India’s Path to Environmental Resilience

• 03 Dec 2025

This editorial is based on “The dismal state of India’s environment” which was published in The Hindu on 03/12/2025. The article brings into picture the escalating environmental crisis driven by sustained policy dilution, weakened safeguards, and a resource-first development model. It underscores the urgent need for a policy reset that restores protections, empowers communities, and rebuilds institutions for a sustainable future.

For Prelims: Aravalli range, PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, Green Credit Programme, International Big Cat Alliance, MISHTI Scheme,  2023 South Lhonak disaster,  Great Indian Bustard, Urban Mining.  

For Mains: Key Strides India has Made in Environmental Governance, Major Environmental Challenges Confronting India. 

India is confronting a deepening environmental emergency, driven largely by a decade of incremental policy dilution and regulatory weakening. From the erosion of the Aravalli range due to relaxed mining norms to the toxic air enveloping major cities and reports of uranium-tainted groundwater, the country’s ecological distress reflects a model that prioritises resource extraction over environmental stewardship. Amendments to foundational laws such as the Forest Conservation Act have sidelined essential safeguards, while chronic underfunding, procedural lapses, and the growing use of post-facto clearances have undermined accountability. India now requires a decisive policy course correction that halts ecological degradation, reinstates robust protections, and strengthens institutions to ensure a genuinely sustainable future.

What are the Key Strides India has Made in Environmental Governance? 

• Decentralized Energy Transition- PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana: This represents a structural shift from centralized power generation to a "prosumer" model, where households generate and consume energy, reducing sovereign debt burdens from power subsidies. 
  • It creates a self-sustaining ecosystem that simultaneously tackles energy poverty and carbon intensity, turning the energy transition into a mass movement rather than just industrial policy. 
  • The scheme has facilitated the installation of 4,946 MW of rooftop solar capacity till July 2025 across various states and Union territories 
• Global Wetland Leadership-Ramsar Sites Expansion: India has aggressively moved beyond "terrestrial obsession" (forests) to acknowledging "blue carbon" assets, becoming the leader in wetland conservation in Asia to secure water tables and flood buffers.  
  • This governance shift recognizes wetlands not as wastelands but as critical climate infrastructure for aquifer recharge and migratory flyways. 
  • India’s Ramsar tally reached 94 sites in late 2025 (highest in South Asia). 
• Green Credit Programme (GCP): In an August 2025 notification, the Indian Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) significantly amended the Green Credit Programme (GCP) rules for tree plantation, shifting the focus from simple "tree planting" to verifiable ecosystem restoration. 
  • This demonstrates "agile governance",quickly closing loopholes where companies might have claimed credits for saplings that died, ensuring credits are only tradeable for genuine ecological value. 
  • New 2025 guidelines mandate a minimum 40% canopy density after 5 years for credit eligibility, removing the "plant-and-forget" loophole. 
• Institutionalizing Climate Finance-Sovereign Green Bonds: The government has moved climate action from "moral obligation" to "fiscal instrument" by integrating Green Bonds into its borrowing calendar, creating a low-cost capital pipeline for public infrastructure.  
  • This reduces the "greenium" (cost difference) for sustainable projects and signals to global investors that India's climate goals are backed by sovereign guarantees. 
  • The Centre announced ₹20,000 crore in Green Bond issuance for H2 of FY 2024-25. 
• Biodiversity Diplomacy- International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA): India has elevated conservation to foreign policy, using its success in tiger recovery to lead the Global South in biodiversity protection, creating a diplomatic block for nature-based solutions. 
  • This institutionalizes India's "soft power" in the environment, moving beyond being a rule-taker in global forums to a rule-maker and knowledge provider. 
  • IBCA has secured Government of India's initial support of Rs. 150 crore for five years (2023-24 to 2027-28) 
  • This builds on the success of Project Tiger to export technical expertise on anti-poaching and habitat management globally. 
• The "Waste-to-Wealth" Architecture- Digital EPR Enforcement: Governance has transitioned from voluntary guidelines to mandatory, digitally tracked Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), forcing manufacturers to internalize the cost of their plastic and e-waste.  
  • This creates a formal circular economy market where waste certificates are traded, incentivizing recycling over dumping and formalizing the informal waste picker sector. 
  • Plastic waste recycling capacity has effectively improved, with the CPCB imposing environmental compensation fines on non-compliant firms, ensuring enforcement. 
• Coastal Resilience-MISHTI Scheme Implementation: Recognizing the threat of sea-level rise, the government launched a targeted intervention for mangrove reforestation that combines NREGA labor with scientific conservation.  
  • This is a "co-benefit" approach that generates rural employment while building biological sea-walls against cyclones, shifting focus from concrete embankments to nature-based barriers. 
  • For FY 2024–25, ₹17.96 crore has been allocated to Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Odisha, West Bengal, and Puducherry for the treatment and restoration of 3,836 hectares of degraded mangroves. 

What are the Major Environmental Challenges Confronting India? 

• Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) in the Himalayas: The Himalayan cryosphere is undergoing a structural collapse where accelerated glacial melt is forming unstable new lakes, creating "ticking time bombs" that threaten downstream energy infrastructure and strategic border connectivity.  
  • This is no longer just a climate issue but a national security and economic threat, as seen when sudden breaches wipe out years of hydropower investment in minutes. 
  • Following the 2023 South Lhonak disaster, the Centre launched a ₹150 crore mitigation program in late 2024 specifically targeting some "high-risk" glacial lakes. 
• Asymmetric Air Pollution- The "Bowl Effect": The threat has evolved from a general pollution issue to a geographic crisis of "atmospheric locking," where Northern India's landlocked topography traps pollutants under winter inversion layers, creating a toxic "gas chamber" distinct from the better-ventilated South.  
  • This persistent exposure is now structurally stunting the lung capacity of an entire generation, creating a long-term public health burden that economic growth cannot offset. 
  • While Delhi's Jan-Nov 2025 AQI (187) was the "best" in 8 years, it remains unsafe, with Northern cities like Lucknow and Varanasi continuing to breach limits due to trapped pollutants. 
• Structural Water Scarcity & Aquifer Collapse: India is moving from "water stress" to "structural scarcity" where groundwater extraction exceeds recharge rates, driven by perverse agricultural subsidies and unplanned urbanization that paves over natural recharge zones.  
  • This threat is multidimensional because it now risks sovereign credit ratings and industrial stability, as major tech hubs face "Day Zero" scenarios that disrupt global business operations. 
  • By 2030, the country's water demand is projected to be twice the available supply, implying severe water scarcity for hundreds of millions of people. 
    • Bengaluru’s severe 2024 water crisis saw IT corridors reliant on tankers. 
• "Green vs. Green" Land Conflict & Habitat Fragmentation: A growing analytical threat is the conflict between renewable energy expansion and biodiversity conservation, where solar parks and power lines fragment the last remaining habitats of critically endangered megafauna.  
  • This "green dilemma" forces a choice between climate mitigation (net-zero goals) and ecological preservation, leading to legal stalemates and increased human-wildlife mortality. 
    • Conflict intensified in 2024-25 with Great Indian Bustard (GIB) numbers dropping below 150 due to power line collisions, despite a 2025 captive breeding breakthrough in Jaisalmer. 
• Coastal Erosion & The Compound Cyclone Threat: India’s coastline is facing a "double whammy" of rising sea levels and intensifying cyclones that don't just flood areas but permanently erode land mass, shrinking the country's sovereign territory.  
  • This is a critical development threat as it displaces dense coastal populations and salinizes freshwater sources, effectively rendering fertile agricultural deltas uninhabitable. 
  • INCOIS study warns of a 0.5–1 metre sea level rise along Indian coastlines by 2100, posing significant climate risks, significantly higher than global averages due to regional gravity anomalies. 
• The "Legacy Waste" & Microplastic Toxicity: The failure to manage "legacy waste" (old landfill mountains) has created a toxic crisis where leaching heavy metals poison groundwater while microplastics enter the food chain, creating an invisible biological threat.  
  • The crisis has shifted from simple "littering" to a systemic failure of processing, where rapid tourism growth in fragile ecologies (like islands/mountains) outpaces waste infrastructure, leading to ecological collapse. 
  • India generates over 1.5 lakh tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) per day, but only 83% of waste is collected and less than 30% is treated. 
    • For instance, Lakshadweep reported a "mounting waste crisis" in 2024-25 due to a tourism surge, with no functional incinerators to handle the non-biodegradable load. 
• "Warm Night" Phenomenon & Heat Stress: While peak temperatures grab headlines, the multidimensional threat is the rise in minimum night-time temperatures, which prevents the human body from recovering, significantly increasing mortality risk in urban heat islands.  
  • This "silent killer" is exacerbated by concrete urbanization trapping heat, turning cities into nocturnal ovens that disproportionately affect the poor who lack cooling access. 
  • 2024 was confirmed as India's warmest year since 1901, Delhi and Chandigarh recorded unprecedented "severe warm nights" in June 2024 where night temps stayed above 35°C.

What Steps can India take to Strengthen Environmental Resilience while Advancing Development? 

• Institutionalizing "Sponge City" Frameworks in Urban Master Plans: India must move beyond concrete drainage to Nature-based Solutions (NbS) by legally mandating permeable surfaces and aquifer recharge zones in city master plans.  
  • This measure creates a "Blue-Green Infrastructure" network that mitigates urban flooding while simultaneously recharging groundwater for dry seasons, effectively decoupling urbanization from water scarcity.  
  • By integrating wetlands into the urban fabric, cities can lower "Urban Heat Island" effects, reducing cooling energy demand and boosting economic productivity during heatwaves. 
• Decentralized "Micro-Grid" Architecture for Energy Security: Shifting from a monolithic centralized grid to a network of distributed renewable energy (DRE) micro-grids enhances resilience against climate-induced grid failures and blackouts.  
  • This approach empowers local communities as "Prosumers", reducing transmission losses and ensuring uninterrupted power for rural industries even during extreme weather events.  
  • It fosters "Energy Democracy" and creates local green jobs in maintenance, aligning the goal of carbon neutrality with grassroots economic empowerment and industrial reliability. 
• Mainstreaming "Circular Bio-Economy" in Agriculture: Transforming agricultural waste from a liability (stubble burning) into an asset (compressed biogas/bio-manure) through a formalized circular supply chain creates a new rural revenue stream.  
  • This measure addresses air pollution and soil degradation simultaneously while providing a domestic alternative to imported fossil fuels and chemical fertilizers.  
  • It promotes "Regenerative Agriculture", enhancing soil organic carbon—which acts as a critical carbon sink, thereby boosting crop resilience against climate shocks while securing food systems. 
• Strategic "Critical Mineral" Recycling and Urban Mining: To secure the supply chain for the green transition, India should implement a rigorous "Extended Producer Responsibility" (EPR) regime specifically for E-waste and battery storage technologies. 
  • Developing domestic "Urban Mining" clusters reduces dependency on volatile global import markets for lithium and cobalt, ensuring strategic autonomy in the renewable sector.  
  • This turns the mounting waste crisis into a resource opportunity, fostering a "Secondary Material Market" that supports high-tech manufacturing and reduces the ecological footprint of virgin mining. 
• "Climate-Proofing" Critical Infrastructure Assets: India needs to integrate mandatory "Climate Risk Assessments" into the initial tender process for all large-scale infrastructure projects (roads, bridges, ports).  
  • Adopting "Resilient Design Standards" that account for projected 50-year flood lines and heat stress prevents the "lock-in" of vulnerable assets that would require costly retrofitting later.  
  • This ensures "Fiscal Sustainability" by minimizing future disaster recovery costs and preventing supply chain disruptions, making the economy robust against increasing climate volatility. 
• Developing a Sovereign "Green Taxonomy" & Blended Finance: Establishing a clear, legally binding "Green Taxonomy" helps distinguish genuine climate-positive investments from "greenwashing," attracting long-term institutional foreign direct investment (FDI).  
  • By utilizing "Blended Finance" instruments, where public funds de-risk private capital, India can unlock trillions for high-risk but high-reward adaptation projects like coastal walls or drought-resistant irrigation.  
  • This financial architecture aligns "Sovereign Creditworthiness" with climate performance, lowering the cost of capital for sustainable development projects. 
• Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) with "Living Shorelines": Replacing hard concrete sea walls with "Living Shorelines" comprising mangroves and coral reefs offers a dynamic defense against sea-level rise and cyclonic surges.  
  • This ecosystem-based approach protects coastal settlements more effectively than rigid structures, which often accelerate erosion in adjacent areas, while also nurturing fishery nurseries.  
  • It secures the "Blue Economy", safeguarding the livelihoods of millions of fisherfolk and ensuring the operational resilience of strategic ports and coastal economic zones.

Conclusion:  

A decisive course correction in India’s environmental governance must integrate stronger safeguards, resilient infrastructure, and community-centred ecological stewardship to reverse current degradation trends. By embedding sustainability into economic planning, India can pursue development that is not extractive but regenerative and risk-responsive. Such an approach directly advances SDGs 6 (Water), 7 (Clean Energy), 11 (Sustainable Cities), 13 (Climate Action), 14 & 15 (Life Below Water & Life on Land).

Drishti Mains Question: 

“India’s environmental governance faces the dual challenge of promoting economic development while ensuring ecological sustainability. Critically examine the key gaps in India’s environmental regulatory framework and suggest measures to strengthen environmental governance for sustainable development.”

 

FAQs: 

Q. What is driving India’s current environmental emergency?
India’s environmental crisis is fueled by a decade of policy dilution, weakened regulations, over-extraction of resources, and gaps in accountability. Key issues include deforestation, air and water pollution, uranium contamination, and post-facto project approvals that undermine ecological safeguards.

Q. What are some significant achievements in India’s environmental governance?
India has made strides through initiatives like rooftop solar under PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, expansion of Ramsar wetland sites, Green Credit Programme reforms, issuance of sovereign green bonds, the International Big Cat Alliance, digital enforcement of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), and mangrove restoration via the MISHTI scheme.

Q. What major environmental challenges does India currently face?
Challenges include Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) in the Himalayas, severe air pollution in northern cities, structural water scarcity and aquifer depletion, conflicts between renewable energy projects and wildlife habitats, coastal erosion from rising sea levels, legacy waste and microplastic toxicity, and increasing heat stress from “warm nights.”

Q. What strategies can India adopt to strengthen environmental resilience?
Key measures include integrating sponge city frameworks for urban water management, decentralized micro-grid energy systems, circular bio-economy practices in agriculture, strategic recycling and urban mining, climate-proofing critical infrastructure, establishing a sovereign green taxonomy and blended finance, and implementing living shorelines for coastal protection.

Q. How can India align environmental governance with sustainable development?
By embedding ecological stewardship into economic planning, India can pursue regenerative development that mitigates climate risk, enhances infrastructure resilience, and supports community participation. This approach advances SDGs including water security, clean energy, sustainable cities, climate action, and biodiversity conservation. 

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Questions (PYQs)  

Prelims

Q1. Which of the following can be threats to the biodiversity of a geographical area? (2012)  

1. Global warming  
2. Fragmentation of habitat  
3. Invasion of alien species  
4. Promotion of vegetarianism  

Select the correct answer using the codes given below: 

(a) 1, 2 and 3 only  

(b) 2 and 3 only  

(c) 1 and 4 only  

(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

Ans: (a)

Q2. Biodiversity forms the basis for human existence in the following ways: (2011)  

1. Soil formation  
2. Prevention of soil erosion  
3. Recycling of waste  
4. Pollination of crops  

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:  

(a) 1, 2 and 3 only  

(b) 2, 3 and 4 only  

(c) 1 and 4 only  

(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4  

Ans: (d)

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Mains

Q. How does biodiversity vary in India? How is the Biological Diversity Act,2002 helpful in the conservation of flora and fauna? (2018)