CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -As the climate heats up, it is likely that swathes of land will be submerged, water-related extremes will reshape industry and famine will revisit the country.In this fascinating, deeply researched book Mridula Ramesh takes us through 4, 000 years of history to track how India’s water has reached this critical point.

Detailed explanation-2: -There are mainly three water-sheds in India; Himalayan range with its Karakoram branch-North. Vindhyan and Satpura ranges- Central India. Sahyadri or Western Ghats- West Coast.

Detailed explanation-3: -The major river basin is the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna, which is the largest with catchment area of about 11.0 lakh km2 (more than 43% of the catchment area of all the major rivers in the country). The other major river basins with catchment area more than 1.0 lakh km2 are Indus, Mahanadi, Godavari and Krishna.

Detailed explanation-4: -There are twelve rivers which are classified as major rivers, with the total catchment area exceeding 2, 528, 000 km2 (976, 000 sq mi). All major rivers of India originate from one of the three main watersheds: The Himalaya and the Karakoram ranges. Vindhya and Satpura range in central India.

Detailed explanation-5: -Here are the primary benefits of watershed development: Conservation, up-gradation and utilization of natural endowments (land, water, vegetation, humans) Integrated, low-cost and simple to adopt technology. Reduce inequalities between rain-fed and irrigated areas.