THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 17 August 2019 (Whether we will survive ought to be our foremost concern (Mint))

Whether we will survive ought to be our foremost concern (Mint)

Mains Paper 3: Environment
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Water and air crisis in India

Context

• The 72nd year of our existence as an independent nation, when Indians are estimated by the United Nations to number 1.35 billion, is a fitting occasion to take stock of the two greatest threats to our continued survival.
• The lack of safe water and clean air will either make or break India.

Highlights about statistics on water

• A report by NITI Aayog warned that India is facing its worst water crisis in history.
• Nearly 600 million Indians face high to extreme water stress, 75% of households do not have drinking water on the premises, 84% of households do not have piped water access, and 70% of our water is contaminated.
• Nearly 200,000 people die every year due to inadequate access to safe water.
• 21 cities, including Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad, will run out of groundwater by 2020.
• India is currently ranked 120 among 122 countries in the water quality index.

Highlights about statistics on air pollution

• A report by the Centre for Science and Environment released last year, indicated that severe air pollution crisis in India caused lifespans to shrink by 2.6 years on average.
• Air pollution is now the third-highest cause of death among all health risks ranking just above smoking in India.
• As many as 14 of the 20 most polluted cities of the world are in India.
• The World Health Organization calls toxic air the “new tobacco”

Conclusion

• The need of the hour is a nationwide strategy on conservation, checks on development, salination projects across our long coastlines, and urgent steps to check pollution.
• Our political class and government must respond with the urgency this deserves—if not, we will simply not survive.

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Prelims Questions:

Q.1) With reference to DigiLocker, consider the following statements:
1. It is a digital platform for issuance and verification of documents and certificates.
2. It provides a free storage space of 10 MB for the registered users.
3. Unique Identification Authority of India has been integrated with DigiLocker as a
registered issuer.

Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: C
Mains Questions:
Q.1) How we respond as a country to the crisis of polluted air and unsafe water could make or break independent India?