Category Environment, Energy, Climate Change and Sustainable Development

CBAM

Navigating European Union Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (EU CBAM): Evaluating India’s Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme

The global pharmaceutical sector for decades has been operating with a hyper-specialized and cost-driven business model. Under this approach, western pharmaceutical giants have used their capital to invest in high-margin research and development, patent acquisition and initial clinical design. Simultaneously, capital intensive, environmentally demanding, and low margin segments of manufacturing. Especially the synthesis of key starting materials (KSMs) and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), were successively exported to developing Asian economies with lower overhead costs and more flexible regulatory frameworks.

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India’s COP26 “Panchamrit” Climate Pledges (2021) – Progress Scorecard

At COP26 in Glasgow on 1 November 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled five ambitious climate commitments for India, collectively known as Panchamrit, which translates to “five nectars” in Sanskrit. These pledges include: (i) 500GW of non-fossil energy capacity by 2030; (ii) meeting 50% of energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030; (iii) cutting projected cumulative carbon emissions by 1 billion tonnes between then 2030; (iv) reducing the emissions intensity of GDP by 45% from 2005 levels by 2030; and (v) achieving net zero emissions by 2070.

India’s Climate Solutions and Way Forward

India stands at a critical juncture in addressing the climate crisis, where the imperatives of development, energy security, climate resilience and social justice increasingly intersect. While the country has undertaken several commitments towards mitigating greenhouse-gas emissions and transitioning towards a low-carbon economy, the impacts of climate change are already being experienced through extreme weather events, agricultural losses, disruptions to livelihoods and growing vulnerabilities among marginalised communities.

Climate Disasters in India: Extreme Events, Risks and Resilience

Climate disasters are risks closely linked to climatic conditions and climate change. These include extreme events such as heatwaves, floods, cyclones, and droughts, as well as other climate hazards. Although such events may have natural causes, the extent of their impact is strongly influenced by human exposure, vulnerability, environmental degradation, development patterns, and the capacity of institutions and communities to respond. The need to understand such climatic disasters has increased as extreme events increasingly affect livelihoods, infrastructure, public health, agriculture, ecosystems, and even economic activity.

Namami Gange

Namami Gange 2.0  (2021-2026) : Assessing River Rejuvenation, STP Infrastructure and Community Participation Policy

The Ganga supports more than 400 million people. It gives them water to drink, land to farm, and a reason to pray. But it also carries the waste of cities, factories, and towns along its 2500 km stretch. That is the core problem. For many years, cleaning the Ganga has been a national priority. In 2014, the Namami Gange Mission was launched.

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Namami Gange Programme: Assessing Progress as Phase II Nears Its 2026 Deadline

According to Hindu mythology, the Ganga is revered as a goddess who descends on earth from the great heavens. She was brought down to earth for the penance of King Bhaghirata. Ganga’s civilisational importance sits uneasily alongside an assessment of the river's current material condition. The Ganga’s length is over 2,525 kilometres. More importantly, the river supports 43 per cent of India’s population (CAG, 2017). Unfortunately, decades of industrial, religious and agricultural waste have severely degraded its ecological health. This has prompted the Government of India to launch the Namami Gange Programme (NGP) in June 2014. Under the Ministry of Jal Shakti's Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.

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The Mutirao Mandate: India’s Energy Security and Climate Finance Strategies post COP-30

It’s been ten years since the Paris Agreement and the Presidency at COP30 in Belem launched the Global Mutirao as a part of its Belem political package that came along with matters on global stocktake, adaptation fund, reports and mitigation programmes (Belem Political Package, UNFCCC, 2025). The Global Mutirao, a key element in the package, was signed on by all the 195 participating countries. It is a commitment that seeks international cooperation to accelerate climate action and shows that the Paris Agreement is working, but it needs to do more and faster. (UNEP, 2025)

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