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Urban Floods & Heatwaves in Indian Cities Context: Delhi-NCR recently faced intense heat followed by heavy rain and urban flooding, showing how natural hazards turn into disasters because of poor urban planning. Why are Indian cities increasingly vulnerable? -Climate change: More intense heatwaves and extreme rainfall; urban centres can be 3–4°C hotter than surrounding areas. -Concretisation: Soil, vegetation and water bodies replaced by roads/buildings—> less infiltration + higher surface run-off. -Encroachment: Construction over lakes, wetlands, floodplains and natural drains reduces drainage capacity. -Urban Heat Island effect: Dense construction, asphalt, poor ventilation and declining tree cover trap heat, including at night. -Rapid urbanisation: India’s urban population may reach ~951 million by 2050; over half of the infrastructure needed by then is yet to be built. -Unequal vulnerability: Informal settlements, poorly ventilated homes and outdoor workers face disproportionate risks. Governance & institutional gaps —>Disaster Management Act, 2005- Section 41A (2025 amendment): enables states to constitute Urban Disaster Management Authorities in state capitals and municipal-corporation cities, except Delhi and Chandigarh. —>Fragmented responsibility among municipal corporations, district administrations and state departments. —>65% of India’s 7,933 urban settlements lacked a master plan (NITI Aayog, 2021); planning departments also face severe staff shortages. —>Disaster financing remains excessively relief-oriented rather than prevention/mitigation-oriented. Way Forward -Integrate disaster-risk reduction into master plans and everyday development approvals. -Protect/restore wetlands, lakes, floodplains, natural drains and urban green spaces; expand permeable surfaces. -Use flood maps to regulate construction and determine drainage capacity. -Use heat maps for shade, ventilation, tree cover and heat-resilient building standards. -Strengthen municipal technical capacity and fix clear responsibility + deadlines for mitigation projects. -Shift from post-disaster relief to anticipatory governance- early warnings linked with work-hour changes, hospital preparedness, school closures and traffic diversions. Data/Value addition: World Bank estimates timely adaptation could prevent around $5 billion/year in urban flood losses by 2030 and $30 billion/year by 2070; measures against extreme heat could save over 1.3 lakh lives by 2050. Conclusion: Urban flooding and heatwaves are hazards; weak land-use planning, ecological degradation and inadequate infrastructure convert them into disasters. India needs climate-resilient urbanisation rather than disaster response after every season.

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LICHENS & GYMNOSPERMS 1. Gymnosperms -Gymnosperm = “naked seed” plants- ovules/seeds are not enclosed within an ovary/fruit; hence they do not form true fruits. -They are vascular seed plants, predominantly woody and evergreen; examples: Pine, Cycas, Deodar, Fir, Spruce and Himalayan Yew (Taxus). -Gymnosperms are ancient plants (>300 million years); they evolved before flowering plants (angiosperms). -They occur widely in temperate and alpine forests and act as important carbon sinks, regulate water flow and help protect watersheds. -Himalayan Yew (Taxus wallichiana) is a medicinal gymnosperm; taxol/paclitaxel derived from Taxus is used as an anti-cancer drug. Exam trap: Gymnosperms produce seeds and pollen, but flowers and fruits are characteristic of angiosperms. 2. Lichens -Lichen is a symbiotic association mainly between a fungus (mycobiont) and a photosynthetic partner- green alga and/or cyanobacterium (photobiont). -Lichens are among the earliest colonisers of bare rocks —> called pioneer species; they promote rock weathering and soil formation, aiding primary succession. -They lack true roots and absorb water/minerals largely from the atmosphere/surface; therefore, they are highly sensitive to air pollution. Hence, lichens are important bioindicators of air quality- their decline/absence may indicate high atmospheric pollution. -Ecological roles: soil formation, nutrient cycling, trapping dust, food for wildlife and ecosystem succession. Exam trap: Lichen is not a single plant/organism taxonomically; it represents a stable symbiotic association involving a fungus and photosynthetic organism. Current Affairs Hook- Uttarakhand Uttarakhand Forest Department has developed dedicated conservation gardens for both groups: Gymnosperm Garden at Uttarkashi and Lichen Garden at Munsiyari; together they conserve about 135 species.

Adivasi Historiography -Colonial construction: Colonial ethnography exoticised Adivasis and placed them within categories such as “primitive/forest tribes”, rather than recognising them as communities with their own historical agency. -G.S. Ghurye – Assimilationist view: Sociologist G.S. Ghurye, often called the father of Indian sociology, described tribes as “Backward Hindus”—reflecting an assimilationist understanding that located Adivasis within the broader Hindu social order. -Counter-view – Virginius Xaxa: Tribal scholar Virginius Xaxa argues that Adivasis were historically self-aware communities actively resisting assimilation, strengthening the case for recognising their distinct identity and indigeneity. -Indigeneity debate: India did not sign the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP); India’s position has generally been that its population is indigenous and Adivasis cannot alone claim a separate “indigenous peoples” status. -Religion & identity: Contemporary demands for delisting Christian converts from Scheduled Tribe status and campaigns for separate recognition of Adivasi faiths highlight the continuing tension between assimilation, conversion and autonomous tribal identity. -Missionaries – a historiographical paradox: While Christian missions pursued conversion, scholars such as Mary Girard highlight their role in documenting Adivasi languages, oral traditions and cultural practices through grammars, dictionaries and translations, preserving material that might otherwise have disappeared. -Silencing tribal resistance: Even figures such as Birsa Munda, who articulated a distinctive anti-colonial vision, have often been marginalised or absorbed into the conventional nationalist narrative rather than studied on their own terms. -Way forward – “Adivasi as subject, not object”: Historiography must combine Adivasi oral traditions, indigenous knowledge and community voices with archival sources, while recognising that tribal experiences vary across Central, Southern and North-Eastern India. #GS2mains #ESSAY