Q.115 marks · 250w 11 min Medium
Subtopic: Disaster Management · Risk assessment & administrative preparedness
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Introduction: Define vulnerability and risk assessment; frame the Disaster Management Act, 2005 shift from relief to prevention.
Body Part A — importance: targeting, prioritising resources, hazard zoning, early warning, insurance. Part B — administrator's focus areas: institutional (DDMA), planning, capacity-building, response systems, recovery.
Conclusion: Risk assessment converts preparedness into measurable, equity-sensitive action.
- Risk = Hazard × Exposure × Vulnerability; vulnerability assessment identifies who is most exposed and least able to cope
- Disaster Management Act, 2005 shifted governance from relief-centric to prevention and mitigation-centric
- Assessment enables targeted resource allocation, hazard zonation and calibrated early-warning thresholds
- Risk transfer tools: crop insurance and parametric insurance informed by assessment
- Administrator's institutional focus: functional DDMA, updated district disaster management plan, incident command system
- Mitigation/preparedness: building-code enforcement, retrofitting lifeline buildings, mock drills, pre-positioned relief stocks
- Early warning: last-mile dissemination via sirens, SMS and community networks
- Capacity-building of Aapda Mitra volunteers and protection of vulnerable groups (women, elderly, persons with disabilities)
- Response and recovery: coordination with NDRF and build-back-better reconstruction
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Q.210 marks · 150w 9 min Medium
Subtopic: Sustainable Development · Renewable energy grid integration
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Introduction: Define the Green Energy Corridor as a dedicated transmission network for renewable power.
Body: (1) Why it is needed — variability and grid-stress of clean power; (2) what it builds — intra-state and inter-state lines, substations, control centres; (3) how it eases conventional-energy problems — cuts coal dependence, emissions and import bills.
Conclusion: Position it as the backbone of the non-fossil transition.
- GEC is implemented by MNRE to evacuate renewable power into the national grid
- Intra-State GEC Phase-I (2015): ~9,700 ckm of lines and ~22,600 MVA substations across resource-rich states
- Intra-State GEC Phase-II (approved 2022): ~10,750 ckm of lines and ~27,500 MVA substations
- Inter-State GEC component adds long-distance lines and HVDC terminals, including the Ladakh evacuation link
- Includes Renewable Energy Management Centres (REMCs) for forecasting and grid balancing
- Funded partly by central financial assistance plus low-cost loans (e.g. KfW)
- Reduces curtailment, lets coal plants be backed down, cutting emissions and fuel imports
- Supports the 500 GW non-fossil capacity target by 2030
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Q.310 marks · 150w 9 min Easy
Subtopic: Sustainable Development · Clean-energy grid cooperation
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Introduction: Identify the Green Grids Initiative–One Sun One World One Grid (GGI–OSOWOG) and its Glasgow launch.
Body: (1) purpose — an interconnected transnational solar/renewable grid; (2) the underlying logic — the sun is always shining somewhere; (3) origin — first floated by India at the ISA's first assembly in 2018.
Conclusion: a route to affordable clean power and decarbonised grids.
- Full name: Green Grids Initiative–One Sun One World One Grid (GGI–OSOWOG)
- Launched at the World Leaders' Summit of COP26, Glasgow, November 2021
- Co-led by India and the United Kingdom, with the International Solar Alliance and the World Bank
- Purpose: interconnect grids across regions/time zones to move solar and renewable power
- Core logic — the sun is always shining somewhere, smoothing supply and reducing storage need
- Aims to lower power costs, expand clean-energy access and decarbonise grids
- Idea first floated by PM Modi at the first ISA Assembly in October 2018
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Q.415 marks · 250w 11 min Medium
Subtopic: Climate Change · Carbon markets & CDM
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Introduction: Define the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and carbon credits (CERs) under the Kyoto Protocol, and note the post-2012 price collapse.
Body: (1) Why the value slid — surplus credits, weak demand, expiry of the first commitment period. (2) The case to retain it — cheapest abatement route, technology and finance transfer, jobs in renewables for a developing economy. (3) Link to India's energy needs — coal-heavy base, rising demand, and how market mechanisms square growth with low-carbon transition.
Conclusion: Keep the architecture but reform it toward the Paris Article 6 market.
- CDM and Joint Implementation and International Emissions Trading are the three flexible mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol (1997)
- Carbon credits under CDM are called Certified Emission Reductions (CERs)
- CER prices collapsed after 2012 due to oversupply and weak demand at the close of the first commitment period
- India was among the largest hosts of registered CDM projects (renewables, biomass, energy efficiency)
- Mechanism transfers clean technology and climate finance to developing countries at lowest abatement cost
- Principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR) under the UNFCCC underpins India's stance
- Paris Agreement Article 6 provides the successor framework for international carbon markets
- India's coal-heavy electricity mix and rising demand make market-based incentives valuable for a low-carbon transition
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Q.515 marks · 250w 11 min Medium
Subtopic: Climate Change · Regional vulnerability & impacts
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Introduction: Frame climate change as a global problem with sharply unequal local impacts, and note India's high exposure.
Body: (1) National impacts — agriculture, monsoon, health, water. (2) Himalayan states — glacial retreat, GLOFs, springs drying. (3) Coastal states — sea-level rise, cyclones, saline intrusion, fisheries.
Conclusion: Anchor in the National Action Plan on Climate Change and adaptation-led resilience.
- India is among the most climate-vulnerable countries due to long coastline, Himalayan cryosphere and monsoon dependence
- National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC, 2008) with eight missions guides India's response
- State Action Plans on Climate Change operationalise NAPCC at the regional level
- Himalayan impacts: glacial retreat, Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs), drying springs, altered river flow
- Coastal impacts: sea-level rise, intensified cyclones, saline intrusion, mangrove and fishery loss
- Agriculture: erratic monsoon and heat stress threaten rain-fed crop yields and food security
- Health: rising temperatures expand vector-borne diseases and heatwave mortality
- National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem addresses cryosphere risks
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Q.615 marks · 250w 11 min Medium
Subtopic: Climate Change · UNFCCC negotiations & India's pledges
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Introduction: Place the 26th COP at Glasgow (2021) and name its headline deal, the Glasgow Climate Pact.
Body: (1) Global outcomes — coal phase-down, methane pledge, Article 6, 1.5°C. (2) Finance and adaptation outcomes. (3) India's five-fold Panchamrit pledge and LIFE.
Conclusion: Note the gap between pledges and the carbon budget, and the road to delivery.
- 26th COP held at Glasgow in 2021; outcome named the Glasgow Climate Pact
- First COP decision to call for phase-down of unabated coal and inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies
- Global Methane Pledge: cut methane emissions 30% by 2030 (signed by 100-plus countries)
- Article 6 rulebook on international carbon markets finalised, completing the Paris rulebook
- 1.5°C reaffirmed as the central temperature goal; countries asked to revisit 2030 targets
- India's Panchamrit: 500 GW non-fossil capacity by 2030; 50% energy from renewables by 2030
- India: cut projected emissions by 1 billion tonnes and carbon intensity by 45% by 2030; net-zero by 2070
- India launched Lifestyle for Environment (LIFE) to promote sustainable consumption
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Q.715 marks · 250w 11 min Medium
Subtopic: Climate Change · Greenhouse gases & Kyoto Protocol
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Introduction: Define global warming and name the main greenhouse gases.
Body: (1) Effects on global climate. (2) The Kyoto Protocol's binding-target approach for Annex I countries. (3) Its three flexible mechanisms as control measures.
Conclusion: Bridge to the Paris Agreement as the broader successor.
- Global warming is the long-term rise in Earth's average surface temperature from greenhouse-gas buildup
- Main GHGs: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases
- Effects: sea-level rise, ocean acidification, erratic monsoons, heatwaves, droughts and intense storms
- Kyoto Protocol (1997) set binding emission targets only on developed (Annex I) countries
- Reflects the principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR)
- Three flexible mechanisms: International Emissions Trading, Clean Development Mechanism, Joint Implementation
- CDM lets developed nations fund clean projects in developing countries for carbon credits (CERs)
- Paris Agreement (2015) is the universal successor with nationally determined contributions
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Q.815 marks · 250w 11 min Medium
Subtopic: Climate Change · Sea-level rise & Indian Ocean region
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Introduction: Note the IPCC projection and the special exposure of low-lying coasts and islands.
Body: (1) Impacts on India's coasts and deltas. (2) Impacts on Indian Ocean island and littoral states. (3) Economic, ecological and security dimensions.
Conclusion: Point to adaptation and regional cooperation.
- IPCC AR6 projects up to about one metre of sea-level rise by 2100 under high-emission scenarios
- India's roughly 7,500-km coastline and major deltas are highly exposed
- Coastal megacities Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata face increased flooding
- Sundarbans and other mangroves erode; saline intrusion hits farmland and aquifers
- Low islands such as Lakshadweep and the Maldives face partial or near-total submergence
- Bangladesh's Ganga-Brahmaputra delta is among the most vulnerable in the region
- Knock-on effects: climate migration, port and fishery losses, coral-reef damage
- Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and ICZM provide cooperation and protection frameworks
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Q.915 marks · 250w 11 min Medium
Subtopic: Climate Change · Paris Agreement, COP26 & India's NDC
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Introduction: Frame India's pledge architecture from Paris (2015) to the 2022 NDC update.
Body: (1) Original Paris (2015) commitments. (2) Strengthening at COP26 via Panchamrit. (3) What the 2022 updated NDC formalised.
Conclusion: Assess credibility and the equity dimension.
- India's first NDC (Paris, 2015): cut emissions intensity of GDP 33-35% by 2030 over 2005
- First NDC also targeted about 40% non-fossil installed power capacity by 2030
- First NDC included an additional carbon sink of 2.5-3 billion tonnes CO2-equivalent via forest cover
- COP26 Panchamrit (2021) raised ambition with five commitments including net-zero by 2070
- Updated NDC (August 2022) raised emissions-intensity cut to 45% by 2030 over 2005
- Updated NDC raised non-fossil cumulative installed power capacity target to about 50% by 2030
- Updated NDC embedded Lifestyle for Environment (LIFE) as a behaviour-change pillar
- Targets rest on equity and Common But Differentiated Responsibilities, with support from finance and technology
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Q.1015 marks · 250w 11 min Medium
Subtopic: Disaster Management · Hydro-meteorological hazards & mountain mitigation
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Introduction: Define a cloudburst (>100 mm rain in an hour over a small area) and frame the Himalayan, landslide-coupled risk in Uttarakhand.
Body: Three dimensions — (1) structural & non-structural mitigation (early warning, slope stabilisation, zoning), (2) ecological & land-use measures (carrying capacity, drainage), (3) institutional preparedness (DDMAs, community capacity, response).
Conclusion: Balance development with fragile-ecology limits; move from relief to anticipatory risk reduction.
- Cloudburst defined as rainfall exceeding 100 mm per hour over a small area, triggering flash floods and landslides
- 2013 Kedarnath/Mandakini disaster as the reference catastrophe in Uttarakhand
- NDMA guidelines on Floods, Landslides and the National Disaster Management Plan provide the mitigation framework
- Early warning via IMD Doppler radar, automatic weather stations and nowcasting
- Slope stabilisation: retaining walls, rock anchors, bio-engineering; check dams for flood cushioning
- GSI landslide hazard zonation maps to regulate construction and land use in run-out zones
- District Disaster Management Authorities, Aapda Mitra volunteers, pre-monsoon mock drills and drainage clearance
- Carrying-capacity-based regulation of hydropower, riverbed encroachment and pilgrim/tourist load
- NDRF and State Disaster Response Force for response; hill-area building codes for resilient construction
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Q.1115 marks · 250w 11 min Hard
Subtopic: Disaster Management · Drought preparedness & climate variability
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Introduction: Why drought is a creeping disaster; link El Niño/La Niña (ENSO) to monsoon failure.
Body: Three preparedness mechanisms from the Sept 2010 NDMA Drought Guidelines — (1) monitoring & early warning (DMCs, SPI, IMD-ENSO watch), (2) declaration & contingency planning, (3) water security & livelihood buffering.
Conclusion: Shift from crisis relief to anticipatory, indicator-driven drought management.
- Drought treated as a disaster due to slow onset, wide spatial expanse, long duration and impact on vulnerable rural sections
- El Niño typically suppresses the Indian monsoon; La Niña typically enhances it — the ENSO cycle drives preparedness
- September 2010 NDMA Drought Management Guidelines as the anchor instrument
- Drought Monitoring Cells at state level for surveillance and early warning
- Standardised Precipitation Index (SPI) and satellite vegetation/crop indices for objective assessment
- IMD monitoring of sea-surface temperatures and ENSO advisories to forecast monsoon performance
- District-level crop contingency plans with drought-tolerant, short-duration seed varieties; fodder and drinking-water plans
- Watershed development, groundwater recharge and micro-irrigation for water security
- MGNREGA wage support and PMFBY crop insurance for livelihood buffering
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Q.1215 marks · 250w 11 min Medium
Subtopic: Disaster Management · Seismic risk & structural mitigation
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Introduction: Frame India's seismic exposure (~59% landmass in zones III–V) and the Himalayan plate-collision driver.
Body: (1) why exposure feels higher — tectonics plus rising built-up density, (2) preparedness gaps — code non-compliance, soft-storey buildings, weak retrofitting, last-mile warning, (3) existing framework — NDMA guidelines, IS 1893, NCSeP.
Conclusion: Earthquakes don't kill, buildings do — enforce codes and retrofit.
- About 59% of India's landmass falls in seismic zones III–V (11% in Zone V, 18% in Zone IV, 30% in Zone III)
- Indian plate subducting beneath the Eurasian plate along the Himalaya drives high seismicity
- High-risk cities: Guwahati and Srinagar (Zone V), Delhi (Zone IV); Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai (Zone III)
- IS 1893 (Criteria for Earthquake Resistant Design) and the National Building Code are core standards
- Key gap: weak enforcement of seismic codes, soft-storey buildings and illegal vertical additions
- Near-absent retrofitting of pre-code lifeline buildings — schools, hospitals, public structures
- Limited seismic microzonation beyond select cities and patchy earthquake early-warning systems
- NDMA Earthquake Management Guidelines and National Earthquake Risk Mitigation Project as the framework
- Uneven State Disaster Response Force capacity and trained-mason shortage at district level
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Q.1315 marks · 250w 11 min Medium
Subtopic: Disaster Management · Urban flooding & resilient city planning
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Introduction: Define urban flooding and frame rising high-intensity rainfall plus paved catchments.
Body Part A — reasons: climatic (cloudbursts, heat island), hydrological (encroached drains, lost wetlands), governance (outdated drains, fragmented agencies). Part B — preparedness: NDMA 2010 urban-flooding guidelines — stormwater inventory, desilting, early warning, SDMA/AURBANFLOODS cell.
Conclusion: Sponge-city, sustainable urban drainage approach.
- Urban flooding defined as inundation of built-up areas when high-intensity rainfall exceeds drainage capacity
- Paved catchments raise and accelerate runoff peaks, causing rapid flooding within hours
- NDMA Guidelines on Management of Urban Flooding (September 2010) as the anchor instrument
- Urban heat-island effect and climate change concentrate rainfall into short high-intensity bursts
- Encroachment on lakes, wetlands and natural drains plus loss of permeable surface reduces infiltration
- Old stormwater drains designed for only 12–20 mm/hour rainfall, far below current intensities
- Watershed- and ward-level drainage inventories with catchment-based design
- Pre-monsoon desilting of major drains to be completed by 31 March annually
- Mandatory rooftop rainwater harvesting, rain gardens, Urban Flooding cell and real-time early warning
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Q.1415 marks · 250w 11 min Medium
Subtopic: Disaster Management · Coastal hazards & tsunami early warning
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Introduction: Define a tsunami (a series of long ocean waves triggered by sudden displacement of the seabed) and anchor on the 2004 Indian Ocean event.
Body: (1) Causal factors — submarine earthquakes, volcanism, landslides; (2) Effects on life and economy; (3) Preparedness mechanisms under the NDMA Tsunami Risk Management Guidelines (2010) — ITEWC at INCOIS, dissemination chain, response forces, bio-shields.
Conclusion: Balance the early-warning success with last-mile gaps and a forward line on community drills.
- Tsunami = series of long ocean waves from sudden seabed displacement; 2004 source was a magnitude-9.1 quake off Sumatra
- Primary cause is shallow-focus submarine earthquakes at subduction zones; secondary causes are volcanism, submarine landslides, meteorite impact
- Andaman-Sumatra trench (east) and Makran subduction zone (west) expose Indian coasts
- Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC) set up at INCOIS, Hyderabad under Ministry of Earth Sciences, operational since October 2007
- ITEWC detects tsunamigenic earthquakes within minutes and disseminates advisories to NDMA, SDMAs and DDMAs
- Warning infrastructure includes seismic network, deep-ocean bottom-pressure recorders (buoys) and coastal tide gauges
- NDMA Tsunami Risk Management Guidelines (2010) cover risk assessment, early warning, mitigation, response and capacity building
- Mangroves and shelterbelts act as natural bio-shields; NDRF battalions stationed in coastal and island regions
- Economic effects: loss of fishing fleets, port and tourism damage, salination of farmland and groundwater
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Q.1515 marks · 250w 11 min Medium
Subtopic: Disaster Management · DRR frameworks & institutional reform
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Introduction: Define Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and place the Sendai Framework as the successor to the Hyogo Framework for Action.
Body: (1) India's DRR measures before Sendai; (2) Measures after signing Sendai; (3) Key differences between Sendai and Hyogo — risk vs loss, measurable targets, hazard scope, recovery.
Conclusion: Note India's alignment and the road ahead on local-level implementation.
- DRR addresses hazard, exposure and vulnerability to reduce disaster losses
- Disaster Management Act, 2005 created NDMA, SDMAs, DDMAs — pre-Sendai institutional base
- National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) set up before Sendai
- National Disaster Management Plan 2016 (revised 2019) aligned with Sendai's four priorities
- Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) launched by India in 2019, headquartered in New Delhi
- Sendai's four priorities: understanding risk, risk governance, investing in resilience, preparedness & Build Back Better
- Sendai's seven global targets and 38 indicators make progress measurable; Hyogo had five priorities of action but no quantified global targets
- Sendai shifts focus from reducing disaster LOSS (Hyogo) to reducing disaster RISK
- Sendai widens hazard scope to natural, man-made, technological and biological hazards
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Q.1615 marks · 250w 11 min Medium
Subtopic: Disaster Management · Landslide hazard zonation & mitigation
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Introduction: Define landslide hazard zonation (LHZ) mapping and link preparedness to mitigation.
Body: (1) What LHZ maps capture and at what scales; (2) How they aid mitigation — land-use control, engineering, early warning, insurance; (3) The institutional setup (GSI as nodal agency).
Conclusion: Stress mainstreaming LHZ into development planning.
- Landslide Hazard Zonation (LHZ) classifies terrain into low/moderate/high susceptibility zones
- Causative factors mapped: slope angle, lithology, soil, rainfall, land use, drainage and seismicity
- Geological Survey of India (GSI) is the nodal agency for landslide hazard zonation
- Macro-scale maps at 1:50,000; meso and micro-scale maps for critical road corridors and settlements
- Roughly 12–15% of India's landmass is landslide-prone, mainly Himalaya, NE hills and Western Ghats
- Mitigation uses: land-use zoning, slope engineering, safe route alignment, rain-threshold early warning
- Zonation supports building codes, risk-based insurance and community awareness
- NDMA Guidelines on Management of Landslides and Snow Avalanches (2009) recommend LHZ mainstreaming
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Q.1715 marks · 250w 11 min Medium
Subtopic: Disaster Management · Risk, vulnerability & exposure
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Introduction: Define vulnerability per UNDRR and place it in the risk equation (Risk = Hazard × Exposure × Vulnerability).
Body: (1) How vulnerability is characterized — the conditions/processes lens; (2) Types — physical, social, economic, environmental, institutional, with disaster-linked examples.
Conclusion: Reducing vulnerability is the most controllable lever in risk reduction.
- UNDRR defines vulnerability as conditions (physical, social, economic, environmental) that raise susceptibility to a hazard
- Risk = Hazard × Exposure × Vulnerability; vulnerability is the most controllable factor
- Vulnerability is distinct from the hazard — it is the weakness the hazard exposes
- Physical vulnerability: weak buildings, settlements in floodplains and on unstable slopes
- Social vulnerability: shaped by age, gender, disability, caste, literacy and social networks
- Economic vulnerability: poverty, informal livelihoods, absence of insurance and savings
- Environmental vulnerability: degraded mangroves, deforestation, wetland encroachment removing natural buffers
- Institutional vulnerability: weak building codes, poor enforcement, thin local capacity
- Coping capacity and resilience are the counterweights to vulnerability
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Q.1815 marks · 250w 11 min Medium
Subtopic: Disaster Management · Proactive reforms & institutional architecture
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Introduction: Contrast the old relief-centric reactive model with the post-2005 proactive, risk-reduction approach.
Body: (1) Legal-institutional reform; (2) Planning and global alignment; (3) Technology, finance and infrastructure resilience.
Conclusion: Acknowledge progress while flagging local-level implementation gaps.
- Old approach was relief-centric and reactive; new approach is proactive risk reduction
- Disaster Management Act, 2005 created NDMA, SDMAs and DDMAs — a three-tier institutional structure
- National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) raised as a standing specialised multi-hazard force
- National Disaster Management Plan 2016 (revised 2019), aligned with the Sendai Framework
- Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) launched by India in 2019
- Early-warning systems: ITEWC for tsunamis, IMD cyclone forecasting, flood and landslide alerts
- National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project reduced cyclone deaths sharply (e.g., Phailin 2013, Fani 2019)
- Risk financing via SDRF/NDRF and Finance Commission mitigation funds; PM's 10-point DRR agenda
- National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) for training, research and capacity building
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Q.1915 marks · 250w 11 min Medium
Subtopic: Disaster Management · Seismic hazard & earthquake vulnerability
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Introduction: Frame India's seismicity using the Bureau of Indian Standards seismic zoning (IS 1893) and the share of land in high-risk Zones IV and V.
Body: (1) Sources of vulnerability — tectonic setting, exposure, fragile built stock; (2) Salient features of three major quakes of the last three decades with their lessons; (3) Cascading hazards quakes trigger.
Conclusion: Balance India's preparedness gains against the deficit in retrofitting and code enforcement, and point to a way forward.
- IS 1893 (Bureau of Indian Standards) groups India into seismic Zones II to V; Zone V is most active
- Around 59% of India's land lies in moderate-to-high seismic Zones III, IV and V
- Northward Indian-plate collision drives Himalayan and northeast (Zone V) seismicity
- Latur 1993 (M6.4) killed nearly 10,000 and proved the peninsular shield is not aseismic
- Bhuj 2001 (M7.7) killed over 20,000 and catalysed the Disaster Management framework
- Sikkim 2011 (M6.9) showed cascading landslides and blocked hill roads
- Soft-soil amplification and non-engineered masonry housing raise structural risk
- Ductile detailing made mandatory in Zones III, IV and V after Bhuj
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Q.2015 marks · 250w 11 min Medium
Subtopic: Disaster Management · Landslides & slope-failure risk
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Introduction: Define a landslide and name India's worst-affected belts (Himalaya, Western Ghats, Northeast).
Body: (1) Natural and anthropogenic causes; (2) Effects across human, economic and environmental dimensions; (3) Key components of the National Landslide Risk Management Strategy.
Conclusion: Link the strategy to early-warning investment as the way forward.
- Landslide = gravity-driven downslope movement of rock, debris or earth
- Around 12.6% of India's non-snow landmass is landslide-prone
- Worst belts: Himalaya, Western Ghats, Northeast hill states
- Natural causes: heavy rainfall, cloudbursts, seismicity, weak young rock
- Anthropogenic causes: road-cutting, deforestation, mining, unregulated hill building
- National Landslide Risk Management Strategy released by NDMA
- Strategy pillars: hazard mapping, monitoring/early warning, awareness, capacity building, regulation, slope stabilisation
- Geological Survey of India is the nodal agency for landslide hazard zonation
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