 30º north and south latitude where global air currents create belts of descending dry air. Some desert ecosystem are also produced in the rain shadows of high mountain ranges, leeward slopes that face away from incoming storms and thereby receive little rainfall. Most deserts ecosystem receives some rain during the year and has at least a sparse cover of vegetation.
Annual net primary productivity of true deserts is less than 2000 kg per hectare. The dominant soils of the arid zone are light-textured and devoid of any significant structural development. These are prone to severe wind erosion. Desert ecosystems have very low water retention capacity – with high infiltration rate and low hydraulic conductivity. Water is hardly retained in deserts soil as it is not soaked into the earth, and rushes off in torrents. The moisture in the arid zones is insufficient to support living beings.
But despite such harsh living conditions, desert ecosystem exhibits a spectacular biological diversity. A large number of plant and animal species thrive in the deserts due to their morphological, anatomical, physiological and behavioural adaptations.
Plant Adaptations
Plants have evolved many adaptions for surviving the rigors of the desert. There are three life-forms of plants that are adapted to desert ecosystem: a) ephemeral annuals, b) succulents, and c) desert shrubs.
Ephemeral annuals are also called as ‘drought evaders’ or ‘drought escapers’. They germinate, grow, flower, and release seeds within the brief period (6-8 weeks) when water is available and temperatures are warm. The seeds remain dormant, resisting drought and heat, until the following spring. Seeds wait out adverse environmental conditions, sometimes for decades, and will germinate and grow only when specific requirements are met. With their small size and large shoots in relation to roots, they are well adapted to dry habitats. They escape dryness in both external and internal environments. Desert sunflower and desert marigold complete their life cycles during brief rainy seasons.
The succulent plants suffer from dryness in only external environment. Their succulent, fleshy stems, leaves and roots serve as water storage organs (water storage region is present in these organs) which accumulate large amount of water during brief rainy seasons. Opuntia, Aloe, Euphorbia, Yucca and Agave have mastered the art of enduring in the desert ecosystem by economizing in their expenditures of moisture.
They rely on their waxy coatings, spongy stem and/or leaf tissues, root structures and their night time stomata openings to carefully regulate their water use. At night the temperatures are lower and humidity higher than during the day, so less water is lost through transpiration. Such plants are sometimes called “drought endures”. In Opuntia spp. (Cactus), the stem modified into a thick, fleshy, green, life-like structure called phylloclade which manufacture food by photosynthesis and conserve water. Their leaves modified into spines which retard transpiration, promote dew formation at their tips, protect from insolation and from thirsty animals. The bulk of the tissue consists of large, round, pitted, parenchymatous water-storing cells. The cell sap is mucilaginous which helps in checking evaporation of water. The extensive shallow root systems are usually radial, allowing for the quick acquisition of large quantities of water during the rainy period.
The leaves are fleshy in Aloe spp. with marginal spines and a large water-storing tissue. The succulent Euphorbia spp. has succulent stem which store large quantities of water during rainy season. It contains toxic milky latex that irritates skin and eyes. The stipules become modified into spines. The toxic substances and spines prevent them from predator animals. The Century plant (Agave spp.) has saw-toothed leaves with waxy coatings that render them nearly waterproof and so prevents loss of water.
The leaves of these plants channel rain water to the plant’s base. It also contains toxic chemicals like oxalate crystals and irritating substances that can irritate the skin and mucous membranes and can cause digestive problems in their predator animals. The Joshua tree (Yucca spp.) is a very tough plant. The leaves are stiff and very pointed. The roots become fleshy to store water in Asparagus spp.
The shrub in desert ecosystem or non-succulent perennials suffers from dryness both in their internal as well as external environments. Their morphological and physiological features include rapid elongation and extensive root system, high osmotic pressure and endurance of desiccation, ability to reduce transpiration and reduction in size of leaf blade. Root system is very extensive i.e. more than 30 m long (Alfalfa spp.) to siphon deep groundwater supplies.
There is waxy coating and sunken type of stomata on leaves, which reduces loss of water during transpiration. Desert grasses have rolled and folded leaves so that the sunken stomata become hidden to minimize the rates of transpiration. In desert ecosystem, individual plants are scattered thinly with large bare areas in between. These spacing reduces competition for a scarce resource; otherwise intense competition for water might result in the death or stunting of all of the plants.
The grasses (bunchgrass) in desert ecosystem also grow in isolated tufts. During extremely hot and dry period, the parts of the plants that are above the land may wither and die, but the root systems remain alive. Desert mariposa and desert lily have bulbs that may remain dormant for several years until a deep soaking rain awakens them. The extensive bare ground in desert ecosystem is not necessarily free of plants. Mosses, algae, and lichens may be present which form a stabilizing crust on sands and soils.
Animal Adaptations
Animals of desert ecosystem are much more affected by extremes of temperature than desert plants because the biological processes of animal tissue function properly within a relatively narrow temperature range. Thus, most of the animals in desert ecosystem rely on their behavioural, physiological and structural adaptations to avoid the desert heat and dryness.
The drought evader animals adopt either a short annual life cycle that revolve around the scanty rains or undergo aestivation (e.g. ground squirrel). During aestivation, the breathing, heartbeat and other body activities slowdown, this in turn decreases the need of water. Many lay eggs that survive until the next rains when they hatch in the transient puddles. On the onset of rains, a variety of animal like grasshoppers, butterflies, bees, beetles, and spider’s and more may be seen in the desert ecosystem. Amphibians like spade foot toad dig burrow with the help of its spade-like feet and goes to sleep till the rains arrive. It can undergo aestivation for 8-10 months. The birds make nest and reproduce during the rainy season when there is abundant food.
The drought resistant animals are active and carry their normal function throughout the year. They circumvent aridity and heat through morphological and physiological adaptations or by modifying their feeding and activity patterns. They remain in cool, humid underground burrows during the day time and search for food only at night when temperatures are lower.
Some xerocole rodents of desert ecosystem, that are active in the day periodically seek burrows and passively lose heat through conduction by pressing their bodies against the burrow walls. The desert toad uses a survival strategy similar to that employed by succulent plants. It stores water in its urinary bladder. The reptiles and some insects are pre-adapted to the hot desert ecosystem. They excrete a dry metabolic waste product in the form of uric acid and guanine so that water loss is minimal. They have thick waterproof skin that also minimizes water loss.
Desert spiders, mites and insects secrete a waxy layer over their cuticles. Wax is impermeable to water thus prevents loss of water from their bodies. Mammals as a group are not well adapted to desert life because they excrete urea, which involves the loss of much water.
Most of the mammals of desert ecosystem, like kangaroo rat, the pocket mouse and the jerboa have adapted nocturnal habitat. They seal their burrows by day to keep their chamber moist, and can live throughout year without drinking water. They feed on dry seeds and dry plants even when succulent green plants are available. They remain in burrows during the day, and conserve water by excreting very concentrated urine and by hygroscopic water in their food. Thus, adaptation to the desert ecosystem by these rodents is as much behavioural as physiological. Other desert ecosystem mammals like mule, deer and elk avoid the extreme temperatures of the day by limiting activity hours to dawn and dusk. The wood rats survive in parts of the desert by eating dry food as well as succulent cacti or other plants that store water. Jackrabbits and kit fox have large ears that reduce the need of water evaporation to regulate the body temperature. Their ears release heat during their resting periods in a cool, shady place.
The camel in the desert ecosystem can go for long periods without water because their body tissues can tolerate elevation in body temperature and a degree of dehydration. However, it uses water for temperature regulation. The body temperature of camel drops to 33.8ºC over night and rising to 40.6ºC by day when the animal begins to sweat.
Opposed to popular belief, camels do not store water in their hump. Their hump stores fat which yields water after its metabolic oxidation. The kangaroo rat and jerboa have long legs, which help them in jumping and swift running as well as in lifting the body above the ground and thus reducing direct contact with the hot sand.
Desert Gerbils have hairy soles on their feet which allow them excellent traction on sand. The sand rat feeds on plants that have very salty sap which can be toxic in large quantities. Thus, rats simply retain the water and excrete urine that is about four times as salty as sea water. The desert birds utilize a salt gland to help in the maintenance of water balance. They occasionally drink water from dew or other sources.
Thus, these unique natural habitats (desert) with their incredibly diverse flora and fauna have been home to some of the world’s oldest civilizations. The desert ecosystem in California support about 1200 plant species, 200 species of vertebrate animals and numerous insects and other invertebrates. Therefore, the conception of a desert as an uninhabited wasteland is not correct. Besides, we should always remember that the desert is easily damaged and is very, very slow to recover. Thus, fragile beauty and unique heritage of world’s deserts deserve protection.
Endnote-
The general conception about desert, being uninhabited wasteland is not true. This ecosystem which covers 14 percent of earths land surface is actually reservoir of rich and diverse flora and fauna
Recent Posts
- Items provided through FPS
- The scale of rations
- The price of items distributed through FPS across states.
Petrol in India is cheaper than in countries like Hong Kong, Germany and the UK but costlier than in China, Brazil, Japan, the US, Russia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, a Bank of Baroda Economics Research report showed.
Rising fuel prices in India have led to considerable debate on which government, state or central, should be lowering their taxes to keep prices under control.
The rise in fuel prices is mainly due to the global price of crude oil (raw material for making petrol and diesel) going up. Further, a stronger dollar has added to the cost of crude oil.
Amongst comparable countries (per capita wise), prices in India are higher than those in Vietnam, Kenya, Ukraine, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Venezuela. Countries that are major oil producers have much lower prices.
In the report, the Philippines has a comparable petrol price but has a per capita income higher than India by over 50 per cent.
Countries which have a lower per capita income like Kenya, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Venezuela have much lower prices of petrol and hence are impacted less than India.
“Therefore there is still a strong case for the government to consider lowering the taxes on fuel to protect the interest of the people,” the report argued.
India is the world’s third-biggest oil consuming and importing nation. It imports 85 per cent of its oil needs and so prices retail fuel at import parity rates.
With the global surge in energy prices, the cost of producing petrol, diesel and other petroleum products also went up for oil companies in India.
They raised petrol and diesel prices by Rs 10 a litre in just over a fortnight beginning March 22 but hit a pause button soon after as the move faced criticism and the opposition parties asked the government to cut taxes instead.
India imports most of its oil from a group of countries called the ‘OPEC +’ (i.e, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Russia, etc), which produces 40% of the world’s crude oil.
As they have the power to dictate fuel supply and prices, their decision of limiting the global supply reduces supply in India, thus raising prices
The government charges about 167% tax (excise) on petrol and 129% on diesel as compared to US (20%), UK (62%), Italy and Germany (65%).
The abominable excise duty is 2/3rd of the cost, and the base price, dealer commission and freight form the rest.
Here is an approximate break-up (in Rs):
a)Base Price | 39 |
b)Freight | 0.34 |
c) Price Charged to Dealers = (a+b) | 39.34 |
d) Excise Duty | 40.17 |
e) Dealer Commission | 4.68 |
f) VAT | 25.35 |
g) Retail Selling Price | 109.54 |
Looked closely, much of the cost of petrol and diesel is due to higher tax rate by govt, specifically excise duty.
So the question is why government is not reducing the prices ?
India, being a developing country, it does require gigantic amount of funding for its infrastructure projects as well as welfare schemes.
However, we as a society is yet to be tax-compliant. Many people evade the direct tax and that’s the reason why govt’s hands are tied. Govt. needs the money to fund various programs and at the same time it is not generating enough revenue from direct taxes.
That’s the reason why, govt is bumping up its revenue through higher indirect taxes such as GST or excise duty as in the case of petrol and diesel.
Direct taxes are progressive as it taxes according to an individuals’ income however indirect tax such as excise duty or GST are regressive in the sense that the poorest of the poor and richest of the rich have to pay the same amount.
Does not matter, if you are an auto-driver or owner of a Mercedes, end of the day both pay the same price for petrol/diesel-that’s why it is regressive in nature.
But unlike direct tax where tax evasion is rampant, indirect tax can not be evaded due to their very nature and as long as huge no of Indians keep evading direct taxes, indirect tax such as excise duty will be difficult for the govt to reduce, because it may reduce the revenue and hamper may programs of the govt.
Globally, around 80% of wastewater flows back into the ecosystem without being treated or reused, according to the United Nations.
This can pose a significant environmental and health threat.
In the absence of cost-effective, sustainable, disruptive water management solutions, about 70% of sewage is discharged untreated into India’s water bodies.
A staggering 21% of diseases are caused by contaminated water in India, according to the World Bank, and one in five children die before their fifth birthday because of poor sanitation and hygiene conditions, according to Startup India.
As we confront these public health challenges emerging out of environmental concerns, expanding the scope of public health/environmental engineering science becomes pivotal.
For India to achieve its sustainable development goals of clean water and sanitation and to address the growing demands for water consumption and preservation of both surface water bodies and groundwater resources, it is essential to find and implement innovative ways of treating wastewater.
It is in this context why the specialised cadre of public health engineers, also known as sanitation engineers or environmental engineers, is best suited to provide the growing urban and rural water supply and to manage solid waste and wastewater.
Traditionally, engineering and public health have been understood as different fields.
Currently in India, civil engineering incorporates a course or two on environmental engineering for students to learn about wastewater management as a part of their pre-service and in-service training.
Most often, civil engineers do not have adequate skills to address public health problems. And public health professionals do not have adequate engineering skills.
India aims to supply 55 litres of water per person per day by 2024 under its Jal Jeevan Mission to install functional household tap connections.
The goal of reaching every rural household with functional tap water can be achieved in a sustainable and resilient manner only if the cadre of public health engineers is expanded and strengthened.
In India, public health engineering is executed by the Public Works Department or by health officials.
This differs from international trends. To manage a wastewater treatment plant in Europe, for example, a candidate must specialise in wastewater engineering.
Furthermore, public health engineering should be developed as an interdisciplinary field. Engineers can significantly contribute to public health in defining what is possible, identifying limitations, and shaping workable solutions with a problem-solving approach.
Similarly, public health professionals can contribute to engineering through well-researched understanding of health issues, measured risks and how course correction can be initiated.
Once both meet, a public health engineer can identify a health risk, work on developing concrete solutions such as new health and safety practices or specialised equipment, in order to correct the safety concern..
There is no doubt that the majority of diseases are water-related, transmitted through consumption of contaminated water, vectors breeding in stagnated water, or lack of adequate quantity of good quality water for proper personal hygiene.
Diseases cannot be contained unless we provide good quality and adequate quantity of water. Most of the world’s diseases can be prevented by considering this.
Training our young minds towards creating sustainable water management systems would be the first step.
Currently, institutions like the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) are considering initiating public health engineering as a separate discipline.
To leverage this opportunity even further, India needs to scale up in the same direction.
Consider this hypothetical situation: Rajalakshmi, from a remote Karnataka village spots a business opportunity.
She knows that flowers, discarded in the thousands by temples can be handcrafted into incense sticks.
She wants to find a market for the product and hopefully, employ some people to help her. Soon enough though, she discovers that starting a business is a herculean task for a person like her.
There is a laborious process of rules and regulations to go through, bribes to pay on the way and no actual means to transport her product to its market.
After making her first batch of agarbathis and taking it to Bengaluru by bus, she decides the venture is not easy and gives up.
On the flipside of this is a young entrepreneur in Bengaluru. Let’s call him Deepak. He wants to start an internet-based business selling sustainably made agarbathis.
He has no trouble getting investors and to mobilise supply chains. His paperwork is over in a matter of days and his business is set up quickly and ready to grow.
Never mind that the business is built on aggregation of small sellers who will not see half the profit .
Is this scenario really all that hypothetical or emblematic of how we think about entrepreneurship in India?
Between our national obsession with unicorns on one side and glorifying the person running a pakora stall for survival as an example of viable entrepreneurship on the other, is the middle ground in entrepreneurship—a space that should have seen millions of thriving small and medium businesses, but remains so sparsely occupied that you could almost miss it.
If we are to achieve meaningful economic growth in our country, we need to incorporate, in our national conversation on entrepreneurship, ways of addressing the missing middle.
Spread out across India’s small towns and cities, this is a class of entrepreneurs that have been hit by a triple wave over the last five years, buffeted first by the inadvertent fallout of demonetization, being unprepared for GST, and then by the endless pain of the covid-19 pandemic.
As we finally appear to be reaching some level of normality, now is the opportune time to identify the kind of industries that make up this layer, the opportunities they should be afforded, and the best ways to scale up their functioning in the shortest time frame.
But, why pay so much attention to these industries when we should be celebrating, as we do, our booming startup space?
It is indeed true that India has the third largest number of unicorns in the world now, adding 42 in 2021 alone. Braving all the disruptions of the pandemic, it was a year in which Indian startups raised $24.1 billion in equity investments, according to a NASSCOM-Zinnov report last year.
However, this is a story of lopsided growth.
The cities of Bengaluru, Delhi/NCR, and Mumbai together claim three-fourths of these startup deals while emerging hubs like Ahmedabad, Coimbatore, and Jaipur account for the rest.
This leap in the startup space has created 6.6 lakh direct jobs and a few million indirect jobs. Is that good enough for a country that sends 12 million fresh graduates to its workforce every year?
It doesn’t even make a dent on arguably our biggest unemployment in recent history—in April 2020 when the country shutdown to battle covid-19.
Technology-intensive start-ups are constrained in their ability to create jobs—and hybrid work models and artificial intelligence (AI) have further accelerated unemployment.
What we need to focus on, therefore, is the labour-intensive micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME). Here, we begin to get to a definitional notion of what we called the mundane middle and the problems it currently faces.
India has an estimated 63 million enterprises. But, out of 100 companies, 95 are micro enterprises—employing less than five people, four are small to medium and barely one is large.
The questions to ask are: why are Indian MSMEs failing to grow from micro to small and medium and then be spurred on to make the leap into large companies?
At the Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship (GAME), we have advocated for a National Mission for Mass Entrepreneurship, the need for which is more pronounced now than ever before.
Whenever India has worked to achieve a significant economic milestone in a limited span of time, it has worked best in mission mode. Think of the Green Revolution or Operation Flood.
From across various states, there are enough examples of approaches that work to catalyse mass entrepreneurship.
The introduction of entrepreneurship mindset curriculum (EMC) in schools through alliance mode of working by a number of agencies has shown significant improvement in academic and life outcomes.
Through creative teaching methods, students are encouraged to inculcate 21st century skills like creativity, problem solving, critical thinking and leadership which are not only foundational for entrepreneurship but essential to thrive in our complex world.
Udhyam Learning Foundation has been involved with the Government of Delhi since 2018 to help young people across over 1,000 schools to develop an entrepreneurial mindset.
One pilot programme introduced the concept of ‘seed money’ and saw 41 students turn their ideas into profit-making ventures. Other programmes teach qualities like grit and resourcefulness.
If you think these are isolated examples, consider some larger data trends.
The Observer Research Foundation and The World Economic Forum released the Young India and Work: A Survey of Youth Aspirations in 2018.
When asked which type of work arrangement they prefer, 49% of the youth surveyed said they prefer a job in the public sector.
However, 38% selected self-employment as an entrepreneur as their ideal type of job. The spirit of entrepreneurship is latent and waiting to be unleashed.
The same can be said for building networks of successful women entrepreneurs—so crucial when the participation of women in the Indian economy has declined to an abysmal 20%.
The majority of India’s 63 million firms are informal —fewer than 20% are registered for GST.
Research shows that companies that start out as formal enterprises become two-three times more productive than a similar informal business.
So why do firms prefer to be informal? In most cases, it’s because of the sheer cost and difficulty of complying with the different regulations.
We have academia and non-profits working as ecosystem enablers providing insights and evidence-based models for growth. We have large private corporations and philanthropic and funding agencies ready to invest.
It should be in the scope of a National Mass Entrepreneurship Mission to bring all of them together to work in mission mode so that the gap between thought leadership and action can finally be bridged.
Heat wave is a condition of air temperature which becomes fatal to human body when exposed. Often times, it is defined based on the temperature thresholds over a region in terms of actual temperature or its departure from normal.
Heat wave is considered if maximum temperature of a station reaches at least 400C or more for Plains and at least 300C or more for Hilly regions.
a) Based on Departure from Normal
Heat Wave: Departure from normal is 4.50C to 6.40C
Severe Heat Wave: Departure from normal is >6.40C
b) Based on Actual Maximum Temperature
Heat Wave: When actual maximum temperature ≥ 450C
Severe Heat Wave: When actual maximum temperature ≥470C
If above criteria met at least in 2 stations in a Meteorological sub-division for at least two consecutive days and it declared on the second day
It is occurring mainly during March to June and in some rare cases even in July. The peak month of the heat wave over India is May.
Heat wave generally occurs over plains of northwest India, Central, East & north Peninsular India during March to June.
It covers Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, parts of Maharashtra & Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telengana.
Sometimes it occurs over Tamilnadu & Kerala also.
Heat waves adversely affect human and animal lives.
However, maximum temperatures more than 45°C observed mainly over Rajasthan and Vidarbha region in month of May.
a. Transportation / Prevalence of hot dry air over a region (There should be a region of warm dry air and appropriate flow pattern for transporting hot air over the region).
b. Absence of moisture in the upper atmosphere (As the presence of moisture restricts the temperature rise).
c. The sky should be practically cloudless (To allow maximum insulation over the region).
d. Large amplitude anti-cyclonic flow over the area.
Heat waves generally develop over Northwest India and spread gradually eastwards & southwards but not westwards (since the prevailing winds during the season are westerly to northwesterly).
The health impacts of Heat Waves typically involve dehydration, heat cramps, heat exhaustion and/or heat stroke. The signs and symptoms are as follows:
1. Heat Cramps: Ederna (swelling) and Syncope (Fainting) generally accompanied by fever below 39*C i.e.102*F.
2. Heat Exhaustion: Fatigue, weakness, dizziness, headache, nausea, vomiting, muscle cramps and sweating.
3. Heat Stoke: Body temperatures of 40*C i.e. 104*F or more along with delirium, seizures or coma. This is a potential fatal condition.
Norman Borlaug and MS Swaminathan in a wheat field in north India in March 1964
Political independence does not have much meaning without economic independence.
One of the important indicators of economic independence is self-sufficiency in food grain production.
The overall food grain scenario in India has undergone a drastic transformation in the last 75 years.
India was a food-deficit country on the eve of Independence. It had to import foodgrains to feed its people.
The situation became more acute during the 1960s. The imported food had to be sent to households within the shortest possible time.
The situation was referred to as ‘ship to mouth’.
Presently, Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns are overflowing with food grain stocks and the Union government is unable to ensure remunerative price to the farmers for their produce.
This transformation, however, was not smooth.
In the 1960s, it was disgraceful, but unavoidable for the Prime Minister of India to go to foreign countries with a begging bowl.
To avoid such situations, the government motivated agricultural scientists to make India self-sufficient in food grain production.
As a result, high-yield varieties (HYV) were developed. The combination of seeds, water and fertiliser gave a boost to food grain production in the country which is generally referred to as the Green Revolution.
The impact of the Green Revolution, however, was confined to a few areas like Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh in the north and (unified) Andhra Pradesh in the south.
Most of the remaining areas were deficit in food grain production.
Therefore the Union government had to procure food grain from surplus states to distribute it among deficit ones.
At the time, farmers in the surplus states viewed procurement as a tax as they were prevented from selling their surplus foodgrains at high prices in the deficit states.
As production of food grains increased, there was decentralisation of procurement. State governments were permitted to procure grain to meet their requirement.
The distribution of food grains was left to the concerned state governments.
Kerala, for instance, was totally a deficit state and had to adopt a distribution policy which was almost universal in nature.
Some states adopted a vigorous public distribution system (PDS) policy.
It is not out of place to narrate an interesting incident regarding food grain distribution in Andhra Pradesh. The Government of Andhra Pradesh in the early 1980s implemented a highly subsidised rice scheme under which poor households were given five kilograms of rice per person per month, subject to a ceiling of 25 kilograms at Rs 2 per kg. The state government required two million tonnes of rice to implement the scheme. But it received only on one million tonne from the Union government.
The state government had to purchase another million tonne of rice from rice millers in the state at a negotiated price, which was higher than the procurement price offered by the Centre, but lower than the open market price.
A large number of studies have revealed that many poor households have been excluded from the PDS network, while many undeserving households have managed to get benefits from it.
Various policy measures have been implemented to streamline PDS. A revamped PDS was introduced in 1992 to make food grain easily accessible to people in tribal and hilly areas, by providing relatively higher subsidies.
Targeted PDS was launched in 1997 to focus on households below the poverty line (BPL).
Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) was introduced to cover the poorest of the poor.
Annapoorna Scheme was introduced in 2001 to distribute 10 kg of food grains free of cost to destitutes above the age of 65 years.
In 2013, the National Food Security Act (NFSA) was passed by Parliament to expand and legalise the entitlement.
Conventionally, a card holder has to go to a particular fair price shop (FPS) and that particular shop has to be open when s/he visits it. Stock must be available in the shop. The card holder should also have sufficient time to stand in the queue to purchase his quota. The card holder has to put with rough treatment at the hands of a FPS dealer.
These problems do not exist once ration cards become smart cards. A card holder can go to any shop which is open and has available stocks. In short, the scheme has become card holder-friendly and curbed the monopoly power of the FPS dealer. Some states other than Chhattisgarh are also trying to introduce such a scheme on an experimental basis.
More recently, the Government of India has introduced a scheme called ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ which enables migrant labourers to purchase rations from the place where they reside. In August 2021, it was operational in 34 states and Union territories.
The intentions of the scheme are good but there are some hurdles in its implementation which need to be addressed. These problems arise on account of variation in:
It is not clear whether a migrant labourer gets items provided in his/her native state or those in the state s/he has migrated to and what prices will s/he be able to purchase them.
The Centre must learn lessons from the experiences of different countries in order to make PDS sustainable in the long-run.
For instance, Sri Lanka recently shifted to organic manure from chemical fertiliser without required planning. Consequently, it had to face an acute food shortage due to a shortage of organic manure.
Some analysts have cautioned against excessive dependence on chemical fertiliser.
Phosphorus is an important input in the production of chemical fertiliser and about 70-80 per cent of known resources of phosphorus are available only in Morocco.
There is possibility that Morocco may manipulate the price of phosphorus.
Providing excessive subsidies and unemployment relief may make people dependent, as in the case of Venezuela and Zimbabwe.
It is better to teach a person how to catch a fish rather than give free fish to him / her.
Hence, the government should give the right amount of subsidy to deserving people.
The government has to increase livestock as in the case of Uruguay to make the food basket broad-based and nutritious. It has to see to it that the organic content in the soil is adequate, in order to make cultivation environmentally-friendly and sustainable in the long-run.
In short, India has transformed from a food-deficit state to a food-surplus one 75 years after independence. However, the government must adopt environmental-friendly measures to sustain this achievement.