Green India Mission — GIM

UPSC Relevance: Environment

Full Name

National Mission for a Green India

Under

National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC)

It is one of the eight missions under NAPCC.

Objective

To:

  • Protect forests

  • Restore degraded ecosystems

  • Increase forest/tree cover

  • Improve ecosystem services

  • Enhance carbon sinks

  • Support forest-dependent communities

Major Target

Original mission target:

  • Increase forest/tree cover by 5 million hectares

  • Improve quality of forest/tree cover on another 5 million hectares

Thus:

Total landscape intervention → 10 million hectares

Livelihood

The Mission aims to improve forest-based livelihoods of approximately 3 million households.

Climate Significance

GIM supports India's climate strategy by increasing:

  • Carbon sequestration

  • Biodiversity

  • Hydrological services

  • Ecosystem resilience

India's updated climate objective includes creating an additional carbon sink of 2.5–3 billion tonnes CO₂ equivalent by 2030.

2026 Budget

GIM received an allocation of approximately ₹170 crore in 2026–27, although fund-utilisation has remained a concern.

UPSC Key Pointers

GIM → NAPCC → Forests + Ecosystem Services + Carbon Sink + Livelihoods

Prelims Trap: GIM is not simply a tree-plantation programme; it adopts a broader ecosystem and landscape approach.