Biodiversity heritage sites
Context
Aghanashini valley of Uttara Kannada as a biodiversity heritage site to protect the native fruit from environmental threats.
Significance
- The Appemidi Mango: A unique, wild-growing tender mango variety native to Uttara Kannada and Shivamogga districts, highly prized for pickles and holder of a Geographical Indication (GI) tag since September 2009
- Ecological Threats: Encroachment, commercial monoculture, land-use changes, and climate shifts have severely reduced the natural yield and populations of over 100 distinct local Appemidi varieties
- Conservation Push: Led by groups like Vruksha Laksha Andolana and local activists who undertook awareness marches through the Aghanashini valley to demand in-situ protection.
Biological Diversity Act, 2002
- Enacted to give effect to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 1992. It aims to conserve biological resources, manage their sustainable use, and ensure the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their utilisation.
Key Objectives
- Resource Conservation: To protect and conserve biological diversity, genetic resources, and traditional ecological knowledge across India.
- Sustainable Utilisation: To regulate the use of components of biological diversity to prevent over-exploitation.
- Equitable Benefit Sharing: To ensure fair distribution of benefits arising out of the use of traditional knowledge and biological resources with local communities.
- The Three-Tier Regulatory Structure
- The Act is implemented through a decentralized, three-tier institutional mechanism:
Tier Level | Governing Body | Primary Functions & Jurisdiction |
National | National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) | · Created in 2003 in Chennai. Deals with matters related to requests for access to biological resources or knowledge by foreigners/foreign entities. Advises the Central Government. |
State | State Biodiversity Boards (SBB) | · Created in all states. Regulates access to commercial utilization or bio-survey by Indian citizens or Indian entities. Advises State Governments. |
Local | Biodiversity Management Committees (BMC) | · Established by local bodies (Panchayats and Municipalities). Mandated to preserve local biodiversity and document traditional knowledge in a crucial register. |
- Crucial Terms for UPSC Prelims
- People’s Biodiversity Register (PBR): Maintained by local BMCs. It comprehensively documents local biological resources, traditional knowledge, and their associated medical or economic uses.
- Biodiversity Heritage Sites (BHS): Under Section 37, State Governments (in consultation with local bodies) can notify areas of unique ecological importance as BHS to protect threatened species and unique ecosystems.
- Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS): A legal mandate ensuring that commercial users (like pharmaceutical companies) pay royalties or share profits with the local communities who preserved the biological resource.
- Important Penalties and Restrictions
- Foreign Approvals: Foreign nationals, non-resident Indians (NRIs), or foreign-controlled corporations must obtain prior approval from the NBA before accessing any Indian biological resource or traditional knowledge for research or commercial use.
- Intellectual Property Rights: No person can apply for a patent or any form of IPR in India or outside for an invention based on biological resources obtained from India without the explicit, prior approval of the NBA.
- Cognizable Offences: Offences committed under this Act are non-bailable and cognizable, meaning law enforcement can make arrests without a prior warrant.
- The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023
- AYUSH Exemptions: Practitioners of traditional Indian medicine systems (like Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy) and local people are now exempted from seeking prior approval or paying ABS fees for accessing biological resources for domestic cultivation.
- Decriminalisation of Offences: The amendment replaced imprisonment penalties with heavy monetary fines, ranging from ₹1 lakh to ₹50 lakhs (and up to ₹1 crore for continuing violations).
- Foreign Investment Ease: It streamlined approvals for foreign companies incorporating in India, allowing them to access resources faster if they operate through Indian subsidiaries.
UK-India Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA)
Context
Sashimi Foods received India’s first tariff-free shipment of Scottish salmon, featuring fresh farmed fish from Bakkafrost Scotland, following the launch of the UK-India Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).
Why This Matters
- Tariff Elimination: The deal completely removed India’s former 33% import duty on Scottish salmon.
- Market Access & Economic Forecast: This improves affordability for Indian consumers, with projections suggesting the deal could add up to £130 million ($175 million) in export value for Scotland’s salmon sector over ten years.
- Bilateral Benefits: Concurrently, India’s MPEDA has started dispatching duty-free marine products to the UK.
About CETA
- India–UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) officially entered into force on July 15, 2026, marking a definitive shift in India’s trade strategy toward active integration with Western supply chains.
- Built on the 2021 Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP) framework, negotiations spanned 14 intensive rounds, resulting in a signed pact in July 2025 that became operational alongside a critical companion social security pact in 2026.
Features
- Trade Goal: Aims to raise bilateral trade to $100–112 billion by 2030.
- Asymmetric Tariff Liberalisation: The UK grants zero-duty access to 99% of Indian exports. India opens 5% of its tariff lines, with phased-out concessions for the remainder.
- Services Access: India gets access to 12 sectors/137 sub-sectors, while opening key legal and financial services to UK firms.
- Social Security Deal: The Double Contribution Convention (DCC) eliminates dual social security payments for professionals, saving them money.
Global competitive tourist destinations
Context
: Mysuru-Kodagu Lok Sabha MP Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar has requested the Central Government to include Mysuru under its national mission for developing “50 Globally Competitive Tourist Destinations”.
Key Arguments and Strategic Focus
- Rich Heritage & Tourism Assets: Wadiyar cited iconic landmarks like the Mysuru Palace and the world-famous, UNESCO-recognized Dasara festival as prime examples of the city’s global appeal.
- Wellness & Culture Hub: The city’s prominent stature as a global yoga and wellness destination, combined with traditional handicrafts, serves as a foundation for global scaling.
- Economic Boost: Inclusion in the national list is expected to unlock massive public-private partnership (PPP) investments, modern infrastructure, and employment for thousands of local families.
- Policy Alignment: The initiative serves the broader vision of Vikit Bharat 2047 by balancing strategic urban economic development with careful heritage conservation.
About National Mission for the Development of 50 Globally Competitive Tourist Destinations
- It is a flagship central initiative introduced under the Union Budget 2025–26 to transform high-potential domestic sites into world-class tourism hubs.
- Formulated under the broader umbrella of Tourism Vision 2029
- Key Objectives & Strategic Vision
- Comprehensive Transformation: Elevating domestic heritage, eco-tourism, and spiritual sites to universally competitive global tourist destinations.
- One State, One Global Destination: Rooted in the Prime Minister’s vision, ensuring every State and Union Territory houses at least one flagship global hub.
- Employment-Led Growth: Capitalizing on tourism’s economic multiplier to scale youth upskilling, local entrepreneurship, and homestays.
- Tourism Soft Power: Transforming India’s vast cultural assets into strategic global branding footprints.
- Implementation Framework & Modalities
- Challenge-Mode Selection: States compete transparently by presenting comprehensive site profiles to secure selection.
- Cooperative Federalism: While the scheme is central, State governments must provide mandatory land resources for building key peripheral and core connectivity assets.
- Financial Allocations: Each finalized global destination project can secure financial support up to ₹500 crore:
- ₹300 crore: Earmarked for core tourism infrastructure development.
- ₹200 crore: Dedicated solely to Destination Management Systems (DMS).
- Harmonised Master List (HML): Hotels built within these selected zones are integrated into the Infrastructure Harmonised Master List, unlocking seamless, low-cost commercial financing options.
- Core Focus Pillars
The scheme shifts from isolated preservation to an integrated ecosystem framework focused on four structural metrics:
Strategic Pillar | Core Targets & Features |
Sustainability & Eco-Tourism | Mandatory carbon-mitigation metrics, green certifications, and scientific waste management. |
Niche Tourism Circuits | Scaled investments in Spiritual/Buddhist Circuits, Medical Tourism (Heal in India), and Wellness. |
Connectivity Infrastructure | Convergence with the UDAN Scheme to build or upgrade airports, alongside specialized tourist routes. |
Accountability & Tech | Rollout of real-time tourist feedback digital dashboards and strict third-party performance audits. |
- Critical Governance & Infrastructure Challenges
From a Mains perspective, the scheme’s final success relies heavily on addressing the structural issues plaguing India’s tourism ecosystem:
- Inter-Ministerial Bottlenecks: Securing seamless coordination between the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Civil Aviation, and State agencies.
- Carrying Capacity Concerns: Balancing aggressive promotion with the ecological footprint of vulnerable zones (e.g., severe overcrowding handling observed in locations like Goa).
- Global Footprint Disparity: Bridging the systemic inbound tourist deficit (India records ~1 crore international arrivals against competitors like Thailand at 3.5+ crore).
- Civic Bottlenecks: Rectifying uneven standards of regional public safety, hygiene, and last-mile tourist accessibility.
- Intersecting Central Schemes
The 50 Destinations program acts as a macro-overlay coordinating with other flagship missions:
- Swadesh Darshan 2.0: Focused on building target-specific thematic destination networks.
- PRASHAD Scheme: Strengthening infrastructure around major pilgrimage and national heritage sites.
- SASCI Loans: Upgrading iconic tourist centers with interest-free, long-term capital support (50-year interest-free capital loans to states).