As a first follow-up activity to decision 11/7 of the governing council, the Executive Director of UNEP convened, in cooperation with South Asian cooperative Environment programme (SACEP), a meeting on national focal points of the states of the region in order to seek their views on how to proceed in developing a comprehensive action plan for the protection and management of the marine and coastal environment of the South Asia seas region. The meeting discussed steps leading to the adoption of an action plan and reached a consensus on the items to be considered for further development of the action plan. This would include a review of the geographic scope, the objectives, and priority areas of regional concern, the institutional arrangements, and the financial arrangements. The meeting recommended that the government, with the assistance of UNEP and other organizations as appropriate, should initiate the preparation of country reports reviewing their: national environmental problems defined as priority areas of regional concernActivities which may usefully be carried out under action plan to resolve or mitigate these problemsnational, institutional and manpower resources which are or may be, involved in dealing with these problems including the identification of the need to strengthen their capability. The present document is a country report on environmental problems in India prepared by experts designated by focal point of India for the development of the action plan.