- Why in news
- On 25 March 2026 the Union Cabinet approved India's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) for 2031-2035, to be communicated to the UNFCCC.
- What it is
- A Nationally Determined Contribution is a country's own climate action plan under the Paris Agreement (2015). Each party must submit and update it every five years, with rising ambition. India's first NDC was submitted in 2015 and updated in 2022, and India has a long-term goal of net-zero by 2070.
- Emissions intensity target
- India commits to cut the emissions intensity of its GDP by 47% by 2035 from the 2005 level.
- First NDC (2015)
- The 2015 NDC set 2030 targets of 33-35% emissions intensity cut and 40% non-fossil capacity. Both were met early.
- How the NDC is carried out
- It is operationalised through the NAPCC with its nine national missions, and through State Action Plans on Climate Change.
- Process
- Ten NITI Aayog working groups and wide consultations shaped the targets, which considered the first Global Stocktake and CBDR-RC.
Don’t confuse with Emissions intensity vs absolute emissions: India's target cuts emissions per unit of GDP. It does not cap total emissions, which can still rise.
Don’t confuse with NDC vs net-zero target: The NDC is a five-yearly national target under the Paris Agreement. Net-zero by 2070 is a long-term goal.
International bodies and relations: the largest group of news questions in Prelims (61 since 2013), often about background, members and location. In Mains, 27 news-triggered questions, mostly on India's interests.
Why it matters
- Meets the Paris Agreement duty to submit a successive, more ambitious NDC.
- Ties climate goals to growth and the Viksit Bharat vision, backing India's climate justice and CBDR-RC stance.
Problems
- Raising non-fossil share needs large grid, storage and transmission investment, and coal still dominates generation.
- Climate finance and technology support from developed countries remain short of needs.
Way forward
- Scale up storage, green energy corridors and domestic clean-tech manufacturing.
- Strengthen state-level action through SAPCCs and push for predictable international climate finance.
Put in your answer
Early achievement of 2015 NDC targets: India met its 2030 emissions intensity and non-fossil capacity targets 11 and 9 years early.
Non-fossil capacity: India reached 52.57% non-fossil installed capacity in February 2026.
Partnerships: India works through the International Solar Alliance, CDRI, Global Bio-fuel Alliance and LeadIT.
- 2025Mains GS3 · Q18Review India's Paris Agreement commitments, COP26 strengthening, and how first NDC was updated in 2022
- 2021Mains GS3 · Q17Major COP26 outcomes and India's commitments made at the conference
- 2022Mains GS2 · Q20Describe India's changing climate policy in international fora amid geopolitics
- 2016Prelims Q97Statements on Paris Agreement's signatories, 2017 entry into force, temperature goals, developed countries' responsibility
- 2025Prelims Q34Statements on Article 6 of Paris Agreement: carbon markets and non-market cooperation
- 2010Prelims Q56Where the UNFCCC treaty was drawn up
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
Prelims practice · Pairs
Ours, not from a UPSC paper
With reference to India's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) for 2031-2035, consider the following pairs:
- 1.Emissions intensity of GDP — Cut of 47% by 2035 from the 2005 level
- 2.Non-fossil share of installed electric power capacity — 50% by 2035
- 3.Framework through which the NDC is operationalised — National Action Plan on Climate Change with its nine national missions
How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
True or false?
1 of 4
Statements the way Prelims prints them. Say first, then see the fact.
1.India's updated NDC aims to create an additional carbon sink of 3.5 to 4.0 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through forest and tree cover by 2035.
True. 3.5-4.0 billion tonnes CO2 eq. from the 2005 level.
2.The NDC is operationalised in India through the National Action Plan on Climate Change and its nine national missions.
True. NAPCC with nine missions, plus SAPCCs.
3.Under the Paris Agreement, parties communicate their NDCs to the UNFCCC every five years.
True. NDCs are submitted and updated on a five-year cycle.
4.The Paris Agreement was adopted at COP26 held in Glasgow.
False. It was adopted at COP21 in Paris in 2015.
Written by us from the release, not by UPSC; checked by a second model.
Mains practice
15 marks · 250 words
The Union Cabinet has approved India's Nationally Determined Contribution for 2031-2035, with a 47% cut in emissions intensity of GDP, 60% non-fossil installed power capacity and an additional carbon sink of 3.5-4.0 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2035. Examine the main features of this commitment and discuss the challenges India faces in meeting it while balancing growth with climate justice.
Worth revising until Prelims 2027: most news questions come within two years of the event.