• The government of India has taken a number of measures to meet India’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) under the Paris Agreement.

• These measures include various policies, schemes and programmes launched from time to time, to scale up India’s action on both the adaptation and mitigation fronts. 

National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC)

• The government of India launched the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) on June 30, 2008.

• It is the overarching framework for climate actions. 

• The NAPCC comprises national missions in specific areas of solar energy, enhanced energy efficiency, water, agriculture, Himalayan ecosystem, sustainable habitat, green India, human health and strategic knowledge on climate change.

These missions are:

i) National Solar Mission

ii) National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency

iii) National Mission on Sustainable Habitat

iv) National Water Mission

v) National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem

vi) National Mission for a Green India

vii) National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture

viii) National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change.

• The missions under the NAPCC have been revised to align with India’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement. 

• The missions under NAPCC are at various stages of implementation. 

National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change (NMSKCC)

• The Department of Science and Technology (DST) is implementing and coordinating the National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change (NMSKCC).

• The main objective of NMSKCC is to build human and institutional science & technology capacities in climate change and develop strategic knowledge in the key areas of climate change science, adaptation and mitigation.

• Various research programmes, projects and developmental activities have been supported under NMSKCC in different sectors, which majorly include:

i) The establishment of 18 Centers of Excellence (CoEs)

ii) 28 major R&D programmes

iii) 7 network programmes

iv) 7 capacity-building programmes. 

• In addition, State Climate Change Cells (SCCCs) have been established in 17 states/UTs to assist states to take up vulnerability and risk assessment, human capacity building programmes, public awareness programmes and institutional capacity building. 

• These State Climate Change Cells also conduct state-specific research and development (R&D) activities as highlighted in their State Action Plans for Climate Change (SAPCC). 

• Recently, DST has included a new thematic area ‘Urban Climate Research and Extreme Events’ for major R&D under NMSKCC.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)