Mains Factly July 2023

GS 1

Society

Urbanization

According to the Ministry, 34% of India’s population lives in cities. In 2021, it was 49.17 crore. 50% of the country’s population living in inadequate housing.

Population:

India has the largest adolescent population in the world, 253 million, and every fifth person is between 10 to 19 years.

Child

High levels of malnutrition (38.4 per cent children are stunted), poor learning outcomes (only 42.5 per cent of children in grade three can read a grade one text), vaccine preventable diseases and child labour persist.

Geography

India has so far declared 9 million tonnes of lithium re-services in the Salal Hamima region, in the Reasi district of Jammu & Kashmir. Further exploration is also on in the region, Mines Ministry officials. In FY 23, India’s lithium import bill was arround Rs 23, 171 crores
India’s coastline touches 9 states & 4 Union Territories & 2 million square kilometres of exclusive economic zone
As per the 1^st Census on Water Bodies, India has a total of 24, 24, 540 water bodies, of which the majority are ponds (5 per cent), followed by tanks (15.7 per cent), reservoirs (12.1 per cent) & the remaining 12.7 per cent are classified as water conservation schemes/check dams/percolation tanks, lakes & others

Blue economy

India’s expansive coastline spanning over 7,500 km is vulnerable to climate change induced sea-level rise and extreme weather events.
India’s blue economy, estimated to be around $1 trillion, plays a significant role in the nation’s economic growth and livelihoods, as it encompasses a wide range of sectors such as fisheries, shipping, tourism, renewable energy, and more
India generates approximately 26,000 tonnes of plastic waste daily, a significant portion of which finds its way into the oceans
The State of India’s Environment (SoE) report estimates that about 20 per cent of the country’s coral reefs have been destroyed, primarily due to pollution and climate change. Overfishing is a major concern in Indian waters, jeopardising fish stocks and the livelihoods of coastal communities. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported that around 60 per cent of fish stocks in the Indian Ocean are fully exploited.

Judiciary

Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal informed Lok Sabha that of the 604 judges appointed since 2018 to various High Courts, 454 belongs to the general category

Poverty

The latest National Multidimensional Poverty Index released by NITI Aayog states that nearly 13.5 crore people were lifted out of poverty in the 5-years period till 2019-21. A total of 415 million people moved out of poverty in India within 15 years from 2005/2007 to 2019/2020.
A/q to the UNDP’s latest multi-dimensional poverty estimates nearly 1 billion of the 6.1 billion people across 110 countries are poor

Governance

Global Report on the Food Crises (GRFC) 2023 released recently estimated that between 691 million & 783 million people in the world suffered from hunger in 2022

Economy

India is likely to get the 3^rd largest economy tag in 2027 (or FY28), based on actual GDP data as on March 2023, a movement of 7 places upwards since 2014 when India was ranked 10^th per State Bank of India’s economic research report “Ecowrap”
India’s per capita income is likely to grow from $2,450 in fiscal 2023, as per Standard Chartered Bank Report

Environment

From 1951-1975, about 4 million hectares of forest land has been diverted for various non-forestry purposes.
India clocked in the second highest rate of deforestation among countries worldwide between 1990 & 2020
India ranked the 2^nd highest for the rate of deforestation after losing 668, 400 hectares of forest cover in the last 30 years. India’s deforestation rose from 384, 000 hectares between 1990 & 2000 to 668, 400 hectares between 2015 & 2020
The rapid urbanisation of India will witness an increase of urban population to 40% by 2030.
In a report on air quality, 39 of the 50 most populated cities worldwide were from India alone
Approximately 76 percent of the waste generated in the country has been processed

Labour Participation Rate

The working age population (15 years older) of India is estimated at about 61 percent of the total population — that is 840 million. It will decline after 2036. The celebrated demographic dividend has a short life span

Agriculture

As rice prices are likely to go up internationally, India is the largest exporter of rice, accounting for almost 40 percent of the global rice trade.
Lok Sabha reported that over 17,000 farmers in India had committed suicide b/w 2018 & 2020 In the Marathwada region of Maharashtra alone, recent data shows that 600 farmers died by suicide b/w January 1, 2022 & mid-August
Dalwai Committee on Doubling Farmer’s Income (2017) has observed that in case of fruits & vegetables, the share of consumer rupee that reaches the farmers is as low as 20 percent

Revenue Mobilisation

Data presented by Nirmala Sitharaman in the Lok Sabha showed that over 7.40 crore returns were filed in FY23, out of which over 5.16 crore or around 70 percent were with zero tax liability
India’s gross tax to GDP, which was 11 percent in FY19, fell to 9.9 percent in FY20 & marginally improved to 10.2 percent in FY21 (partly due to decline in GDP) & is estimated at 10.8 per cent in FY 22. This is much lower than the emerging market economy average of 21 percent & OECD average of 34 percent

Employment

NITI Aayog estimates India has 7.7 million gig workers, which it expects will swell to 23.5 million by 2029-30

Transport

A/q to NITI Aayog Inland Water Transport (IWT) carries less than 2 per cent of India’s organized freight traffic & negligible passenger traffic. Inland Waterways is an under developed mode of transportation in India. India has a potential of 14,500 km of navigable waterways but so far only 2, 716 km have been developed for commercial transportation