With a lack of economic opportunities in rural India, India faces a critical problem of rapid urbanisation, driven by migration at a rate of 30 people per minute. In 2011, 30% of India’s population lived in urban areas
Indian federalism’s real challenge is to design institutions in a way that would encourage participatory democracy in terms of self-rule plus shared rule.
Himachal Pradesh has demonstrated that determined efforts can lead to remarkable improvements in living standards. Its Human Development Index (HDI) ranks second in India; behind Kerala. Despite its sparse population, Himachal Pradesh achieved full electrification in the mid-1980s, and successive governments have supported social infrastructure in health, education, and tourism.
Globally low-lying coastal communities are increasingly at risk of climate change exacerbated environmental hazards. Sea-level rise (SLR) accompanying climate change is already causing significant and costly impacts across low elevation coastal communities and these are expected to continue in the 21st century and beyond.
The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Gramin was launched on 20th November, 2016 and is a program by the Ministry of Rural Development, implemented by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. PMAY-G aims to provide a “pucca” house with the basic amenities, such as a kitchen and a washroom, to those deprived of proper shelter and living in “kutcha” houses” in rural areas by the target year of 2024. The Scheme has been further expanded in 2025. The PMAY-G addresses the rural housing shortage and bridges the housing deficit in rural areas of India, contributing significantly to the mission of Housing for All. An important feature of the PMAY-G is the selection of beneficiaries. To ensure that help is given to those who are genuinely deprived and to ensure that the selection is completely unbiased and objective, the scheme selects beneficiaries using housing deprivation parameters underlined in the Socio-Economic and Caste Census, 2011.
The Integrated Watershed Management Program (IWMP) was launched in 2009–10 after an urgent demand for a unified, landscape-based strategy for natural resource management emerged from these overlapping vulnerabilities.
The missions were launched under the broader National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) on 30th June 2008, which was announced by the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change (PMCCC).