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18 August 2026

CAG audit of Green India Mission

The topic involves a CAG performance audit of a flagship environmental mission, directly addressing governance accountability, policy implementation failures, and India's climate change commitments.

1 min read Day 2 of 2 2 questions 1 prelims

Notes

  • CAG performance audit of Green India Mission (GIM) reveals significant underachievement against targets.
  • GIM target: improve forest quality over 1.4 million hectares; actual achievement: 0.11 million hectares.
  • GIM target: expand forest cover; actual achievement: 4% of the target.
  • GIM is one of eight pillars of the National Action Plan on Climate Change (2008).
  • GIM objective: create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes by 2030 under Paris Agreement commitments.
  • Lack of convergence between GIM and existing schemes like CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority) and MGNREGA.
  • India State of Forest Report 2023: 1,445 sq km gain in green cover, with only 156 sq km classified as true forest; 1,289 sq km is tree cover outside recorded forests.
  • Trend observed: dense canopy within recorded forests is thinning into scrub.
  • Distinction highlighted between ecological restoration (biodiversity, water, habitat) and simple tree plantation drives.

Part of a longer story

This is day 2 of 2 in CAG Performance Audit of the Green India Mission, which has been running since 16 August 2026. Reading it whole is usually worth more than reading today alone — the exam asks how something developed.

Questions

  1. Discuss the challenges in achieving the objectives of the Green India Mission (GIM) in the context of India's climate change commitments under the Paris Agreement. 150 words
    Attempt this — 150 words in 8 min
    0 / 150 words 8:00
  2. Critically analyze the distinction between 'tree cover' and 'forest cover' in India's ecological restoration efforts. How can better convergence between existing institutional mechanisms like CAMPA and national missions improve the quality of forest ecosystems? 250 words
    Attempt this — 250 words in 11 min
    0 / 250 words 11:00

Prelims

  1. The Green India Mission (GIM) is one of the eight missions under which of the following?

Syllabus

Topics

Sources

250words.in · https://250words.in/daily/2026-08-18/cag-audit-of-green-india-mission