New Delhi, Aug. 25 -- Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav, today called for a fundamental shift in the global approach to drought - from reactive relief to proactive, technology-enabled resilience. Addressing the Ministerial Dialogue on 'Accelerating Drought Resilience', at the 17th Conference of Parties (CoP17) of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), in Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia), the Minister said drought is "no longer an occasional event, but a defining development challenge", affecting water security, food systems, biodiversity and economic stability.

Mr Yadav highlighted India's coordinated, multi-institutional approach integrating early warning, mitigation, relief and community res...