Volume 2, Issue 1 (2026)

Climate variability has become an important influence on agricultural decision-making in the Indo-Gangetic Plain, particularly in districts where farming depends on the interaction of monsoon rainfall, irrigation availability, temperature conditions and seasonal crop calendars. This study examines the impact of climate variability on cropping patterns in Etawah District of Uttar Pradesh, India. The research is based entirely on secondary data and adopts a descriptive, analytical and comparative geographical approach. Climatic evidence is drawn from the Uttar Pradesh State Action Plan on Climate Change, the District Agricultural Contingency Plan and published rainfall studies, while information on land use, irrigation and cropping patterns is derived from official statistical sources and relevant research available up to 31 December 2024.
The analysis indicates substantial rainfall variability, declining long-term rainfall tendencies and gradually rising temperature, particularly minimum temperature. These conditions influence sowing dates, crop selection, water requirements and the relative stability of kharif and rabi cultivation. Wheat, rice, millets, oilseeds, pulses and potato remain important components of the district agricultural system, while extensive irrigation has moderated some adverse effects of rainfall variability and supported high cropping intensity. Nevertheless, delayed monsoon onset, prolonged dry spells, insufficient groundwater recharge, heat stress, unseasonal rainfall, cold waves and frost create crop-specific risks. The study concludes that future cropping-pattern adjustment in Etawah should emphasise crop diversification, efficient irrigation, short-duration and climate-resilient varieties, weather-based crop planning and reduced vulnerability to water-intensive agricultural practices.

Social inequality in India is expressed not only through differences in income and wealth but also through uneven access to education, employment, nutrition, housing, infrastructure and other capabilities. These inequalities have a pronounced geographical dimension, with substantial variation across states, districts, rural and urban areas, and social groups. This paper examines the spatial patterns and multidimensional character of social inequality in India using a descriptive, analytical and comparative secondary-data research design. Evidence is drawn primarily from the National Multidimensional Poverty Index 2023, based on NFHS-5 (2019–21), the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) 2023–24, the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2025, AISHE 2022–23 provisional results reported by the Ministry of Education, and the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), supplemented by peer-reviewed geographical and development research. The analysis demonstrates substantial progress in reducing multidimensional poverty and consumption inequality at the national level, but also reveals persistent territorial concentrations of disadvantage. Bihar, Jharkhand, parts of central and eastern India, and several rural regions continue to experience comparatively high multidimensional deprivation, while social identity, gender and class interact with location in differentiated ways. Consumption, educational participation and female labour-force participation show distinctive and sometimes contradictory spatial patterns, indicating that no single indicator adequately represents social inequality. The paper concludes that Indian social inequality is multi-scalar, intersectional and spatially embedded. Policy therefore requires geographically targeted universalism, stronger sub-state monitoring and interventions addressing both territorial disadvantage and unequal capabilities within regions.

Poverty in India is marked not only by inadequate income or consumption but also by spatially concentrated deficits in health, education, housing, sanitation, nutrition and access to basic services. This paper examines the geography of poverty and social deprivation in India through a regional and multidimensional perspective. It seeks to identify the principal spatial concentrations of deprivation, assess changes over time, examine rural–urban and social-group inequalities, and consider the structural processes sustaining regional disadvantage. The study adopts a descriptive, analytical and comparative research design based entirely on secondary data. Its principal sources are NITI Aayog’s National Multidimensional Poverty Index: A Progress Review 2023, based on NFHS-4 (2015–16) and NFHS-5 (2019–21), the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation’s Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) 2023–24, the World Bank’s 2025 poverty estimates, and recent UNDP multidimensional-poverty evidence. The analysis demonstrates a substantial national decline in multidimensional poverty, but also a persistent geography of deprivation. Bihar, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh recorded particularly high multidimensional-poverty incidence in 2019–21, whereas Kerala, Goa and Tamil Nadu occupied the opposite end of the distribution. Rural deprivation remains significantly greater than urban deprivation, while consumption expenditure continues to vary systematically across social groups. The paper argues that India’s poverty geography reflects the interaction of economic structure, social stratification, uneven human-development achievements, infrastructure, urbanisation and state capacity. Consequently, poverty reduction requires spatially differentiated policies rather than uniform national interventions.

Healthcare accessibility in rural India is shaped not only by the physical presence of medical facilities but also by distance, human-resource availability, affordability, social position and the quality of care that can actually be obtained. This paper examines the geographical relationship between healthcare accessibility and social inequality in rural India through a secondary-data-based analytical approach. It draws principally on the National Family Health Survey-5 (2019–21), Health Dynamics of India: Infrastructure and Human Resources 2022–23, National Health Accounts 2022–23, and peer-reviewed research on spatial accessibility, healthcare markets and social inequity. The analysis combines the concepts of spatial accessibility, healthcare fit and patient-centred access to examine how territorial disadvantage interacts with poverty, caste and tribal marginalisation, gender and uneven health-system capacity. The findings show substantial deficits in rural Sub-Centres, Primary Health Centres and Community Health Centres relative to population norms, together with an especially serious shortage of specialist personnel. Rural–urban gaps remain visible in antenatal and institutional maternity care, while local evidence demonstrates that the costs of distance fall disproportionately on poorer populations. At the same time, expanded public financing has reduced the long-term share of household out-of-pocket spending, although financial protection remains incomplete. The paper argues that numerical expansion of facilities alone cannot achieve healthcare equity. Rural health planning needs to integrate travel distance, functional staffing, service quality, social deprivation and household capacity to reach and use care. A geographical equity approach is therefore essential for progressing towards effective universal health coverage in India.

Flooding in India is characterised by pronounced regional contrasts produced by variations in monsoon rainfall, river-basin morphology, topography, sediment regimes, antecedent hydrological conditions, coastal processes and human modification of drainage systems. Although the Indo-Gangetic and Brahmaputra plains have traditionally been regarded as the principal flood-prone regions, recurrent floods in peninsular basins, Himalayan valleys, coastal zones and rapidly urbanising areas demonstrate that India contains multiple and increasingly interconnected flood regimes. This paper examines the regional geography of flood hazard in India through a descriptive, analytical and comparative secondary-data approach. The principal empirical basis is the Central Water Commission’s satellite-derived assessment of maximum aggregated flood-affected area for 1986–2022, supplemented by flood-forecasting records, official policy reports and peer-reviewed hydrological and geographical research. The analysis shows that 21.213 million hectares were identified within the maximum aggregated satellite-observed inundation footprint during 1986–2022. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam and West Bengal together account for approximately 58.5% of this national extent. However, absolute area alone obscures important contrasts in flood intensity, proportional spatial exposure and flood-generating processes. Himalayan-fed alluvial rivers dominate the northern and north-eastern plains, while extreme precipitation, antecedent moisture, reservoir conditions, cyclonic rainfall, urban imperviousness and short-response catchments shape hazards elsewhere. The study concludes that Indian flood hazard cannot be represented adequately through a single national flood-prone category. Region-specific, process-based mapping integrating inundation frequency, depth, duration, velocity and evolving hydroclimatic conditions is necessary for more effective flood management.