Introduction
India is a densely populated developing Asian country located in the Northern
Hemisphere at latitude 8
4
0 N to 37
6
0 N and longitude 68
7
0 E to 97
25
0 E. Geographically, India is surrounded on three sides by oceans (the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian
Sea, and the Indian Ocean) and on the north sides by the Himalayas, which
significantly influence its climatic conditions and local weather. The total length of
the coastline of India is approximately 7517 km. The Indian peninsula tapers
southward, dividing the Indian Ocean into two water bodies: the Bay of Bengal
and the Arabian Sea. India is divided geographically almost into two halves through
the Tropic of Cancer (latitude 23
30
0 N). Land use patterns indicate approximately
46% of area is occupied by arable land, approximately 24% is under forest and tree
cover, approximately 23% is not cultivable, and approximately 7% is fallow land
(MOEFCC 2015). India’s land use pattern has been influenced by demographic
needs, industrial growth, urbanization, livestock grazing, diversion of forest lands
for development purposes, the creation of irrigation facilities, and natural calamities
such as flood and drought (Ranjan et al. 2017; Srivastava 2019). India possesses
much variety in geography, climate, and local weather, which has influenced its
biodiversity significantly.
India is the second most densely populated developing country in the world after
China. India supports approximately 17% of the world population and possesses
only about 2.16% in land resources of the total area available to the world. Its
population density is approximately 382 persons/km
2 higher than most of the
developing and developed countries. This large population load has created a burden
on nature. The high population density has forced overexploitation of natural
resources such as water, soil, forests, and food resources. India is quite rich in
natural resources, but overexploitation and mismanagement have caused concern
in Indian society, which also influences the world communities. The excessive
consumption of fossil fuel for electricity, transportation, industries, and other domestic and commercial activities has produced an increased quantity of greenhouse
gases: this may be one of the reasons for global warming and further climate change
(Srivastava 2020).
Global warming caused by industrialization, excess fossil fuel consumption, and
agricultural activity is a new challenge for human civilization in the twenty-first
century. The impact of global warming in the melting of glaciers and the rise in sea
level is being observed worldwide (Ayala et al. 2020). India is a developing country
suffering excess human population and a lack of awareness among the people
regarding the impact of global warming on human civilization. India has started
various remedial measures to minimize the emission of greenhouse gases. It has
launched various schemes to promote the production of renewable sources of energy
(solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, tidal energy, hydroelectric energy,
and biomass energy) on a large scale as well as on a small scale in rural areas.
Statistics of the recent past in the development and consumption of renewable
energy in India show positive growth. People have begun using solar, biomass,
2
S. K. Srivastava
India is a densely populated developing Asian country located in the Northern
Hemisphere at latitude 8
4
0 N to 37
6
0 N and longitude 68
7
0 E to 97
25
0 E. Geographically, India is surrounded on three sides by oceans (the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian
Sea, and the Indian Ocean) and on the north sides by the Himalayas, which
significantly influence its climatic conditions and local weather. The total length of
the coastline of India is approximately 7517 km. The Indian peninsula tapers
southward, dividing the Indian Ocean into two water bodies: the Bay of Bengal
and the Arabian Sea. India is divided geographically almost into two halves through
the Tropic of Cancer (latitude 23
30
0 N). Land use patterns indicate approximately
46% of area is occupied by arable land, approximately 24% is under forest and tree
cover, approximately 23% is not cultivable, and approximately 7% is fallow land
(MOEFCC 2015). India’s land use pattern has been influenced by demographic
needs, industrial growth, urbanization, livestock grazing, diversion of forest lands
for development purposes, the creation of irrigation facilities, and natural calamities
such as flood and drought (Ranjan et al. 2017; Srivastava 2019). India possesses
much variety in geography, climate, and local weather, which has influenced its
biodiversity significantly.
India is the second most densely populated developing country in the world after
China. India supports approximately 17% of the world population and possesses
only about 2.16% in land resources of the total area available to the world. Its
population density is approximately 382 persons/km
2 higher than most of the
developing and developed countries. This large population load has created a burden
on nature. The high population density has forced overexploitation of natural
resources such as water, soil, forests, and food resources. India is quite rich in
natural resources, but overexploitation and mismanagement have caused concern
in Indian society, which also influences the world communities. The excessive
consumption of fossil fuel for electricity, transportation, industries, and other domestic and commercial activities has produced an increased quantity of greenhouse
gases: this may be one of the reasons for global warming and further climate change
(Srivastava 2020).
Global warming caused by industrialization, excess fossil fuel consumption, and
agricultural activity is a new challenge for human civilization in the twenty-first
century. The impact of global warming in the melting of glaciers and the rise in sea
level is being observed worldwide (Ayala et al. 2020). India is a developing country
suffering excess human population and a lack of awareness among the people
regarding the impact of global warming on human civilization. India has started
various remedial measures to minimize the emission of greenhouse gases. It has
launched various schemes to promote the production of renewable sources of energy
(solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, tidal energy, hydroelectric energy,
and biomass energy) on a large scale as well as on a small scale in rural areas.
Statistics of the recent past in the development and consumption of renewable
energy in India show positive growth. People have begun using solar, biomass,
2
S. K. Srivastava