Why in News?

The Bharat Renewable Energy Summit and Expo (Bharat RE) 2026 is being held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, from 2 to 5 November 2026.

Geothermal energy, pumped storage hydropower, green hydrogen and agrivoltaics are among the areas in focus, and together they show where India’s clean energy push is heading.

Key Points: The Summit and India’s Clean Energy Base

• Summit: Theme “Invest. Innovate. Inspire.”, with participants from over 130 countries, 40+ Ministers, 13 States and Union Territories and 400+ exhibitors. It runs alongside the 9th International Solar Alliance Assembly and the 4th International Conference on Green Hydrogen.
• Non-fossil capacity: 308.027 GW as of September 2026, with about 55.29 GW added in 2025-26. The target is 500 GW by 2030.
• Why storage and new sources: Solar and wind vary with sunlight and weather, so India needs storage and other round-the-clock sources.

1. Geothermal Energy

• What it is: Heat from the Earth’s interior, from radioactive decay and the planet’s leftover heat, used for power or direct heating. It is steady, low-carbon and weather-independent.
• Policy: The National Policy on Geothermal Energy was notified in September 2025, with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) as nodal ministry. It supports exploration, repurposing abandoned oil and gas wells, ground source heat pumps and pilot projects.
• Milestone: In July 2026, the ONGC Energy Centre commissioned India’s first two geothermal wells at Puga Valley, Ladakh, each 1,000 m deep at over 14,000 feet. They lead to a 1 MW demonstration power project.
• Resource base: The Geological Survey of India has mapped 381 hot springs and 10 geothermal provinces. The theoretical potential is about 10.6 GW, with 42 promising sites.
• Pilot projects: Five R&D projects were sanctioned in 2025, including Gandhinagar, where wells give fluid at 70 to 80°C and have shown 50 to 90 kW of power, and Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Global position: World capacity was 15.67 GW at the end of 2025, with Indonesia, the US, the Philippines, Türkiye and New Zealand holding about 67%.

2. Pumped Storage Hydropower

• How it works: A “water battery” with two reservoirs at different heights. Surplus electricity pumps water up, and water is released down through turbines when power is needed. It gives long-duration storage, while battery systems respond quickly to short needs.
• Types: On-stream (both reservoirs on a river), off-stream open-loop (one on a river) and off-stream closed-loop (neither on a river). Off-stream projects are preferred because they have less impact on rivers and are faster to build.
• Capacity: 7.43 GW operational across 10 projects, 15.87 GW under construction across 11 projects, and 10.40 GW across 8 projects concurred or appraised by the Central Electricity Authority.
• Potential: 320 identified projects with 345.38 GW. The Western Region has the most (129.72 GW), led by Maharashtra, and Odisha has 41.53 GW in the Eastern Region.
• Storage target: The CEA projects 73.93 GW of storage by 2031-32, including 26.69 GW of pumped storage and 47.24 GW of batteries. Pumped storage is planned to reach about 105.56 GW by 2035-36.
• Global rank: India is fourth in the world (7.18 GW at the end of 2025). The world total is 159.8 GW, with China at about 66 GW.
• Support measures: Guidelines for pumped storage (April 2023), tariff-based competitive bidding guidelines (February 2025), a 100% waiver of inter-state transmission charges for projects awarded by 30 June 2028 (for 25 years), faster project report approvals (90 to 50 days), and easier environmental appraisal.

3. Green Hydrogen

• National Green Hydrogen Mission: Approved in January 2023 with an outlay of ₹19,744 crore, targeting 5 million tonnes a year by 2030. The SIGHT programme (₹17,490 crore) gives incentives for electrolyser manufacturing and production.
• Progress: Incentives for 3,000 MW a year of electrolyser manufacturing (15 companies) and 8.62 lakh tonnes a year of production. About 8,000 tonnes a year was commissioned by February 2026. Indian companies have signed offtake commitments above 5.5 lakh tonnes a year.
• Standards: Hydrogen is “green” if emissions do not exceed 2 kg of CO₂ equivalent per kg of hydrogen (2023 standard). A certification scheme began in April 2025, with a portal live from June 2026.
• Hubs and valleys: Kandla, V.O. Chidambaranar (Tuticorin) and Paradip ports are hubs, and four Hydrogen Valley Innovation Clusters are awarded: Jodhpur, Odisha, Pune and Kerala.
• First hydrogen train: Inaugurated on 17 July 2026 on the Jind–Sonipat section, emitting only water vapour.
• States: Six States have notified green hydrogen policies (Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal), and four more are drafting them.
• Expected gains: About ₹8 lakh crore of investment, 6 lakh jobs and ₹1 lakh crore less fossil fuel imports by 2030.

4. Agrivoltaics

• What it is: Growing crops and producing solar power on the same land, with elevated panels that let sunlight and rain reach the crops and machines pass underneath. Partial shade can cut water loss.
• Status: As of August 2025, India had 36 operational projects (37.54 MW) and 10 pilots. Estimates of potential range from 3,000 GW to about 14,000 GW.
• Land and crops: A national screening found 47.35 million hectares of suitable cropland. Fruits, vegetables, spices and medicinal plants suit the system. Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh hold about 50% of the potential.
• Farmer income: Earnings could rise from about ₹60,000 to over ₹1 lakh per acre in some cases.
• Support: PM-KUSUM (launched February 2019, central assistance of about ₹34,422 crore), a Centre of Excellence on agrivoltaics (National Institute of Solar Energy with ICAR-IARI), and the India Agrivoltaics Alliance (2023).
• State schemes: Maharashtra’s Mukhyamantri Saur Krushi Vahini Yojana 2.0, Gujarat’s Kisan Suryoday Yojana and Karnataka’s Surya Raitha.

Why in News?

The International Day for Biosphere Reserves is observed on 3 November.

India has 18 notified Biosphere Reserves, of which 13 are in UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR), the highest number in South Asia.

Key Points

• The day: Proclaimed by UNESCO in 2021 and first observed in 2022, to highlight how biosphere reserves protect biodiversity while supporting livelihoods.
• India’s network: 18 notified reserves, with 13 in the WNBR. The Cold Desert reserve in Himachal Pradesh was the latest addition, in September 2025.
• Global network: 797 biosphere reserves in 145 countries. They cover about 5% of Earth’s land but support over 60% of land vertebrate species richness, and about 300 million people live in them.
• India’s biodiversity: One of 17 mega-diverse countries, with about 7 to 8% of recorded species on 2.4% of the world’s land area.
• Climate risk: About 40% of biosphere reserves may face more extreme climate events by 2050.

About Biosphere Reserves

• What they are: Areas identified by national governments to conserve biodiversity and promote sustainable development. UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, launched in 1971, provides the framework, and the reserves act as “living laboratories” for sustainable development.
• Difference from other protected areas: National parks and wildlife sanctuaries mainly protect wildlife under India’s wildlife laws. Biosphere reserves also link protected ecosystems with surrounding communities.
• Three functions: Conservation, sustainable economic development and scientific support (research, monitoring and education).
• Core area: The highest protection, with strictly limited human activity.
• Buffer zone: Research, education and regulated ecotourism that fit with conservation.
• Transition area: Settlements, farming, forestry and livelihoods.
• Global split: The average split is about 18% core, 30% buffer and 52% transition.

India’s Biosphere Reserves

• In the WNBR (13): Nilgiri (TN, Kerala, Karnataka), Nanda Devi (Uttarakhand), Nokrek (Meghalaya), Gulf of Mannar (TN), Sundarbans (West Bengal), Great Nicobar (A&N Islands), Similipal (Odisha), Pachmarhi (MP), Khangchendzonga (Sikkim), Agasthyamalai (Kerala and TN), Achanakmar-Amarkantak (MP and Chhattisgarh), Cold Desert (Himachal Pradesh) and Panna (MP).
• Not in the WNBR (5): Manas (Assam), Dibru-Saikhowa (Assam), Dehang-Dibang (Arunachal Pradesh), Great Rann of Kutch (Gujarat) and Seshachalam (Andhra Pradesh).
• First: Nilgiri was designated in 1986 and joined the WNBR in 2000.
• Largest: The Great Rann of Kutch (12,454 sq km) and the Gulf of Mannar (10,500 sq km).

Highlights

• Nilgiri: A biodiversity hotspot in the Western Ghats, with lion-tailed macaque and Nilgiri tahr.
• Cold Desert: 7,770 sq km at 3,300 to 6,600 m, with 732 vascular plant species (30 endemic), snow leopard, Himalayan ibex and blue sheep.
• Gulf of Mannar: About 1.05 million hectares of coral reefs, seagrass and mangroves, with 4,223 species and about 25 lakh people.

Government Support

• Scheme: The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change runs a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, “Biodiversity Conservation”, a sub-scheme of Conservation of Natural Resources and Ecosystems. State Forest Departments implement it.
• Funding: Grants-in-aid on a 60:40 (Centre to State) basis, and 90:10 for North Eastern and Himalayan States.
• Integrated Management Plans: Since 2022-23, five-year plans are being piloted for Nanda Devi, Pachmarhi, Dehang-Dibang and Agasthyamalai.

Success Story: Lantana Elephants

• The craft: Indigenous communities in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve turn uprooted Lantana into life-sized elephant sculptures and furniture. In 2021, 125 such elephants were displayed in London.
• Lantana camara: An invasive shrub spread over about 3 lakh sq km of Indian forests. It suppresses native plants and changes fire patterns. The craft gives it an economic use and raises awareness.

Way Forward

• Research and habitat restoration, with community-led conservation.
• Traditional knowledge combined with modern monitoring.
• Partnerships among governments, researchers, communities and international bodies.

Prelims Pointers

• MAB Programme: UNESCO, 1971.
• Zonation: Core, buffer and transition.
• Nilgiri: India’s first biosphere reserve (1986).
• Cold Desert: India’s 13th UNESCO biosphere reserve (2025), and the first high-altitude cold desert reserve.

Why in News?

Khet Bachaao Abhiyaan (Rabi 2026): A nationwide campaign on soil health and balanced fertiliser use is running from 22 October to 30 November 2026.

Organic fisheries: A Union Minister visited Sikkim on 2 November 2026, launched an SOP for organic certification of fisheries in the North East and inaugurated PMMSY projects worth ₹375 lakh.

Part 1: Khet Bachaao Abhiyaan, Rabi 2026

• Theme: “Swasth Dhara, Samriddh Kisan”.
• Reach: 34 States and Union Territories, over 700 districts, 50,000 villages and about 50 lakh farmers.
• Teams: 4,150 teams from Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), ATMA and ICAR institutes, with over 12,000 scientists.
• Activities: 50,000 field demonstrations, 11,750 training programmes and a large social media outreach.

Priorities

• Balanced nutrient management: The 4R principle: right source, right rate, right time, right place.
• Natural farming and Integrated Nutrient Management.
• Crop residue management: Discouraging stubble burning in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
• Crop diversification: More oilseeds and pulses, and use of rice-fallow areas.
• Climate resilience in drought-hit areas, and Integrated Pest Management.
• Scheme awareness: PM-KISAN, Soil Health Cards, PMFBY and Kisan Credit Cards.
• Example: In East Champaran, Bihar, farmers were encouraged to grow dhaincha (green manure), which can supply 50 to 60 kg of nitrogen per hectare, equal to 110 to 130 kg of urea.

Part 2: India’s First Organic Fisheries Cluster in Sikkim

• The cluster: Soreng district, Sikkim is India’s first notified Organic Fisheries Cluster under PMMSY, promoting fish farming without harmful chemicals, antibiotics and pesticides, with Amur carp, Indian Major Carps and Trout.
• SOP: A framework for organic production and traceability in the North East.
• Projects: Hatcheries, feed mills, cold storage, Biofloc and Recirculatory Aquaculture Systems (RAS).
• Market link: An MoU with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police for institutional purchase of locally produced Rainbow Trout.
• Clusters: 34 fisheries clusters have been notified across the country, including organic clusters in Sikkim and Meghalaya.

About PMMSY

• Ministry: Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, through the Department of Fisheries.
• Launch: 10 September 2020, with an investment of ₹20,050 crore.
• Cluster approach: Brings production, processing and marketing together in a defined area.

Background

• Sikkim: India’s first fully organic state (certified in 2016).
• Other clusters: Pearl (Hazaribagh), ornamental fisheries (Madurai), seaweed (Lakshadweep) and tuna (Andaman and Nicobar Islands).