Barmer, April 3 -- The Union government has acknowledged that climate change is significantly impacting livelihoods in India's desert and arid regions, particularly affecting pastoral and agrarian communities dependent on fragile ecosystems. Replying to an unstarred question raised by Ummedaram Beniwal in the Lok Sabha on Friday, Union minister of state for environment, forest and climate change Kirti Vardhan Singh said that multiple studies conducted across ministries confirm widespread climate-related disruptions, including rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, droughts, and heatwaves. The government referred to India's Third National Communication (2023) submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which outlines that climate change impacts are being observed across key sectors such as agriculture and water resources. According to the minister, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research is implementing the National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) project to assess and address climate risks. Under this initiative, district-level vulnerability assessments have been carried out in 651 agricultural districts based on Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change protocols. Of these, 310 districts have been identified as climate vulnerable, including 109 categorised as "very high" risk and 201 as "highly" vulnerable. To counter these challenges, the government has introduced a range of adaptive measures aimed at strengthening resilience among farmers. These include promotion of climate-resilient agricultural techniques such as direct seeding of rice, zero tillage in wheat, and cultivation of drought- and heat-tolerant crop varieties. Demonstrations of such technologies are being conducted in 448 climate-resilient villages across 151 vulnerable districts through Krishi Vigyan Kendras. Efforts are also underway to build local capacity through seed banks and community nurseries to ensure timely availability of resilient crop varieties. The Centre further highlighted that multiple schemes have been rolled out to reduce dependence on erratic monsoons, improve irrigation infrastructure, and promote sustainable water management practices. The National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change, launched in 2015-16, continues to support projects aimed at mitigating climate impacts. In addition, State Action Plans on Climate Change prepared by states and Union Territories incorporate sector-specific adaptation strategies, particularly for agriculture. Addressing desertification concerns, the government noted that India, as a signatory to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, has adopted the National Action Plan to Combat Desertification (2023), targeting restoration of 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030. Several flagship programmes-including the Green India Mission, Watershed Development under PMKSY, Nagar Van Yojana, CAMPA afforestation, and rural livelihood initiatives-are being implemented to curb land degradation and support sustainable livelihoods in vulnerable regions. Responding the issue Barmern MP Ummedaram Beniwal said, "The picture presented in Parliament is already the lived reality of farmers and pastoral communities in western Rajasthan. Rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, and recurring drought-like conditions are no longer future warnings but a present-day truth."...