Groundwater depletion in India worst in world ( GnY , Geography , GS paper 1 ,prelims)

Groundwater depletion in India worst in world (  GnY , Geography , GS paper 1 ,prelims) Posted: 24 Jun 2015 12:48 AM PDT  Groundwater is disappearing fast from the world and India is among the worst hit, shows data from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites. Among the world's largest groundwater basins, the Indus Basin aquifer of India and Pakistan, which is a source of fresh water for millions of people, is the second-most overstressed with no natural replenishment to offset usage, said two new studies led by the University of California - Irvine (UCI), using data from GRACE satellites. About a third of the Earth's largest groundwater basins are being rapidly depleted by human consumption, the studies said. Groundwater aquifers are typically located in soils or deeper rock layers beneath the Earth's surface. The most overburdened aquifers are in the world's driest areas, where populations draw heavily on underground water. Climate change and population growth are expected to intensify the problem, the researchers warned. "What happens when a highly stressed aquifer is located in a region with socioeconomic or political tensions that can't supplement declining water supplies fast enough?" asked Alexandra Richey, the lead author on both studies, who conducted the research as a UCI doctoral student. "We are trying to raise red flags now to pinpoint where active management today could protect future lives and livelihoods," Richey said. The Arabian Aquifer System, an important water source for more than 60 million people, is the most overstressed in the world, the findings showed. The studies are the first to comprehensively characterise global groundwater losses with data from space, using readings generated by NASA's twin GRACE satellites. GRACE measures dips and bumps in the Earth's gravity, which are affected by the mass of water. In the first paper, researchers found that 13 of the planet's 37 largest aquifers studied between 2003 and 2013 were being depleted while receiving little to no recharge. Eight were classified as "over stressed", with nearly no natural replenishment to offset usage. Another five were found to be "extremely" or "highly" stressed, depending upon the level of replenishment in each. Those aquifers were still being depleted but had some water flowing back into them. "Given how quickly we are consuming the world's groundwater reserves, we need a coordinated global effort to determine how much is left," principal investigator Jay Famiglietti, who is also the senior water scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said. The findings appeared in the journal Water Resources Research.

Adequate Empowerment of the Services and Financial Oversight Yet to be Achieved( IDSA ,Defence organisation , GS paper 3 ) Posted: 24 Jun 2015 12:44 AM PDT With effect from 1 May 2015, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has instituted a set of enhanced delegated financial powers to the three Services, Integrated Defence Staff and its attached establishments, Coast Guard and the Armed Forces` Medical Services. In addition, the MoD has issued guidelines for the exercise of these powers, inter alia specifying an internal audit structure, to apparently enable the judicious exercise of the delegated powers and in a quicker time-frame. The internal finance mechanism is also proposed to be made more involved with planning and resource management, i.e. budgeting. An internal financial advisory system  [though the nomenclature used in the Indian defenceset-up is  of Integrated Financial Advisers (IFAs)], starting from principal integrated financial advisers with the Services` Headquarters and similar advisers at lower echelons of the Services, is supposed to be a key element to assist the executive authorities, i.e., the competent financial authorities, in resource deployment and expenditure management related to the national defence effort.     Since 2006, there has been a substantial enhancement of delegated powers to the Services. Broadly, the enhanced power varies from two to two-and-a-half times for stores/equipment procurement for the Army along with escalation for similar transactions of the Navy and Air Force. There are, however, a few variations. For the victualling stores of the Navy, the present powers delegated at the highest threshold to the Chief of Logistics (COL) is Rs. 100 crore and up to Rs. 3 crore per transaction to the Vice Chief of Naval Staff, respectively, to procure such stores with IFA concurrence. A change effected is that in case of some transactions, the functionaries responsible for provisioning have been empowered as against the earlier pattern wherein officers performing staff functions or in the policy formulation domain were primarily the higher expenditure sanctioning authorities. This change is welcome to the extent that those involved with programme execution and service or maintenance functions would also be responsible for the budgets and expenditure sanctions, albeit in consultation with their IFAs. (One exception is the power of sanctioning works, i.e., for accepting necessity and according administrative approval, which is vested with Service Chiefs for Rs. 50 crore per project/work.)     The framework of the delegation now formalised through the relevant government letters issued on 20 April 2015 is a shade different from those which obtained in previous years. The emphasis on internal audit through an Audit Advisory Committee (AAC) under the financial adviser of MoD, as part of an oversight mechanism for risk management, etc., conveyed through the government letters of delegation, may appear to be a new phenomenon. This is, however, not so. Internal audit always had an inherent sanctified role in defence transactions. For various reasons and circumstances, this role could not be effectively exercised by the designated internal audit authority, i.e., controller general of defence accounts. There has been inhibition on the part of the Services towards allowing the entire gamut of their transactions being made susceptible to internal audit. The reasons cited were: sensitivity of the transactions, wherewithal not being available with the Services` executives to facilitate the audit as for instance in border areas, etc. A glaring instance of defence transactions put beyond the pale of audit is the prevailing “war system of accounting”, wherein audit cannot verify the correctness of consumption of stores of a large number of units and formations in THE northern and eastern sectors. The new delegation of financial powers does not address this shortcoming. In fact, the Comptroller & Auditor General of India (C&AG) has refused to statutorily certify from the audit angle the accounts related to Defence Services Estimates on the premise that internal audit by  the controller general of defence accounts has not been exercised vis-à-vis such Service units and formations.     Furthermore, it is not clear as to why it should be necessary to have annual audit plans, review by an AAC, etc. Internal audit is inherently built into the role of integrated finance of MoD and its connected set-up, i.e., the set-up of financial adviser of defence services and its attached arm – the office of controller general of Defence Accounts, and the latter`s subordinate offices spread throughout the country. The statutory rules of Government of India are clear on the ambit of internal audit in all spheres of governance – civil or military, and it should not have been necessary to put in place a structured mechanism such as AAC, etc. Experience shows that, in the Indian context, more structures only lead to more bureaucratisation and delays in decisive action. MoD should have ensured that the internal audit reports of the controller general of defence accounts, with concomitant appraisal notes, on functional areas of high financial risk, regulatory violation, transactions which failed to achieve desired outcomes and also areas where internal audit was constricted or not allowed by circumstances or deliberate design, are mandated to be placed before Parliament and the Standing Committee on Defence along with the detailed demand for grants of the Ministry, instead of being considered only as an input to the finance division of MoD as appears to be the case at present.     Another fundamental issue, the financial empowerment of the Services by making them responsible for the policies and programmes they formulate, working out the resources they need, and their implementation in the most judicious and economic manner, does not seem to have been addressed. The Services, therefore, are not de facto responsible for the budget provisions allocated to them, object and programme-wise. Apart from budget-related decisions, the major extent of both Revenue and Capital expenditure powers continue to remain vested in the MoD. While this legacy situation prevails, the Services also are not enthusiastic about involving their internal finance, i.e., their IFAs, in the budget formulation process. It is only in budget monitoring to an extent, and too limitedly without having any role in re-adjustment and re-appropriation of funds at budgetary landmark stages like `Revised Estimates` and `Final Estimates`,  that these advisers are associated by the Services. To compound the situation, MoD Finance, i.e., the integrated finance division of this Ministry – which works out the final budget requirement and obtains the Defence Secretary`s/Raksha Mantri`s approval before referring to the Union Finance Ministry for subsuming the Defence Ministry`s requirement in the Union Budget – does not obtain any significant institutionalized input from the Services` HQs` integrated financial advisers in the matter. In the light of the above-indicated arrangements and institutional framework, responsibility will continue to remain diffuse in finance matters between the MoD and the Services` HQs. Comprehensive Parliamentary oversight of the Services` resource management is also likely to be affected. The institution of the C&AG and their audit mechanism, the audit reports they generate, for Parliamentary scrutiny in general and in detail through the Public Accounts Committee, remain consequently the only effective means of financial oversight. The Union Government may seriously consider comprehensive and effective empowerment of the Services, with internal finance involved at all stages, on par with the system prevailing in the Civil realm and within the ambit of existing statutory rules, without any special dispensation for the Services. Though the creation of Chief of Defence Staff institution may facilitate single-point coordination of advice on operational matters to the political executive, this by itself will not be sufficient for optimization of the national defence effort. Instead, a move towards converting the Services` HQs as departments of the government within the scope of Allocation of Business Rules, and with responsibility to Parliament for obtaining Defence  appropriations, etc., may be in the long-term interests of the country. Within such a structure, the Services will be measurably empowered, Parliamentary oversight will be more effective, and internal audit by the controller general of defence accounts and statutory audit of C&AG can function as part of a continuum.

Book says climate change will affect global food security and trade (Climate Change ,GS paper 3 ,DTE) In several regions of the world, water scarcity will reduce the capacity to grow crops Warmer, drier conditions nearer the equator may reduce crop production while moderate warming may, at least for a short-term, benefit yields further away, the book says (Credit: Vikas Choudhary) Global warming will have a profound impact on food production worldwide, leading to a reduction in the nutritional properties of some major crops, according to a new book. The book, Climate Change and Food Systems, contains the findings of researchers, who have studied the impact of climate change on agriculture at both regional as well as global levels. Threat to nutrition, health and water The book underlines the potential impact climate change can have on health and nutrition. A higher concentration of carbon dioxide—the primary greenhouse gas emitted through human activities—lowers the amount of zinc, iron and protein and raises the starch and sugar content in wheat and rice. The nutrition and health implications of this can be great, the book says. In India, where up to a third of the rural population is at risk of not meeting protein requirements, the higher protein deficit from non-legume food crops can have serious health consequences. “As temperatures rise and water becomes scarce, wheat yields in developing countries are expected to fall by 13 per cent and rice by 15 per cent by 2050. The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) estimates that production of potato, banana and other cash crops will slump. Several studies points to a bleak scenario in the years ahead. However, other studies show that yields should be able to increase with more carbon dioxide available in the atmosphere (as it) would help to make more carbohydrates,” Devinder Sharma, food and agriculture policy analyst at FAO India, said. Though this may be true, the combined effect of falling water tables and acute weather aberrations will surely lead to a decline in production, he added. “In a country which is largely vegetarian, much of the protein intake is through pulses (and) non-legume crops. Any reduction in the nutritional levels in these crops is sure to hit the nutritional intake of the Indian population. Given the fact that India already has the largest population affected by malnutrition and under-nutrition, climate change will pose a much serious problem in the years to come,” Sharma said. The book also shows how in several regions across the world, water scarcity due to climate change will reduce the capacity to produce food. It cites recent research that has assessed the global impact of diet change on both irrigated and rain-fed water consumption patterns. Some results suggest that reducing animal products in diet offers the potential to save water resources to a large extent. Pressure on agriculture According to the authors, the global demand for agricultural commodities is increasing with the rise in population and income levels. Agriculture depends on local weather conditions and is expected to be sensitive to climate change in the future, the book says. Warmer, drier conditions near the equator are likely to reduce crop production while moderate warming may, at least for a short-term, benefit yields further away. “Climate change is likely to exacerbate growing global inequality as the brunt of the negative climate effects is expected to fall on those countries that are least developed and most vulnerable,” said editor Aziz Elbehri of FAO’s Trade and Markets Division. However, Sharma begs to differ here. “Although it is being projected that developing countries would be the worst hit, I think the worst impact would be on rich and developed countries. Several studies have shown that developed countries, especially in North America and parts of Europe, will become inhospitable. With the kind of epic drought being faced by California and Texas for the past three years, it is clearly being seen as a pointer to the disaster that awaits ahead,” he told Down To Earth. Trade flows The book cites studies that indicate that trade would probably expand under climate change—with flows increasing from mid to high latitudes towards low-latitude regions, where production and export potential would be reduced. At the same time, more frequent extreme weather events, such as droughts and cyclones, can adversely impact trade by disrupting transportation, supply and logistics. According to Sharma not enough is being done to lessen the harmful impact of climate change. “The G-20 Heads of State meeting in Brisbane in December 2014 ended with the usual rhetoric of boosting food and nutritional requirement and called for increased investments. The G-20 Food Security and Nutritional Framework does not look beyond helping small holders to mitigate the impact of climate change. What is required is to bring about systemic changes that move away from farming systems that led modern agriculture to become a villain of the story. According to CGIAR, agriculture is responsible for 41 per cent green house gas emissions,” he added. The entire effort, so far, seems to be industry-driven with hardly any space for reinventing sustainable agro-ecological methods of farming. The G-20 needs to adopt the recommendations of the International Assessment of Agriculture Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development which calls for a radical change in the ‘business as usual’ approach, Sharma told Down To Earth.