Which one of the following is not among the thematic areas of National Mission on Sustainable Habitat?
- (a)Energy and Green Building
- (b)Mobility and Air Quality
- (c)Waste Management
- (d)Rural Planning, Green cover and Biodiversity
Correct — D, Rural Planning, Green cover and Biodiversity. The National Mission on Sustainable Habitat is one of the eight missions of the National Action Plan on Climate Change, and it is an urban mission run by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. The revised mission for 2021 to 2030 works through five thematic areas: energy and green buildings; urban planning, green cover and biodiversity; mobility and air quality; water management; and waste management. Option (d) is a doctored version of the second of those — the mission's theme is urban planning, not rural planning. Options (a), (b) and (c) reproduce three of the five areas exactly, so the odd one out is the one that changed a single word. Rural habitations are covered by other programmes; this mission's remit is cities.
- (a)Energy and Green Building — Energy and green building is the first of the five thematic areas, covering building codes, energy efficiency and renewable energy in the urban built environment.
- (b)Mobility and Air Quality — Mobility and air quality is one of the five areas, covering public and non-motorised transport and urban air pollution.
- (c)Waste Management — Waste management is one of the five areas, covering solid and liquid waste, and it works alongside the separate water management theme.
The National Action Plan on Climate Change, launched on 30 June 2008, set out eight national missions. The National Mission on Sustainable Habitat is the urban one, and it was recast for the decade 2021 to 2030 by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to align with India's Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement. Its aim is low-carbon urban growth and climate resilience in cities, delivered through five thematic areas rather than a single programme.
This is a spot-the-altered-word item, the commonest way UPSC tests a scheme document. Three options are lifted intact and the fourth changes one adjective. If you know only that the mission is urban — which follows from its parent ministry being Housing and Urban Affairs — the word 'rural' gives the answer without any memory of the list. The wider trap is assuming that a habitat mission must cover villages; the eight missions divide the ground, and rural land and farming sit with the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture and the Green India Mission instead.
- The National Action Plan on Climate Change was launched on 30 June 2008 with eight national missions.
- The National Mission on Sustainable Habitat is administered by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
- The revised mission covers 2021 to 2030 and has five thematic areas: energy and green buildings; urban planning, green cover and biodiversity; mobility and air quality; water management; and waste management.
- Its stated aim is to promote low-carbon urban growth and to build the resilience of cities to climate change, in line with India's Nationally Determined Contributions.
- The other missions of the plan include the National Solar Mission, the National Water Mission, the National Mission for a Green India and the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture.
One word decides the item. The mission belongs to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, so its planning theme is urban.
- Reading 'habitat' as covering rural settlements — the mission is urban and sits with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
- Confusing the mission's water theme with the separate National Water Mission, which is a mission in its own right.
- Dating the action plan to 2014; it was launched on 30 June 2008.
As an odd-one-out over a scheme's stated components, or as a match of a national mission to its nodal ministry.
Which of the following statements about National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) with reference to India is/are correct? 1. It emphasises that maintaining a high growth rate is essential for raising the living standards of the vast majority of the people of India and reducing their vulnerability to the impact of climate change. 2. It was released in 2014. Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer(a) 1 only
The parent plan of this very mission, asked one session earlier. That item turns on the launch year — 2008, not 2014 — while this one turns on the thematic areas of the habitat mission the plan created.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The National Mission on Sustainable Habitat is administered by which one of the following ministries?
- (a)Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
- (b)Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
- (c)Ministry of Rural Development
- (d)Ministry of Jal Shakti
Answer(b) Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs — the mission is the urban limb of the National Action Plan on Climate Change.
- practice — not a real PYQ
How many national missions were set out in India's National Action Plan on Climate Change launched in 2008?
- (a)Five
- (b)Six
- (c)Eight
- (d)Ten
Answer(c) Eight — including the solar, water, sustainable habitat, green India and sustainable agriculture missions.