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Topic – India’s Carbon market

Source: The Hindu

Q1. “As India builds its carbon market, the lessons from global failures show that protecting farmers and communities must come first.” Discuss the safeguards needed to ensure that India’s carbon market is equitable, transparent, and just (15 marks, 250 words)

IntroductionIndia’s transition towards a low-carbon economy through mechanisms like the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) represents a major step in aligning climate policy with sustainable development. However, global experiences — from Kenya’s rangeland carbon projects to afforestation schemes in Latin America — highlight how poorly regulated carbon markets can lead to land alienation, elite capture, and exploitation of vulnerable communities. For India, where agrarian livelihoods and customary land rights are deeply embedded in the social fabric, ensuring safeguards in its carbon market is vital to prevent climate action from becoming a new form of extraction.
Body
  • Understanding Carbon Markets and India’s Approach
  • Lessons from Global Failures: The Kenyan Experience
  • Safeguarding Land Rights and Community Consent in India
  • Ensuring Fair Benefit-Sharing and Transparency
  • Towards a Balanced Regulatory Architecture
ConclusionIndia’s carbon market represents both a climate opportunity and a justice challenge. Without effective safeguards — on land rights, FPIC, benefit-sharing, and transparency — the market could replicate exploitative models rather than empower communities. Building an equitable carbon economy requires community-led, rights-based, and accountable frameworks that reconcile growth with climate ethics. Only then can India’s carbon market become a tool for both emission reduction and social transformation, upholding the principle of “climate justice for all.”
UPSC SyllabusCarbon Credit Trading and climate justice
Why was this question asked?Q. Should the pursuit of carbon credits and clean development mechanisms set up under UNFCCC be maintained even though there has been a massive slide in the value of a carbon credit? Discuss with respect to India’s energy needs for economic growth. [2014]
IntroductionIndia’s transition towards a low-carbon economy through mechanisms like the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) represents a major step in aligning climate policy with sustainable development. However, global experiences — from Kenya’s rangeland carbon projects to afforestation schemes in Latin America — highlight how poorly regulated carbon markets can lead to land alienation, elite capture, and exploitation of vulnerable communities. For India, where agrarian livelihoods and customary land rights are deeply embedded in the social fabric, ensuring safeguards in its carbon market is vital to prevent climate action from becoming a new form of extraction.
Body

Understanding Carbon Markets and India’s Approach 

  • A carbon credit represents a certified reduction or removal of greenhouse gases (GHGs), tradable in voluntary or compliance markets.
  • India’s Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (2023) aims to establish a national registry, define emission intensity benchmarks, and develop methodologies for low-emission activities such as biogas, biomass, and climate-smart agriculture.
  • However, agriculture-based projects remain underrepresented — of 64 Indian projects under Verra, only four are registered, mainly due to weak farmer engagement and limited institutional support.
  • Without equitable participation, the benefits of India’s emerging carbon economy risk bypassing those most affected by climate change — smallholders, Adivasis, and marginalized caste groups.

Lessons from Global Failures: The Kenyan Experience

  • The Northern Kenya Rangelands Carbon Project, covering 1.9 million hectares, was suspended by Verra in 2023 and 2025 for violating principles of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) and for opaque governance.
  • Similarly, the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project displaced pastoralists and restricted access to grazing lands.
  • These examples demonstrate how top-down carbon governance and the commodification of community lands can reproduce colonial-era land control patterns, undermining trust and justice.
  • The key takeaway for India: carbon markets cannot be built on dispossession; they must embed rights and accountability.

Safeguarding Land Rights and Community Consent in India

  • India’s carbon projects often extend into village commons, forest fringes, and tribal areas, raising concerns about customary land use.
  • The Forest Rights Act (2006) and the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (1996) provide a legal foundation to uphold community ownership and consent.

Carbon schemes should require:

  • Mandatory FPIC procedures before registration.
  • Recognition of collective and customary land rights.
  • Transparent disclosure of project ownership and benefit-sharing agreements.
  • Strengthening Gram Sabha oversight in carbon-linked forestry and agroforestry projects can anchor decisions in local democratic control.

Ensuring Fair Benefit-Sharing and Transparency

  • Many carbon projects fail because developers retain disproportionate profits, while farmers receive token benefits.
  • India needs a mandatory benefit-sharing framework, modeled on:
  • The Biological Diversity Act’s Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) principle.
  • Revenue transparency standards similar to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).

A National Carbon Registry should disclose:

  • Ownership of carbon rights.
  • Distribution of financial benefits.
  • Project-level performance audits.
  • Local capacity-building and farmer cooperatives can enable collective bargaining and reduce dependency on intermediaries.

Towards a Balanced Regulatory Architecture

  • Overregulation could discourage private participation; under-regulation risks exploitation.

A lightweight but robust regulatory model should:

  • Encourage innovation and private investment.
  • Include independent third-party audits for social and environmental integrity.
  • Establish grievance redressal mechanisms accessible to local stakeholders.
  • Promote adaptive governance, allowing periodic review of safeguards based on on-ground outcomes.
  • Integration with the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement ensures alignment with India’s global climate commitments.
ConclusionIndia’s carbon market represents both a climate opportunity and a justice challenge. Without effective safeguards — on land rights, FPIC, benefit-sharing, and transparency — the market could replicate exploitative models rather than empower communities. Building an equitable carbon economy requires community-led, rights-based, and accountable frameworks that reconcile growth with climate ethics. Only then can India’s carbon market become a tool for both emission reduction and social transformation, upholding the principle of “climate justice for all.”

Topic – North East Monsoon

Source: The Hindu

Q 2. “The timely onset of the northeast monsoon is a welcome sign, but preparedness remains the key to reducing its adverse impacts.” Discuss the agricultural and disaster management implications of the 2025 northeast monsoon, highlighting the steps required for effective mitigation and resource management. (15 marks, 250 words)

IntroductionThe northeast monsoon, which typically sets in around October 20, arrived on October 16, 2025, bringing relief to Tamil Nadu, coastal Andhra Pradesh, and Rayalaseema. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast “above-normal” rainfall—over 112% of the long-period average. As this monsoon accounts for 48% of Tamil Nadu’s and 30% of Andhra Pradesh’s annual rainfall, its timely onset is vital for agricultural productivity, water security, and disaster preparedness. Yet, as extreme weather patterns intensify due to climate change, the challenge lies not in receiving rain but in managing it wisely and safely.
Body
  • Agricultural Significance and Regional Dependence
  • Climate Change, Cyclones, and Urban Flooding
  • Government Preparedness and Disaster Management Initiatives
  • Community Ownership and Environmental Accountability
  • Way Forward: Towards Integrated Monsoon Management
ConclusionThe 2025 northeast monsoon’s timely onset and above-normal forecast bring both hope and caution. It underscores the duality of India’s monsoon challenge — abundant rainfall that sustains agriculture can also devastate lives without preparedness. A future-ready approach must integrate scientific forecasting, resilient infrastructure, fair resource distribution, and civic participation. Managing the monsoon wisely is not merely a seasonal task — it is a test of India’s climate governance and cooperative federalism.
UPSC SyllabusIndian Climate
Why was this question asked?Q. Why is the South-West Monsoon called Purvaiys’ (easterly) in Bhojpur Region? How has this directional seasonal wind system influenced the cultural ethos of the region. (2023)
IntroductionThe northeast monsoon, which typically sets in around October 20, arrived on October 16, 2025, bringing relief to Tamil Nadu, coastal Andhra Pradesh, and Rayalaseema. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast “above-normal” rainfall—over 112% of the long-period average. As this monsoon accounts for 48% of Tamil Nadu’s and 30% of Andhra Pradesh’s annual rainfall, its timely onset is vital for agricultural productivity, water security, and disaster preparedness. Yet, as extreme weather patterns intensify due to climate change, the challenge lies not in receiving rain but in managing it wisely and safely.
BodyAgricultural Significance and Regional Dependence

 

  • The northeast monsoon, unlike the southwest counterpart, primarily benefits the southeastern peninsula, including Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Puducherry.
  • Major crops reliant on it: paddy (Samba), pulses, millets, and groundnuts.
  • Its onset provides critical irrigation support for rabi crops, replenishing tanks and groundwater reserves.
  • However, issues like fertilizer shortages, especially of urea, have been reported across Tamil Nadu and other states, threatening to blunt agricultural gains.
  • The Union Ministry of Agriculture has reportedly enhanced urea allocation from 36.65 lakh tonnes (2024) to meet current demand — an essential corrective step.

Climate Change, Cyclones, and Urban Flooding

  • The northeast monsoon season is marked by frequent cyclonic disturbances—usually three per season over the Bay of Bengal.
  • A study by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology highlights a rise in cloudburst frequency, intensifying the risk of urban flooding, particularly in Chennai, which has faced repeated inundation over the past decade.
  • With global warming increasing sea-surface temperatures, cyclones tend to be more intense and erratic, making early warning systems and resilient infrastructure indispensable.
  • Thus, monsoon management today demands a dual focus: mitigation of flood risk and adaptation of urban drainage and land-use planning.

Government Preparedness and Disaster Management Initiatives

  • The Tamil Nadu government has developed a real-time flood forecasting system for Chennai — aimed at optimizing reservoir discharge and preventing uncontrolled overflow.
  • Similar preparedness drives are underway across southern states, emphasizing inter-agency coordination, evacuation protocols, and reservoir monitoring.
  • The reduction in casualties in recent years demonstrates the progress of integrated disaster response mechanisms.
  • However, gaps persist — notably in stormwater drainage, encroachment clearance, and solid waste disposal, which exacerbate flooding.

Community Ownership and Environmental Accountability

  • Many urban waterbodies have degenerated into dumping grounds, reflecting the absence of community participation in local water management.
  • Restoring wetlands, temple tanks, and marshlands is crucial to absorb floodwaters and recharge aquifers.
  • Encouraging citizen-led clean-up campaigns, integrating school-based awareness programmes, and enforcing penalties for encroachments can rebuild civic responsibility.
  • In rural belts, watershed development and micro-irrigation schemes (such as drip and sprinkler systems) must be scaled up for sustainable resource use.

Way Forward: Towards Integrated Monsoon Management

  • Forecast Integration: Combine IMD data with local hydrological models for district-level rainfall prediction.
  • Smart Agriculture: Promote climate-resilient cropping patterns and fertilizer efficiency management.
  • Urban Resilience: Expand flood zoning, strengthen municipal stormwater networks, and adopt sponge city concepts.
  • Inter-State Coordination: Given that rain systems traverse southern India, coordinated water release and early warning protocols among Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh are essential.
  • Community-Based Adaptation: Empower local self-governments and farmer producer organizations (FPOs) to co-manage monsoon-linked resources.
ConclusionThe 2025 northeast monsoon’s timely onset and above-normal forecast bring both hope and caution. It underscores the duality of India’s monsoon challenge — abundant rainfall that sustains agriculture can also devastate lives without preparedness. A future-ready approach must integrate scientific forecasting, resilient infrastructure, fair resource distribution, and civic participation. Managing the monsoon wisely is not merely a seasonal task — it is a test of India’s climate governance and cooperative federalism.
UPSC CARE Mains Practice 22nd october 2025
UPSC CARE Mains Practice 15th october 2025
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