(a) India is bestowed with rich mineral resources due to its geological structure. Correlate the above statement with large…

Geological Structure and Mineral Belts

India’s geological evolution directly governs the spatial distribution of its mineral reserves. The stable, ancient Peninsular shield, shaped by cratonic stability and long metamorphic cycles, concentrates the vast majority of metallic, non-metallic, and fossil fuel deposits, whereas the tectonically active extra-Peninsular region primarily contains tertiary sediments, young coal, and petroleum reserves.

The Archaean crystalline complex and the Dharwar system form the primary repository of metallic minerals. These metalliferous rocks host major iron ore, manganese, and mica belts across the Singhbhum craton, the Bailadila region, and Karnataka's Sandur and Kudremukh belts. The Cuddapah and Vindhyan sedimentary basins are rich in non-metallic minerals, limestone, dolomite, and building stones. In contrast, late Paleozoic-Mesozoic rift basins and grabens facilitated the preservation of the Gondwana formation, which contains over ninety percent of India’s commercial coal reserves along the Damodar, Mahanadi, Godavari, and Wardha river valleys. Intensive tropical weathering of the Deccan basaltic traps and Eastern Ghats granulites produced significant lateritic bauxite belts across Odisha and Gujarat.

Significance of Dry-Land Farming

Dry-land farming is vital for sustaining the agrarian economy of drought-prone tracts in the rain-shadow Deccan plateau, western Rajasthan, Gujarat, and interior Karnataka. Accounting for over half of India’s net sown area, it ensures national food and nutritional security by contributing the majority of coarse cereals (millets like jowar, bajra, and ragi), pulses, and oilseeds.

Sustainable dry-land farming depends on moisture conservation and scientific water management. Integrated watershed management under schemes like PMKSY aids groundwater recharge and surface storage. In-situ soil moisture conservation techniques, including contour bunding, ridge-and-furrow cultivation, and organic mulching, retard runoff and enhance soil-water retention. The adoption of micro-irrigation systems, specifically drip and sprinkler networks, optimizes water-use efficiency. Concurrently, deploying drought-resistant and short-duration high-yielding varieties (HYVs) developed by ICAR-CRIDA, along with agroforestry systems, stabilizes rural incomes, protects topsoil, and builds ecological resilience against recurrent monsoon deficits.

Extreme Rainfall and Flash Floods

The increasing incidence of extreme rainfall events is closely linked to climate change, characterized by accelerated atmospheric warming, anomalous Arabian Sea heating, erratic monsoon low-pressure systems, and the intensification of Western Disturbances interacting with the monsoon trough. These dynamics trigger localized cloudbursts and intense precipitation over short durations, resulting in flash floods and severe inundation.

Devastation is most acute in low-lying areas and river floodplains, exacerbated by unplanned urbanization, destruction of urban wetlands, and encroachment onto natural drainage channels. Catastrophes such as the 2013 Uttarakhand flash floods, the 2015 Chennai urban inundation, and the 2018 Kerala floods demonstrated the vulnerability of low-lying settlements, resulting in severe infrastructural destruction, economic dislocation, and loss of life.

Managing these hydro-meteorological hazards requires strict adherence to National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) guidelines on flood management. Crucial interventions include modernizing Central Water Commission (CWC) flood forecasting networks with Doppler weather radars, operationalizing impact-based Early Warning Systems, and strictly enforcing river floodplain zoning acts to halt encroachment. Ultimately, adopting integrated, basin-wide river management and nature-based climate adaptation strategies is essential to mitigate flash flood vulnerabilities across vulnerable plains.