RAS question
By what percentage does India's updated NDC aim to reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP from 2005 levels by 2035?
Correct answer: (D) 47%.
India's Nationally Determined Contribution for 2031-2035 aims to reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 47% from the 2005 level by 2035.
Explanation
The 47% figure comes from the Union Cabinet-approved Nationally Determined Contribution for 2031-2035, communicated in the PIB release dated 25 March 2026. The target is specifically about emissions intensity of GDP, not absolute emissions: it measures emissions per unit of economic output against the 2005 baseline. The PIB note says India's original 2015 NDC had set a 33-35% reduction target for 2030, and that emissions intensity had already reduced by 36% during 2005 to 2020. The 2031-2035 NDC raises that ambition to a 47% reduction by 2035, which is why option D is the precise answer.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) 35% matches the upper end of India's earlier 2015 NDC range for 2030, not the Cabinet-approved 2035 target in the updated NDC.
- (B) 45% is not the emissions-intensity reduction target stated in the cited PIB release for India's 2031-2035 NDC.
- (C) 50% overstates the cited target; the PIB release specifies 47% reduction in emissions intensity of GDP by 2035 from the 2005 level.
Concept
This tests India's climate commitments under the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement, especially how NDC targets are framed. RAS often asks such figures because environment questions link current policy decisions with core climate-governance concepts.