India aims to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030

UPSC Essentials | Daily Subject-wise Quiz: Economy MCQs on Restoration of Degraded Land, BRICS Indore Declaration, and More (Week 167)

The UPSC Essentials initiative continues to offer subject-wise quizzes designed to help aspirants revise key topics from the static syllabus. This week’s economy quiz focuses on critical issues such as restoration of degraded land, the BRICS Indore Declaration, and technical trade terms relevant for Prelims 2027.

Restoration of Degraded and Deforested Land
India has set an ambitious target of restoring 26 million hectares of degraded and deforested land by 2030, a commitment announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the 14th United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification held in 2019. Telangana leads the restoration efforts, having restored 4.18 million hectares, including 3.6 million hectares through agroforestry initiatives. Other states such as Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh have also made significant contributions.

Restoration efforts include a variety of methods such as planted forests, natural regeneration, silviculture, agroforestry, and mangrove restoration. National schemes like the Compensatory Afforestation Fund, Green India Mission, National Afforestation Programme, and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme have played a pivotal role in driving these efforts.

In the quiz, statements regarding restoration efforts were analyzed, and the correct conclusion was that statements 1 and 2 are correct, making option (b) the correct answer.

BRICS Indore Declaration
The BRICS Indore Declaration, adopted during the BRICS Agriculture Ministers’ Meeting, emphasizes food security, farmer welfare, climate-resilient farming, agricultural trade, and digital agriculture. Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan highlighted the farmer-centric approach of the declaration, which aims to advance sustainable agricultural development and innovation.

Among the quiz options, the correct answer was option (a), which aligns with the declaration’s focus on agriculture and food security.

India–UK Free Trade Agreement and Steel Trade Terms
The India–UK Free Trade Agreement, set to take effect on July 15, 2026, includes provisions to safeguard steel trade through mechanisms such as Country-Specific Quota (CSQ), Residual Quota, and Authorised Use Scheme (AUS). These technical trade terms were introduced to protect India’s steel exports amid the UK’s new steel measures.

In the quiz, the correct answer was option (a), with only one pair being accurate: CSQ is a quota reserved for a specific exporting country. Residual Quota and AUS were incorrectly defined in the question.

PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana
The PM Surya Ghar scheme, launched on February 15, 2024, aims to promote rooftop solar energy by providing households with subsidies covering up to 40% of the cost of solar panels. The scheme has added over 12 GW of capacity through 40 lakh rooftop systems. However, vendors have reported challenges in procuring mandatory Domestic Content Requirement (DCR)-compliant solar panels.

In the quiz, only statement 1 was correct, making option (c) the correct answer.

Market Coupling in India’s Power Sector
Market coupling, proposed under the CERC (Power Market) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2026, seeks to aggregate buy and sell bids across power exchanges to determine a uniform market-clearing price for electricity. India currently has three operational power exchanges—Indian Energy Exchange (IEX), Power Exchange India Limited (PXIL), and Hindustan Power Exchange (HPX)—regulated by CERC.

The correct answer to the quiz question was option (a), with statement 1 being correct and statement 2 incorrect.

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