MoEFCC has Set Up National Designated Authority (NDA)


The MoEFCC’s National Designated Authority (NDA) is India’s key body for implementing Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, enabling carbon markets, overseeing projects, and linking to India’s NDCs for climate goals, acting as a central coordinator for carbon credit trading and sustainable development under a 21-member committee led by the Environment Secretary.

Exam Key Oriented Points:
    • Mandate: Established to implement Article 6 (cooperative approaches) of the 2015 Paris Agreement, focusing on international carbon markets.
    • Formation: Constituted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) via notification in August 2025.
    • Purpose: To create India’s carbon emissions trading regime (Indian Carbon Market – ICM) and facilitate project approvals for emission reductions.
    • Composition: A 21-member body, chaired by the Environment Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), with representatives from multiple ministries/departments.
    • Functions:
      • Recommends eligible activities for trading emission reduction units (ERUs).
      • Evaluates, approves, and authorizes projects under Article 6.
      • Maintains a registry for projects and ERUs within the ICM.
      • Ensures alignment with India’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
      • Guides on non-market approaches (Article 6.8) and authorizes Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) under Article 6.2.
    • Significance: Enables India to meet its climate commitments (like 45% emission intensity reduction by 2030) through market mechanisms, promoting green investment and technology.
    • Legal Basis: Operates under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, replacing an earlier notification from May 2022.
Explanation of Exam Oriented Key Terms
01
National Supercomputing Mission (NSM)

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is a set of tools for classifying the severity of food insecurity and malnutrition to guide decision-making. It is a multi-stakeholder initiative that uses an evidence-based, technical consensus to provide a standardized scale from “Generally Food Secure” to “Famine”. The IPC system aims to provide actionable information for strategic decision-making in response to food crises. 

Basic facts
  • Origin: Developed in 2004 during the Somalia food crisis by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and its partners.
  • Purpose: To provide evidence-based, actionable knowledge for decision-makers to prevent food crises and coordinate responses.
  • Nature: A multi-stakeholder global initiative governed by a partnership of international organizations, NGOs, and national governments. It serves as a neutral, technical tool.
  • Scope: Used in over 30 countries and recognized as a key metric in the UN’s Global Report on Food Crises.
Three harmonized scales

The IPC approach is built on three complementary scales for classifying different aspects of food insecurity:

  • IPC Acute Food Insecurity: Measures the severity of immediate food insecurity, which changes rapidly (days, weeks, or months).
  • IPC Chronic Food Insecurity: Measures the long-term, persistent lack of adequate food access. Chronic food insecurity is a gradual process that lasts for years.
  • IPC Acute Malnutrition: Assesses the severity of acute malnutrition based on a set of criteria, including measures like weight-for-height and Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC).
The IPC five-phase scale (Acute Food Insecurity)

The scale classifies the level of food insecurity and requires different levels of intervention.

  • Phase 1: Minimal: Households can meet their basic food needs with no need for atypical coping strategies.
  • Phase 2: Stressed: Households have adequate, but barely minimal, food consumption and cannot afford some essential non-food expenses.
  • Phase 3: Crisis: Households either have food consumption gaps that result in high or above-normal acute malnutrition, or are only marginally able to meet minimum food needs by depleting essential assets.
  • Phase 4: Emergency: Households face extreme food gaps, resulting in very high levels of acute malnutrition and excess mortality. People are forced to sell off assets to survive.
  • Phase 5: Catastrophe/Famine: The most severe phase, where there is an extreme lack of food and/or basic needs. Starvation, destitution, and death are evident.
How famine is determined

For a specific area to be classified as being in “Famine” (IPC Phase 5), three specific thresholds must be met:

  • Extreme food shortages: At least 20% of households face extreme food shortages.
  • Severe malnutrition: Over 30% of children suffer from acute malnutrition.
  • High mortality rate: The crude death rate exceeds 2 per 10,000 people per day due to starvation or malnutrition-related diseases.
Relationship with famine declaration
  • The IPC itself does not formally “declare” a famine. Instead, it provides the technical analysis for governments and humanitarian agencies to make the formal declaration.
  • A “Famine Review Committee” of international experts is activated to validate the findings when famine conditions are suspected.

PRACTICE QUESTIONS

1. Regarding the famine in Gaza as classified by the IPC, which of the following is a criterion for an area to be classified under IPC Phase 5 (Famine)?

a) A sudden economic collapse due to natural disaster
b) Acute malnutrition affecting at least 30% of children under five years of age
c) A mortality rate of 2 deaths per 1,000 people per day due to starvation
d) An entire region experiencing food consumption gaps

Answer: b

Explanation: The IPC defines specific thresholds for an area to be classified as famine (Phase 5), which includes:

  • At least 20% of the population facing extreme food shortages.
  • At least 30% of children under five suffering from acute malnutrition.

A mortality rate of at least 2 deaths per 10,000 people per day due to starvation, malnutrition, or related diseases, not 2 per 1,000.

🔥 Current Affairs 
📚 Contemporary Issues
📘 Subject Wise 
📝 Essential Editorials 



monutomar03@gmail.com
Author: monutomar03@gmail.com