SECTION A
Essay
125 marks
Alternative technologies for a climate change resilient India.
WRITE IN
90 min
1,000–1,200 words
Reading the topic
The topic asks which alternative technologies, in energy, agriculture, water, construction and disaster management, can help India withstand climate change. The examiner wants an essay on resilience, not only emissions cuts, rooted in India's vulnerability and its development needs.
ThesisIndia's resilience to climate change depends on combining clean energy with climate-smart farming, water and disaster technologies, many of them low-cost and locally rooted.
Dimensions to cover
- 1Energy: solar, wind and storage reduce emissions and cut dependence on imported fossil fuels
- 2Agriculture: drought-tolerant seeds, micro-irrigation and natural farming protect farmers from erratic monsoons
- 3Disaster management: early warning systems and resilient housing save lives during cyclones and floods
- 4Water: rainwater harvesting and local innovations help mountain and arid regions cope with changing water supply
- 5Equity and finance: technologies must be affordable for small farmers and poor households, with climate finance from developed countries
Counter-view
- Some argue India should prioritise growth and that costly alternatives slow development. The essay should show that many resilient technologies lower long-run costs and losses
Open and close
- Open: Open with a Ladakhi farmer drawing water in spring from a cone of ice that villagers built over winter, an alternative technology made from cold air and gravity
- Close: Close by arguing that India's climate resilience will be built not by one big technology but by many affordable ones in every field and village
Where marks usually go
- Writing only about renewable energy and mitigation and ignoring adaptation and resilience
- Listing schemes without explaining how each technology builds resilience
- Ignoring cost and access for the poor
Examples that fit
- CaseEarly warnings and mass evacuation by Odisha before Cyclone Fani in 2019 kept deaths low compared with the 1999 super cyclone, showing technology and planning building resilience.Odisha State Disaster Management Authority; UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
- CaseEngineer Sonam Wangchuk's ice stupas in Ladakh store winter meltwater as artificial glaciers for spring irrigation.Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh
- CurrentPM-KUSUM, launched in 2019, supports solar pumps and solar plants for farmers, cutting diesel use and making irrigation more reliable.Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, PM-KUSUM
- DataIndia's updated NDC of 2022 commits to about 50% of cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030.India's Updated Nationally Determined Contribution, UNFCCC (2022)