Rivers of Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh, a state in north-central India, is subtropical with substantial (1,400 mm (55.1 in)) monsoon rains that feed a large number of streams and rivers. The largest of these by volume is the Narmada, followed by the Tapti. Madhya Pradesh falls in five major river basins. The northern part of the state falls within the Ganges Basin where the Betwa, Chambal and Son flow. South of the Ganges Basin is the Narmada Basin, the second largest by surface area. The other three basins cover small portions of Madhya Pradesh, namely the Mahi Basin to the west, the Tapi Basin and the Godavari Basin to the south.

Kunda River

Khargone city is situated at the bank of Kunda River.kunda river is life line of Khargone district. It Is Situated In Khargone (MP).

Ganges Basin: Betwa

The Betwa drains off of the Deccan plateau. Originating in the Kumra village in Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh, the Betwa flows for 590 km (232 km in MP and 358 km in UP). After meandering through Madhya Pradesh, it enters the neighbouring state, Uttar Pradesh, and joins the river Yamuna (Jamna) in Hamirpur. The Betwa takes along with it the waters of the eastern Malwa plateau. The tributaries of the Betwa include the Bina, Yamini, Dhasan and Ken. In ancient times, the Betwa was known as Vetrawati.

Ganges Basin: Chambal

The Chambal originates from the Janapav Near Mhow Mountain in the Vindhya Range, and flows northeast through Ujjain, Ratlam and Mandsaur, before entering Rajasthan. It reenters Madhya Pradesh after meandering through parts of Rajasthan and touches Morena and Bhind. Here are the infamous Chambal Ravines that have been and still are the safest refuge for dacoits.

Shipra

The Shipra starts her journey in the Vindhya Range from a hill called Kokri Tekdi situated at a distance of 11 km from Ujjain. This river is 195 km long, out of which 93 km flow through Ujjain. It then touches Ratlam and Mandsaur, before joining the river Chambal in Gwalior . The main tributaries of the Shipra are the Khan and the Gambhir.

Ganges Basin: Sone

The Sone, also called the Maikalsut because its source is in the Maikal Hills, originates in Anuppur District in the Amarkantak highlands of the Maikal Range. Its chief tributaries are the Rihand and the North Koel.[8] and also include the Kewai, Tipan, Kunak, Murna, Johilla, Mahanadi, and the Rer.

Kewai

The Kewai arises in the Maikal Hills and flows in Shahdol District and Anuppur District and then into the Son River.

Tipan

The Tipan River merges into the Son at the town of Anuppur. It is subject to illegal gravel mining.

Johilla

The Johilla (Juhila) arises near Jaleswar Dham near Amarkantak, in the Maikal Hills and is a tributary of the Son.

Mahanadi

The Mahanadi tributary of the Son is distinct from the Mahanadi which originates in Chhattisgarh state and flows east. The political and mafia influence in western Madhya Pradesh's katni district's Ghunaur village has made this beautiful flowing perennial river worse than a drain . Once livelihood of the two villages namely Ghunaur and Barhata was inseparable of this river.

Mahi Basin

In Madhya Pradesh the Mahi Basin consists of the headwaters of the Mahi in Dhar and Jhabua districts; and the headwaters of the Anas River and Panam River in Jhabua District. This river crosses tropic of Cancer twice.

Tapi Basin: Tapti

The Narmada, the Mahi and the Tapti River (Tapi) all flow westward into the Gulf of Khambat, of the Arabian Sea. The 724 km long Tapti is agriculturally very important as it drains an area of over 65,145sq km spread over Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat. This river originates at a height of 762m in Betul district of Madhya Pradesh (to the south of the Satpura Range). The Tapti journeys almost parallel to the Narmada, though it is much shorter in length than the Narmada and has a smaller catchment area.

Godavari Basin

In Madhya Pradesh the Godavari Basin consists of the headwaters of the Kanhan, including the Pench, and the headwaters of the Wainganga River.

हिन्दी में Current Affairs 26 February 2021

1) केंद्र सरकार ने देश में शहरों के लिए एक डिजिटल बुनियादी ढांचा तैयार करने के लिए राष्ट्रीय शहरी डिजिटल मिशन शुरू किया।

👉यह कदम 2022 तक शहरों में नागरिक शासन केंद्रित और पारिस्थितिक तंत्र से संचालित दृष्टिकोण और 2022 तक सभी शहरों और कस्बों में सेवा प्रदान करेगा।

2) पुदुचेरी ने 28 फरवरी तक कोविद-मुक्त बनने के लिए एक अभियान शुरू किया। यह सुनिश्चित करने के लिए एक अभियान शुरू किया गया है कि इस महीने के अंत तक केंद्र क्षेत्र में कोई भी COVID-19 मामले नहीं थे, जहां दैनिक गिनती एकल अंकों तक गिर गई है।

👉"ज़ीरो कोविद बाय फ़रवरी 28" अभियान के तहत, उन सभी को जो कोरोनावायरस से संक्रमित लोगों के संपर्क में आए थे, उनकी पहचान की जाएगी और उन्हें उपचार प्रदान किया जाएगा, ताकि रोगज़नक़ के आगे प्रसार को रोका जा सके।

👉पांडिचेरी (या पुदुचेरी), जो कि 1954 तक भारत में एक फ्रांसीसी औपनिवेशिक समझौता था, अब दक्षिण-पूर्वी तमिलनाडु राज्य से घिरा एक केंद्र शासित प्रदेश है।

3) ट्विटर ने ट्विटर की नीतियों के स्पष्ट उल्लंघन के लिए 500 से अधिक खातों के स्थायी निलंबन सहित कई प्रवर्तन कार्रवाई की हैं। 

▪️ Twitter :-

CEO - Jack Dorsey 

Founded - 21 March 2006, San Francisco, California, United States

मुख्यालय - सैन फ्रांसिस्को, California, United States

Launched - July 15, 2006

Founders - Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams, Biz Stone, Noah Glass

4) अमेरिका ने रूस के साथ "न्यू START" परमाणु निरस्त्रीकरण संधि को पांच साल के लिए बढ़ा दिया है। न्यू स्टार्ट, जो स्ट्रेटेजिक आर्म्स रिडक्शन संधि के लिए है, संयुक्त राज्य अमेरिका और रूसी संघ के बीच एक परमाणु हथियार कमी संधि है।

▪️Russia :- 

👉President - Vladimir Putin 

👉State Historical Museum in Moscow

👉हरमिटेज संग्रहालय

👉सेंट पीटर्सबर्ग में रूसी संग्रहालय

👉कज़ान में कज़ान क्रेमलिन

5) करिश्मा देव दुबे की लघु फिल्म बिट्टू को 93 वें अकादमी पुरस्कार के लिए शीर्ष 10 सर्वश्रेष्ठ लाइव-एक्शन शॉर्ट श्रेणी में चुना गया है। यह एक दिल दहला देने वाली कहानी बताती है

6) प्रधान मंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी ने ' महाबाहु-ब्रह्मपुत्र ’पहल शुरू की और असम में दो पुलों की आधारशिला रखी।

👉महाभाऊ-ब्रह्मपुत्र पहल के शुभारंभ को चिह्नित करने के लिए, जिसका उद्देश्य पूर्वी राज्यों में संपर्क बढ़ाना है, पीएम मोदी ने नेमाटी-माजुली द्वीप, उत्तरी गुवाहाटी-दक्षिण गुवाहाटी और धुबरी-हाटसिंगमारी के बीच रो-पैक्स पोत संचालन का उद्घाटन किया।

▪️Recent News - असम राज्य सरकार ने राज्य के चतुर्थ श्रेणी कर्मचारियों को 'एरी सिल्क' से बनी खादी शर्ट और शॉल और स्टोल प्रदान करने का निर्णय लिया है।

👉Assam - Bihu Festival 

👉Assam CM - Sarbananda Sonowal

7) संयुक्त अरब अमीरात की अंतरिक्ष जांच ने मंगल ग्रह की कक्षा में प्रवेश किया जो अरब दुनिया के लिए एक ऐतिहासिक क्षण था।

▪️संयुक्त अरब अमीरात:-

👉Capital - Abu Dhabi

👉राष्ट्रपति - खलीफा बिन जायद अल नाहयान

👉प्रधान मंत्री और उपराष्ट्रपति - मोहम्मद बिन राशिद अल मकतूम

👉Currency - UAE dirham (AED)

8) श्रम और रोजगार मंत्रालय ने श्री एस.एन. सुब्रह्मण्यन, सीईओ और प्रबंध निदेशक, एल एंड टी लिमिटेड, तीन साल की अवधि के लिए राष्ट्रीय सुरक्षा परिषद के अध्यक्ष के रूप में नियुक्त किया।

👉मंत्रालय ने नौकरी प्रदाताओं और नौकरी चाहने वालों के बीच की खाई को पाटने में मदद करने के लिए 20 जुलाई 2015 को राष्ट्रीय कैरियर सेवा पोर्टल शुरू किया।

▪️श्रम और रोजगार मंत्रालय :-

👉Minister - Santosh Gangwar, Minister of State (Independent Charge)

👉Headquarters - Rafi Marg, New Delhi

9) महाराष्ट्र मंत्रिमंडल ने मुख्यमंत्री जल संरक्षण कार्यक्रम के कार्यान्वयन को मंजूरी दी, जिसकी लागत 1,340.75 करोड़ थी।

▪️National Park in Maharashtra :- 

👉गुगूमल नेशनल पार्क।

👉तडोबा अंधारी टाइगर रिजर्व

👉संजय गांधी राष्ट्रीय उद्यान।

👉नवेगांव राष्ट्रीय उद्यान।

👉पेंच नेशनल पार्क।

10) केंद्रीय रक्षा मंत्री राजनाथ सिंह ने नई दिल्ली से 'जलाभिषेक' अभियान के तहत मध्य प्रदेश में निर्मित 57,000 से अधिक जल संरचनाओं का वस्तुतः उद्घाटन किया।

▪️रक्षा मंत्रालय :-  

Headquarters - New Delhi

Founded - 15 August 1947

▪️मध्य प्रदेश 

👉CM - Shivraj Singh Chouhan

👉Governor -  Anandiben Patel

👉भीमबेटका गुफाएँ

👉सांची में बौद्ध स्मारक

👉खजुराहो मंदिर

11) उत्तर प्रदेश के मुख्यमंत्री योगी आदित्यनाथ ने अभ्युदय योजना का उद्घाटन किया। लॉन्च में मुख्यमंत्री ने जोर दिया कि यह योजना कोटा और प्रयागराज के समान कोचिंग सुविधा प्रदान करके राज्य के अन्य हिस्सों में इच्छुक उम्मीदवारों को सहायता प्रदान करेगी जो उन सेवाओं का लाभ उठाने में सक्षम नहीं हैं।

▪️ Recent News :-

उत्तर प्रदेश में श्रावस्ती दिसंबर 2020 में सरकारी थिंक टैंक नीतीयोग द्वारा आकांक्षात्मक जिलों की रैंकिंग में शीर्ष स्थान पर है। धलाई (त्रिपुरा) और गढ़वा (झारखंड) को क्रमशः दूसरे और तीसरे स्थान पर रखा गया है।

▪️Uttar Pradesh :- 

👉चंद्रप्रभा वन्यजीव अभयारण्य

👉दुधवा नेशनल पार्क

👉राष्ट्रीय चंबल अभयारण्य

👉पीलीभीत टाइगर रिजर्व 

👉नवाबगंज पक्षी विहार

12) उत्तर प्रदेश सरकार ने राज्य में सभी प्रकार के लैंडहोल्डिंग को चिह्नित करने के लिए एक 16 अंकों का यूनिकोड जारी करने की प्रणाली शुरू की है।

13) कांग्रेस के वरिष्ठ नेता मल्लिकार्जुन खड़गे गुलाम नबी आज़ाद की सेवानिवृत्ति के बाद राज्यसभा में विपक्ष के नए नेता बन गए हैं।

14) एकता कपूर, जिन्होंने अपने प्रोडक्शन हाउस बालाजी टेलीफिल्म्स के तहत प्रतिष्ठित शो का निर्माण किया है, को इंडियन टेलीविज़न अकादमी (ITA) अवार्ड्स में हॉल ऑफ फेम अवार्ड से सम्मानित किया गया है। इंडियन टेलीविजन एकेडमी अवार्ड्स का 20 वां संस्करण मुंबई में आयोजित किया गया।

15) प्रधानमंत्री श्री नरेन्द्र मोदी ने देश में प्रतिष्ठित धरोहरों, आध्यात्मिक और सांस्कृतिक स्थलों को 'स्वच्छ पर्यटन स्थल' के रूप में आगे बढ़ाने के लिए स्वच्छ भारत मिशन ग्रामीण (एसबीएम-जी) के स्वच्छ भारत मिशन ग्रामीण (एसआईपी) पहल को 'स्वच्छ पर्यटन स्थल' के रूप में आगे बढ़ाया।  पेयजल और स्वच्छता (डीडीडब्ल्यूएस), जल शक्ति मंत्रालय ने एसआईपी के चरण IV के तहत बारह (12) प्रतिष्ठित साइटों का चयन करने की घोषणा की है।

👉मथुरा, उत्तर प्रदेश

👉आगरा का किला, आगरा, उत्तर प्रदेश

👉कालीघाट मंदिर, पश्चिम बंगाल

👉अजंता की गुफाएं, महाराष्ट्र

👉सांची स्तूप, मध्य प्रदेश

👉कुम्भलगढ़ किला, राजस्थान

👉जैसलमेर का किला, राजस्थान

👉रामदेवरा, जैसलमेर, राजस्थान

👉गोलकोंडा किला, हैदराबाद, तेलंगाना

👉सूर्य मंदिर, कोणार्क, ओडिशा

👉रॉक गार्डन, चंडीगढ़

👉डल झील, श्रीनगर, जम्मू और कश्मीर

👉बांके बिहारी मंदिर।

Current Affairs 26 February 2021

1) Central government launched National Urban Digital Mission' to create a digital infrastructure for cities in the country.

The move will institutionalise a citizen-centric and ecosystem-driven approach to urban governance and service delivery in cities by 2022, and across all cities and towns by 2024.

2) Puducherry launched a campaign to become Covid-free by February 28. A campaign has been launched to ensure there were no COVID-19 cases by this month end in the union territory, where the daily count has fallen to single digits.

👉Under the "Zero Covid by Feb28" campaign, all those who had come into contact with people infected with coronavirus would be identified and provided treatment, so that the further spread of the pathogen could be prevented.

👉Pondicherry (or Puducherry), a French colonial settlement in India until 1954, is now a Union Territory town bounded by the southeastern Tamil Nadu state.

3) Twitter has taken multiple enforcement actions including permanent suspension of over 500 accounts for a clear breach of Twitter's policies. 

▪️ Twitter :-

CEO - Jack Dorsey 

Founded - 21 March 2006, San Francisco, California, United States

Headquarters - San Francisco, California, United States

Launched - July 15, 2006

Founders - Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams, Biz Stone, Noah Glass

4) The United States has extended the “New START” nuclear disarmament treaty with Russia for a period of five years. The New START, which stands for Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, is a nuclear arms reduction treaty between the United States and the Russian Federation.

▪️Russia :- 

👉President - Vladimir Putin 

👉State Historical Museum in Moscow

👉Hermitage Museum

👉Russian Museum in St Petersburg

👉Kazan Kremlin in Kazan

5) Karishma Dev Dube's short film Bittu has been shortlisted in the Top 10 Best Live-Action Short category for the 93rd Academy Awards. It tells a heart-wrenching story inspired by the 2013 school poisoning in Bihar, through the eyes of a fierce little girl Bittu

6) Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched ‘Mahabahu-Brahmaputra’ initiative and laid the foundation stone of two bridges in Assam.

👉To mark the launch of the Mahabhau-Brahmaputra initiative, which aims to increase connectivity in the eastern states, PM Modi inaugurated the Ro-Pax vessel operations between Neamati-Majuli Island, North Guwahati-South Guwahati and Dhubri-Hatsingimari.

▪️Recent News - Assam state government has decided to provide khadi shirts, and shawls and stoles made of ‘Eri silk’ to grade IV mployees of the state.

👉Assam - Bihu Festival 

👉Assam CM - Sarbananda Sonowal

👉The Khasi and Jaintia Hills are a mountainous region that was mainly part of Assam and Meghalaya

7) United Arab Emirates' space probe entered the orbit of Mars marking a historic moment for the Arab world.

▪️United Arab Emirates:-

👉Capital - Abu Dhabi

👉President - Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan

👉Prime Minister & Vice President - Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

👉Currency - UAE dirham (AED)

8) Ministry of Labour & Employment has appointed Shri S.N. Subrahmanyan, CEO and Managing Director, L&T Ltd, as the Chairman of the National Safety Council for a period of three years.

👉The Ministry launched the National Career Service portal on 20 July 2015 to help bridge the gap between job providers and job seekers.

▪️Ministry of Labour & Employment :-

👉Minister - Santosh Gangwar, Minister of State (Independent Charge)

👉Headquarters - Rafi Marg, New Delhi

9) The Maharashtra Cabinet approved implementation of the Chief Minister Water Conservation Programme, costing Rs 1,340.75 crore.

▪️National Park in Maharashtra :- 

👉Gugumal National Park.

👉Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve.

👉Sanjay Gandhi National Park.

👉Navegaon National Park.

👉Pench National Park.

10) Union defence minister Rajnath Singh virtually inaugurated more than 57,000 water structures constructed in Madhya Pradesh under ‘Jalabhishekam’ campaign from New Delhi.

▪️Ministry of Defence :-  

Headquarters - New Delhi

Founded - 15 August 1947

▪️Madhya Pradesh 

👉CM - Shivraj Singh Chouhan

👉Governor -  Anandiben Patel

👉Bhimbetka Caves

👉Buddhist Monument at Sanchi

👉Khajuraho Temple

11) Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated the Abhyudaya scheme. The chief minister at the launch emphasized that the scheme will aid holistic development by providing coaching facilities similar to that of Kota and Prayagraj to the interested candidates in other parts of the state who are not able to avail those services.

▪️ Recent News :-

Shrawasti in Uttar Pradesh has topped in the ranking of aspirational districts by government think tank Niti Aayog in December 2020. Dhalai (Tripura) and Garhwa (Jharkhand) have been placed at the second and the third positions, respectively.

▪️Uttar Pradesh :- 

👉Chandraprabha Wildlife Sanctuary

👉Dudhwa National Park

👉National Chambal Sanctuary

👉Pilibhit Tiger Reserve 

👉Nawabganj bird sanctuary

12) The Uttar Pradesh government has introduced a system of issuing a unique 16-digit Unicode to mark all kinds of landholdings in the state.

13) Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge has become the new leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha following the retirement of Ghulam Nabi Azad. 

14) Ekta Kapoor, who has produced a slew of iconic shows under her production house Balaji Telefilms, has been honoured with the Hall of Fame award at the Indian Television Academy (ITA) Awards. The 20th edition of the Indian Television Academy Awards was held in Mumbai.

15) Taking forward the vision of Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi for transforming iconic heritage, spiritual and cultural places in the country as ‘Swachh Tourist Destinations’ underSwachh Iconic Places (SIP) initiative of Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen (SBM-G), the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti has announced the selection ofthe following Twelve (12) iconic sites under Phase IV of SIP.

👉Mathura, Uttar Pradesh

👉Agra Fort, Agra, Uttar Pradesh

👉Kalighat Temple, West Bengal

👉Ajanta Caves, Maharashtra

👉Sanchi Stupa, Madhya Pradesh

👉Kumbhalgarh Fort, Rajasthan

👉Jaisalmer Fort, Rajasthan

👉Ramdevra, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan

👉Golconda Fort, Hyderabad, Telangana

👉Sun Temple, Konark, Odisha

👉Rock Garden, Chandigarh

👉Dal Lake, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir

👉Banke Bihari Temple.

Indian-American teen named ‘Time’ magazine’s first-ever ‘Kid of the Year’

A 15-year-old Indian-American girl was named the first-ever “Kid of the Year” by Time magazine for her work using technology to tackle matters such as contaminated drinking water, opioid addiction and cyberbullying. Gitanjali Rao was selected from a field of over 5,000 Americans and was interviewed by 

actor Angelina Jolie for the magazine. “Observe, brainstorm, research, build and 

communicate,” Rao told Jolie about her working process during a virtual meeting. 

Research on water quality Rao said that she was in the second or third grade when she decided to use technology to bring social change. The 15-year-old scientist said she was 10 when she told her parents that she wanted to research on carbon nanotube sensor technology at the Denver Water Quality Research Lab. App to detect cyberbullying Rao said she has developed an app to prevent cyberbullying for Google’s Chrome browser extension. The app, Kindly, detects cyberbullying at an early stage using artificial intelligence technology, she told Jolie. She added that she was working on a way to help detect bio-contaminants such as parasites in water. Rao said that she wanted her innovation to be inexpensive and accurate to help those in third-world countries.

India hosted 2020 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit

Amidst a fierce stand-off between India and China, New Delhi hosted a summit of the council of heads of government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on November 30 with a focus on contributing to the trade and economic agenda of the influential grouping. Here is all you need to know about the SCO and relevance of India hosting its annual summit. 

What is Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) 

* The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is a Eurasian permanent intergovernmental international organisation created in June 2001, in Shanghai, China by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and China. The SCO was preceded by the Shanghai Five mechanism. 

* The SCO aims to strengthen mutual trust and neighbourliness among the member states by promoting their effective cooperation in politics, trade, the economy, research, technology and culture, as well as in education, energy, transport, tourism, environmental protection, and regional stability and security. 

* Known as the "alliance of the East", the SCO is the largest regional organisation in the world in terms of geographical coverage and population, covering three-fifths of the Eurasian continent and nearly half of the human population. SCO represents around 42 per cent of the world's population and 20 per cent of the global GDP. The SCO is seen as a counter-balance to Nato, limiting the influence of United States of America (USA) in Central Asia. 

* Other than the member states, SCO has four observer states (Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia) and six dialogue partners (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey and Sri Lanka). 

* SCO has two permanent bodies — the SCO Secretariat based in Beijing and the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) based in Tashkent.

* The Heads of State Council (HSC) is the supreme decision-making body in the SCO. It meets once a year and adopts decisions and guidelines on all important matters of the organisation. The SCO Heads of Government Council (HGC) meets once a year to discuss the organisation's multilateral cooperation strategy and priority areas. 

Relevance of India hosting SCO HGC meeting 

India is hosted the SCO council of heads of government meet on November 30 in the midst of the stand-off at Ladakh border with China. India was an observer state at the SCO since 2005 and was admitted as a full member of the SCO in 2017. India's membership was pushed by Russia which was aiming to counter China's growing influence in the region. However, with changes in the geopolitical realities since 2014, India aims to stay involved in the SCO to balance the growing closeness between Russia and China even as India has got closer to the US. The SCO membership allows India to expand its footprint in Central Asian region and hosting the Summit brings an opportunity for India to strengthen trade relations with Central Asian countries which are energy-rich nations. Given India's commitment to countering terrorism, the SCO also provides India a platform to raise cross-border terrorism sourced in Pakistan.

China hydropower company plans first downstream dam on Brahmaputra

China’s media reported that authorities have given the go-ahead for a Chinese hydropower 

company to construct the first downstream dam on the lower reaches of the Brahmaputra 

river, or Yarlung Zangbo as it is known in Tibet, marking a new phase in China’s 

hydropower exploitation of the river with potential ramifications for India. 

A report in the Chinese media said the State-owned hydropower company POWERCHINA 

had last month signed “a strategic cooperation agreement” with the Tibet Autonomous 

Region (TAR) government to “implement hydropower exploitation in the downstream of 

the Yarlung Zangbo River” as part of the new Five-Year Plan (2021-2025). 

Previous dams 

China in 2015 operationalised its first hydropower project at Zangmu in Tibet, while three 

other dams at Dagu, Jiexu and Jiacha are being developed, all on the upper and middle 

reaches of the river. The report said this will be the first time the downstream sections of 

the river will be tapped. 

Possible location 

The report did not mention the location of POWERCHINA’s planned downstream project, 

but offcials talked about the particular potential offered at the “Great Bend” of the 

Brahmaputra and at the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon in Medog County, where the river 

falls spectacularly over a 2,000 metre-drop and turns sharply to flow across the border into 

Arunachal Pradesh. 

Chinese officials said this 50-km section alone offered the potential of developing 70 

million kWh “which equals more than three Three Gorges power stations”. They also said 

said “the 60-million kWh hydropower exploitation at the downstream of the Yarlung 

Zangbo River could provide 300 billion kWh of clean, renewable and zero-carbon 

electricity annually” and the project “will play a significant role in realising China’s goal of 

reaching a carbon emissions peak before 2030 and carbon neutrality in 2060”.

Concerns of India 

India has expressed concerns to China over the four dams on the upper and middle 

reaches, though Indian officials have said the dams are not likely to impact the quantity of 

the Brahmaputra’s flows in India greatly because they are only storing water for power 

generation and the Brahmaputra is not entirely dependent on upstream flows with an 

estimated 35% of its basin is in India.

How are cyclones forecast, and how difficult was it to track Cyclone Nivar’s progress?

Cyclone Nivar, that barrelled through Tamil Nadu and brought copious rain in its wake, 

was the third major cyclone to land on India’s coast this year, besides Amphan and Nisarga. 

The Nivar storm originated in the Bay of Bengal and whipped up windspeeds close to 125-

145 kmph, blowing away roofs and felling standing crop. However, relatively fewer lives 

were lost compared to the havoc wreaked by Amphan in West Bengal in May. What aided 

relief operations in the anticipation of Nivar was that it largely conformed to forecasts 

issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD). 

How are cyclones forecast? 

Over the years, India’s ability to track the formation of cyclones has improved significantly. 

There is a network of 12 doppler weather radars (DWR) along India’s coast if one were to 

begin counting from Kolkata and trawl up to Mumbai — there are 27 in all in the country. 

Depending on where a storm is forming, these radars send pulses of radio waves to gauge 

the size as well as the speed at which water droplets are moving. The earlier generation of 

radars was unable to track such progress in real time, but with DWRs, now the base 

standard of weather radars, it is usually possible to detect a potential storm at least four-

five days in advance. The IMD also collaborates with similar international networks, such 

as the Japan Meteorological Agency, the U.S. National Hurricane Center, and the U.S. Central 

Pacific Hurricane Center, and these bodies constantly send warnings and forecasts about 

changes in the ocean weather. The near ubiquity of ocean-buoys that track changes in 

ocean sea surface temperatures as well as dedicated meteorological satellites improve the 

odds of early detection. 

How difficult was it to track Nivar’s progress?

Nivar was the second tropical cyclone that formed around India and made landfall this 

week. Cyclone Gati, which originated in the Arabian Sea and intensified into a ‘very severe 

cyclonic storm’, made its way towards Africa and made landfall in Somalia on November 

22. However around then, another system emerged in the Bay of Bengal, that eventually 

morphed into a cyclonic storm by November 24. The IMD’s initial forecasts said it would at 

most be a ‘severe cyclonic storm’, but it then upgraded it to the same league as Gati, i.e, a 

‘very severe cyclonic storm’. The IMD follows a five-stage classification for cyclones, with 

the lowest a ‘cyclonic storm’ generating wind speeds of 62-87 kmph, and the highest a 

‘super cyclonic storm’, generating winds over 222 kmph.

April-June and October-December are India’s cyclone seasons. The arriving monsoon, as 

well as its retreat, stir up the surrounding seas and generate cyclones. Though the Bay of 

Bengal is three times more likely to generate cyclones, the ones that originate in the 

Arabian Sea are trickier, as the cyclone, while ostensibly moving away from India’s western

coast, can suddenly ‘recurve’ and move back in. There are also fewer radars along India’s 

west coast than the eastern coast, and all these reasons make the Bay of Bengal cyclones 

more tractable. In this context, Nivar, because it conformed to a fairly predictable trajectory 

and was not super cyclonic in intensity, gave State administrations in Puducherry, Tamil 

Nadu and Andhra Pradesh time to prepare, and was far less damaging than Amphan. 

However, the cyclone season is not yet over and more systems are likely to form in the 

coming weeks, according to the IMD. 

How has disaster warning changed? 

Forecasts, on their own, are important, but they cannot override the importance of 

preparedness by State agencies. The formation of cyclones is preceded by ‘depressions’, 

and they are often the first warnings. Not all depressions become cyclones, but many 

coastal States — especially those with a history of being battered — begin organising 

shelters and evacuation of coastal residents. Sea pockets, where cyclones form, are also 

places that drive schools of fish and lure fisherfolk. While meteorological agencies give 

advisories on where fish-catches are likely, they suspend such advisories during storm 

formation to dissuade fishermen from venturing out. The ubiquity of mobile 

communication makes it much easier to quickly give warnings. The IMD also issues flood 

forecast maps, in collaboration with urban bodies that forecast which pockets in a city are 

likely to be flooded and where crop damage is likely to be maximum.