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Context:

As the world prepares to observe Environment Day on June 5, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has sounded a sobering alarm: India is facing a mounting crisis on multiple environmental and development fronts.

About Ocean Coordination Mechanism (OCM)

Category	Key Findings / Highlights
Report Released By	Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and Down To Earth (DTE)
Scope of Report	Covers 48 indicators across 4 themes: Environment, Agriculture, Public Health, Human Development Ranks all 36 States/UTs
Top Performing States	- Environment: Andhra Pradesh (forests, biodiversity) - Agriculture: Sikkim (organic farming, land use) - Public Health: Goa (medically certified deaths)
Common Weaknesses Even Among Top States	- Poor sewage treatment, pollution control (Andhra Pradesh) - Weak farmer welfare (Sikkim) - Shortage of hospital beds, low female LFPR (Goa)
Worst Performing States	Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, West Bengal — all performed poorly across most categories, exposing large populations to climate and health vulnerabilities
Climate Trends	- 2024: Warmest year on record - 88% of days had extreme weather - 25 states faced record rainfall
Displacement & Migration	- 5.4 million internal displacements - Assam alone accounted for nearly half - Floods caused 2/3rd of displacements
GHG Emissions	- India’s global share reached 7.8% in 2023 - Growth rate accelerated (up nearly 1% from 2020 to 2023)
Water Crisis	- 135 districts overdraw groundwater (>40m depth) - Nearly double the figure from 2014
Pollution	- Heavy metals in half of monitored river sites (2022) - Air Pollution: Unsafe air in 13 capitals; Delhi life expectancy shortened by ~8 years
Waste Crisis	- E-waste rose by 147% in 7 years - Plastic waste reached 4.14 million tonnes (2022–23) - Legacy waste remediation only halfway complete
Forest Diversions	- 29,000 hectares diverted in 2023–24 - Primarily in Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh
Human-Animal Conflict	- 36% increase in elephant-related deaths (2020–24) - 82 tiger-related deaths during same period
Public Health Issues	- 3.06 million excess deaths (2020–21) — 6x official COVID toll - 36% more CHCs needed - 80% shortfall in health specialists
Health Expenditure	- Out-of-pocket expense: 45%+ of total health expenditure - UP: ~66% of health costs paid by individuals - High in Kerala, West Bengal too
Labour & Economic Distress	- Inflation-adjusted incomes declined (2017–23) - 73% workforce is informal - >50% of regular workers lack protections like paid leave
Gender Inequality	- Only ~20% of women employed full-time vs 60% of men - Women work fewer hours
Call to Action	- Invest in data transparency and collection - Address interlinked climate-health-economy crises - No time for complacency, need policy recalibration

Source: Down to Earth

PRACTICE QUESTION

Q. India is facing converging environmental, health, and development crises. How can coordinated mechanisms and data-driven surveillance help realign public policy for sustainable outcomes? (150 words)