At a Glance
Four facts to hold on to.
Aim
Restore and enhance forest cover.
Place
One of eight NAPCC missions.
Target
5 Mha more cover, 5 Mha better quality.
Method
Community and grassroots participation.
In this lesson
What Green India Mission Aims to Do
Restore forest cover
- GIM aims to restore and enhance forest cover.
- It answers climate change through both adaptation and mitigation.
- Source: Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Two plausible but wrong aims
- GIM does not put environmental costs into government budgets. That is green accounting.
- GIM does not aim to boost farm output for food security.
- Food-security goals belong to other missions.
- Only one of the three UPSC claims was GIM’s real purpose.
True or False: The Green India Mission aims to incorporate environmental costs into government budgets, a concept known as green accounting.
How GIM Is Structured
One of eight NAPCC missions
- GIM is one of eight missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change.
- It launched in February 2014.
A 10-million-hectare target
- Raise forest and tree cover on 5 million hectares.
- Improve the quality of another 5 million hectares of forest and non-forest land.
A decentralised approach
- GIM relies on grassroots bodies and community participation.
- It is not planned from the top alone.
- See also Forest Cover in India.
True or False: Green India Mission is one of eight missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change, launched in February 2014.
Previous Year Questions
UPSC 2016 asked for GIM’s real aim.
- UPSC 2016Only restoring and enhancing forest cover, through adaptation and mitigation, describes GIM’s real aim. View the question.
True or False: UPSC’s 2016 question confirmed that boosting agricultural output for food security is a real aim of the Green India Mission.
GIM and India’s Climate Commitments
A carbon sink target, and forest households
- GIM supports an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3.0 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
- This ties to India’s NDC commitments.
- By improving forest productivity, GIM aims to raise income and resilience for about 3 million forest-dependent households.
- Its ecosystem-service focus includes mangroves and wetlands.
Exam traps
- GIM is about forests, not budgets or farm output.
- Eight NAPCC missions. GIM is one.
- Community participation is central.
- Compare with GIAHS for another protection scheme.
Think it through: why does UPSC test two plausible false claims instead of asking directly?
A direct question only tests one memorised fact. Two close distractors test whether you can reject ideas that sound similar. Green accounting is a real concept but belongs to a different policy area. A second Green Revolution is real too, but it targets food security. You must know what GIM is not, which means knowing its neighbouring missions.
True or False: GIM aims to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3.0 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent, supporting India’s NDC commitments.
True or False: GIM relies mainly on top-down central planning, with little role for grassroots organisations or community participation.
Quick Q&A
What is GIM’s real aim?
Restore and enhance forest cover.
How many NAPCC missions?
Eight.
When did GIM launch?
February 2014.
What is the carbon sink target?
2.5 to 3.0 billion tonnes CO2e.
What is green accounting?
A separate idea. Not GIM.
🎲 Practice: Green India Mission
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