India is vulnerable, in varying degrees, to a large number of disasters- both natural and manmade. Over 68% of its cultivable area is vulnerable to droughts; 40 million hectares (12%) of its land is prone to floods and river erosion; close to 5,700 kms, i.e., more than 58.6 per cent of the landmass is prone to earthquakes of moderate to very high intensity; close to 5,700 kms, out of the 7,516 kms long coastline is prone to cyclones and tsunamis; while hilly areas are at risk from landslides and avalanches. More specifically, the recent IMD report on reduction of seasonal and annual precipitation, the increase in land temperatures, and the loss of natural ecosystems indicates towards severe and persistent droughts that can impact water resources, agriculture, forestry, livestock, fisheries, tourism, health sector, changing demographics and socio-economic conditions of people living in drought vulnerable states, which in turn can have grave impacts on India’s economy.
The Manual for Drought Management, 2009 by Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, stated that the drought management system that has been practiced in India since independence is largely a continuation of the systems and schemes instituted during the colonial period. It emphasizes a relief-based approach and provides certain other small concessions, which do little to alleviate the distress caused by widespread crop failure. It did not integrate new technologies for early warning, nor did it emphasize mitigation as an essential element of drought management. Thus, there is a strong need to introduce and institutionalize a new drought management system, which is based on the technological advances and new innovations in crop and water management.
Further, while acknowledging complexities of drought and it varied manifestations across different agro-climatic regions, the new manual prescribes five categories of indices for declaration of drought across six climatic zones, which include rainfall, agriculture, soil moisture, hydrology, and remote sensing (health of crops), are expected to help the state governments make scientific assessment of drought rather than rely on the traditional practice such as "annewari/paisewari /girdawari system of eye estimation and crop cutting experiments”. However, representatives of farmers’ groups and agriculture sector experts say that the revised norms could lead to under-reporting of some droughts, and consequent inability of farmers, especially in drought-prone areas of the country to avail corresponding compensations and concessions.
In 2016, 300 districts (or nearly half of India’s 640 districts) were under the spell of an acute drinking water shortage. As an agrarian economy, India relies heavily on agriculture. There is aggressive irrigation in rural areas where agriculture provides livelihood for over 600 million people. As much of the world has adopted lesser water-intensive crops and sophisticated Page 4 of 31 agricultural techniques, India still uses conventional systems and water-intensive crops. An excessive reliance on monsoons has led to crop failures and farmer suicides in recent years. Water at the nation’s 91 reservoirs was at 25 percent of the total capacity for the week ended April 12, 2018 according to a statement issued by the Union Water Resources Ministry. This level was expected to recede faster than usual with the Indian Meteorological Department forecasting warmer-than-normal temperatures in March to May in various parts of the country. Further, deficient winterrain and lower snowfall in glaciers may affect water availability in northern Indian plains in the summer months (as opined by Mr. M. Rajeevan, Secretary for the Ministry of Earth Sciences).
India is extremely vulnerable to climate change and the impact of rising temperatures. The consequent increase in the frequency and intensity of heat waves is expected to add to the woes of the drought hit communities.
The present situation calls for greater and effective coordination and knowledge sharing between Central, State and District level governments, inter-sectoral expertise (climate, agriculture, water), development sector players, communities and all other stakeholders to build India's resilience to droughts and water scarcity crisis.
The humanitarian community in India is working towards drought response and management among the economically weaker populations in the villages affected by drought in recent years like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, UP, Andra Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Sphere India, as a national coalition of humanitarian agencies in India, is in process to document the Good Practices on Drought Management and Response in India in collaboration with likeminded organizations to promote the culture of local knowledge captured through various local innovative and sustainable practices in disaster risk reduction towards building a drought resilient India.