India is one of the 25 fluorosis endemic countries worldwide. Consumption of water rich in fluoride, especially groundwater, and food with high fluoride content needs to be checked to curb fluorosis.

The following section sheds light on a plethora of concerns and presents factual data and statistics on India, which provide a real time understanding of the prevalent concerns. Topics that are covered encompass forests, e-waste,endangered species, monsoon and non-conventional energy sources.

Various health care schemes of the Indian government are aimed at reducing the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) and infant mortality rate (IMR) in the country. Special focus is being given to states with poor public health indicators and high numbers of people living below the poverty line.

The central and state governments have been running several programmes to help cancer patients. Subsidised treatment and palliative care for cancer are already in place.The AMRIT venture is a step in the right direction to make expensive medicines affordable for patients nationwide.

Despite advances in prevention, diagnosis and treatment tuberculosis remains one of the world’s biggest threats with 1.5 million tuberculosis deaths in 2014. In India it has declined from 216 per lakh population per year in 1990 to 167 in 2014.

Most cardiovascular diseases and lung disorders are caused by smoking of tobacco. Awareness, coupled with reduced production and supply are crucial measures to curb smoking.

Latest National Sample Survey Organisation survey records least number of ailments in the north-east India. Manipur is the most disease free state of India. The north-east states also opt for higher public health care services as compared to the other states of India.

The term monsoon is customarily used in the South Asian context to refer to a period of widespread rains during June-September, otherwise known as the ‘Indian summer monsoon’. The common reference to a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ monsoon denotes whether the rainfall is in excess or deficient over a large area like India. While the monsoon has a wider economic and socio cultural importance for South Asia, its origins have been subject to much scientific debate.

Floods refer to the overflowing of a river or water body beyond its normal confines. They may take the shape of flash floods, surface floods, rapid onset or slow onset floods, depending on the manner of their occurrence.