New Delhi, June 17 -- The north-western part of India, especially the western part of Rajasthan has been experiencing significant changes in rainfall pattern, aeolian terrain and demography. Comprising 12 districts of Rajasthan and geographically situated between the Aravalli range in the east (with an aridity index value of -66 per cent) and the Indus riverbed in the extreme west (with an aridity index of -85 per cent), the region represents India's desert ecosystem. About 27 million people (as per 2011 Census) and 26 million livestock (as per 2019 livestock census) live in western Rajasthan, thus it is considered as the most densely populated desert of the world.

The terrain of the Thar Desert is unique in nature. It is an assemblage o...