Natural Resources of India - Part 1

NATURAL RESOURCES OF INDIA - PART 1

BIOTIC RESOURCES
•    Biotic resources are obtained from living and organic material.
•    These include forest products, wildlife, crops and other living organisms.
•  Most of these resources are renewable because they can regenerate themselves.
•    Fossil fuels are considered as biotic because they are formed from decayed organic matter.
•    Fossil fuels are non-renewable.

ABIOTIC RESOURCES
•    Abiotic resources are obtained from the non-living and non-organic material. Some of the resources, like water and air, are renewable.
•    Other resources like minerals are non-renewable and exhaustible because they cannot be regenerated.
•    Minerals have many categories like metallic, non-metallic and minor minerals.

WATER RESOURCES
•    Water is the most important source of energy in the Indian economy.
•    About 25per cent of electricity generated in the economy is from the hydel sources.
•    Theother important use of water is irrigation.
•    In a country where agriculture givestwists  and  turns  to  the  whole  economy,  provision  of  water  can  make  all  thedifference; it can either stimulate the economic activity or depress it altogether.

The important sources of water can be classified into two parts:
(i) surface water,and
(ii)  ground water. 
•    Surface water  is available from such  sources as  rivers.lakes, etc.
•    Ground water is available from wells, springs, etc.
•    Other sources ofwater which have not as yet been tapped in the country, but nevertheless representa potential source are: saline springs, snow and ice-fields. Surface water sourcesare replenished by rainfall.

Water Issues
The principal issues facing the country are as follows:
(i) Demand for water isincreasing from all sectors,
(ii) Lack of a rational water pricing policy between andwithin sectors is further driving demand,
(iii) Policies and institutions mandated tosolve conflicts are directly or indirectly contributing to further conflicts,
(iv) Newconflicts are increasingly arising within states rather than between states, and
(v)conflicts over ground water are widespread across the country.

National  Water  Policy
The  National  Water  Policy,  2002  was  announced  on April  1,  2002. 
Its  mainfeatures are as follows.
a.    Stress on  maintenance of irrigation projects;
b.    RiverBasin organisations to ensure development and management of inter-state riverbasins; (iii) Calls for dam safety legislation to ensure proper inspection, maintenanceand surveillance;
c.    Calls for national policy for resettlement and rehabilitation ofproject affected people;
d.    Ecology given priority in water allocation; minimumflows in perennial streams mandated;
e.    Provides for participatory approach towater management including water users associations, private sector and moderninformation systems;
f.    Private sector participation should be encouraged inplanning, development and management of water resources projects for diverseuses. It would help in introducing innovative ideas, generating financial resourcesand  introducing  corporate  management  and  improving  service  efficiency  andaccountability to users;
g.    Non-conventional methods of water conservation likerain harvesting, artificial recharge of ground water, inter-basin transfers, desalinisationof brackish or seawater stressed.