Q.7 What is Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS)? What is the potential role of CCUS in tackling climate change? (10 marks, 150 words)

Introduction (idea in plain words):
CCUS prevents carbon dioxide from reaching the atmosphere by capturing it at source (cement, steel, refineries, power) or from air, transporting it, then either using it in products or storing it safely underground. It is not a substitute for renewables and efficiency, but a targeted tool for the toughest emissions.

What CCUS involves:

• Capture: Post-combustion, pre-combustion, or oxy-fuel routes; growing interest in direct air capture.
• Transport: CO₂ pipelines/ships with safety standards.
• Utilization: Conversion to e-fuels, carbonates, chemicals, building materials.
• Storage: Injection into saline aquifers or depleted oil–gas fields with robust MRV (monitoring, reporting, verification).

How CCUS helps tackle climate change:

• Hard-to-abate sectors: Addresses process CO₂ (e.g., clinker in cement) where alternatives are limited.
• Negative emissions: BECCS/DACCS can remove legacy carbon to balance residual emissions.
• Transition bridge: Buys time while grids, hydrogen, circular materials scale; keeps industries running as they decarbonise.
• Industrial opportunity: New value chains (capture equipment, CO₂-derived products), high-skill jobs.

Guardrails (to make it credible):

• Use low-carbon power for capture to avoid rebound; build CO₂ hubs and pipelines; clear liability rules; align with carbon pricing/standards so CCUS complements, not delays, renewables and efficiency.

Conclusion:
CCUS is the ‘surgical’ decarbonisation tool—essential for hard sectors and net-zero balancing, effective only with strong policy, transparent MRV, and clean energy inputs.

Q.8 Seawater intrusion in India’s coastal aquifers is a major concern. What are its causes, and what remedial measures can combat this hazard? (10 marks, 150 words)

Introduction (why it matters to people):
When coastal wells turn salty, households lose safe drinking water, farms lose productivity and small businesses suffer. Intrusion occurs when freshwater pressure falls and the sea pushes inland through the aquifer.

Key causes:

• Over-extraction: Rapid urbanisation, tourism and irrigation create cone-of-depression near coasts.
• Poor recharge: Paved surfaces, loss of wetlands/mangroves, droughts reduce natural replenishment.
• Sea-level rise & storm surges: Push the saline front landwards; land subsidence and sand mining worsen it.
• Altered gradients: Canals/drains and unplanned construction disrupt natural flow; weak CRZ enforcement.

Remedial measures (what works on ground):

• Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR): Percolation tanks, recharge shafts, check dams; treated-water recharge in cities.
• Hydraulic barriers: Sub-surface cutoff walls and freshwater injection lines in hotspots.
• Smart allocation & regulation: Well-spacing, metering large users, caps on extraction; conjunctive use with surface water.
• Demand management: Micro-irrigation, crop shifts, urban leak reduction and reuse.
• Ecosystem buffers: Protect/restore mangroves, wetlands, dunes; enforce setbacks under CRZ.
• Monitoring & early warning: Salinity/EC networks, community water budgeting, GIS mapping of the saline front.

Conclusion:
A combined package—recharge + regulation + reduced demand + coastal ecosystem protection—is the durable way to keep coastal aquifers sweet and sustainable.

Q. 13 Examine the factors responsible for depleting groundwater in India. What steps has the government taken to mitigate such depletion? (15 marks, 250 words)

Context (why it matters):
Groundwater sustains most irrigated agriculture and a large share of urban–rural drinking water. Rapid depletion—seen as falling water tables and rising salinity/contaminants—threatens farm incomes, city supplies, and river/ecosystem flows.

1. Factors driving depletion (diagnosis):

• Cropping & incentives: Flat/free farm power and assured procurement encourage water-intensive crops (paddy, sugarcane) in semi-arid belts.
• Climate & monsoon variability: Intense, shorter downpours mean less infiltration and more runoff.
• Vanishing recharge spaces: Paving, encroached tanks, and wetland loss depress natural percolation.
• Urban–industrial demand: Fast-growing cities/industry sink deep tube wells; leaky networks waste treated water.
• Weak regulation: Millions of private wells → tragedy of the commons; limited metering/pricing.
• Quality decline: Fluoride/arsenic/nitrate and seawater intrusion render aquifers unusable, compounding scarcity.

1. Government measures (mitigation):

• Participatory management: Atal Bhujal Yojana—community water budgeting, demand regulation, village-level aquifer plans.
• Recharge & conservation: Jal Shakti Abhiyan, MGNREGS watershed works, revival of tanks/check dams/percolation pits.
• Use-efficiency: PMKSY–Per Drop More Crop, micro-irrigation fund; promotion of drip/sprinklers.
• Aquifer science & norms: NAQUIM aquifer mapping; CGWA/State authorities for extraction NOCs and critical blocks.
• Urban reuse: AMRUT/mission guidelines for treated wastewater in industry/landscapes; dual plumbing pilots.
• Crop/power reforms: Diversification incentives; feeder separation, smart meters/DBT pilots to delink pumping from free power.
• Solar pumps with safeguards: PM-KUSUM plus operational caps/IoT controllers to avoid over-extraction.

Way forward:
Align MSP/insurance with water-smart crops, price/permit large users, restore wetlands, publish well-level dashboards, and expand micro-irrigation—to shift from depletion to sustained use.

Q. 17 Mineral resources are fundamental to the country’s economy and are exploited through mining. Why is mining considered an environmental hazard? Explain the remedial measures required to reduce the environmental hazard due to mining. (15 marks, 250 words)

Context (problem framing):
Mining drives metals, power and infrastructure, yet poorly managed extraction can scar land, air, water and health. The aim is not “no mining” but responsible mining with stringent safeguards.

1. Why mining is an environmental hazard (diagnosis):

• Land & biodiversity: Forest diversion, habitat fragmentation, unstable overburden, landscape scars.
• Water risks: Dewatering lowers local aquifers; acid mine drainage (AMD) and heavy-metal leachates pollute streams/groundwater.
• Air & noise: Blasting, crushers, haul roads → PM/NOx, silica dust; vibration and noise affect communities.
• Tailings & disasters: Tailings dam failures can be catastrophic; legacy/abandoned mines leave toxic footprints.
• Social externalities: Displacement, inequitable R&R, livelihood loss; conflicts erode trust.
• Climate footprint: Diesel fleets, fugitive methane (in coal), high embodied energy.

1. Remedial measures (what examiner expects):

• Planning & siting: No-go/low-go zones for high-value ecosystems; robust EIA with cumulative-impact appraisal and Free, Prior, Informed Consent.
• Best-in-class operations: Concurrent backfilling, topsoil conservation, slope stabilisation; wet drilling, dust suppression, in-pit crushing & conveying; progressive mine closure from Day-1.
• Water stewardship: Lined tailings, thickened/paste disposal; AMD neutralisation; zero-liquid-discharge where feasible; rainwater harvesting/recharge.
• Tailings safety: Designs to ICOLD/ANCOLD good practice, emergency action plans, remote sensing and online sensors.
• People & governance: District Mineral Foundation (DMF) funds for health/skills; transparent Star-Rating of Mines, third-party audits, ESG disclosures.
• Post-closure reuse: Convert pits to reservoirs, solar-PV/pumped-storage, agro-forestry, or eco-tourism as per approved closure plans.
• Decarbonisation: Electrify fleets, renewables at sites, methane capture.

Conclusion:
With science-led planning, strict compliance, real-time monitoring, and fair benefit sharing, mining’s hazards can be minimised, aligning growth with environmental justice.

Q.18 Under the Paris Agreement (2015), review India’s climate commitments and explain how these were further strengthened at COP26 (2021). In this direction, how was India’s first Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) updated in 2022? (15 marks, 250 words)

Context (equity & ambition):
India’s stance balances development needs with climate responsibility under CBDR-RC. Paris (2015) set the base; COP26 (Glasgow, 2021) raised ambition; 2022 NDC legally reflected the step-up.

1. Paris 2015 (original pledges):

• Emissions intensity: Reduce 33–35% by 2030 from 2005 level.
• Power mix: Achieve 40% non-fossil share in installed electricity capacity by 2030.
• Carbon sink: Create additional 2.5–3.0 billion tCO₂ sink via forests/trees.
• Adaptation, technology, and climate finance emphasized.

1. COP26 “Panchamrit” (strengthening, political announcements):

• 500 GW non-fossil electricity capacity by 2030.
• 50% of energy requirements from renewables by 2030.
• Reduce 1 billion tCO₂ from projected 2030 emissions.
• 45% emissions-intensity reduction by 2030 (vs 2005).
• Net-zero by 2070.

1. 2022 NDC update (formal submission):

• Intensity target tightened to –45% by 2030 (vs 2005).
• Non-fossil installed capacity target updated to ~50% by 2030.
• Reaffirms LIFE (Lifestyle for Environment), adaptation co-benefits, and equity.

1. Progress, gaps & next steps (value-add):

• Progress: Rapid RE additions, green hydrogen mission, EV push, efficiency schemes (PAT/LEDs), and global initiatives (ISA, CDRI).
• Gaps: 24×7 RE needs storage & grid flexibility; industrial decarbonisation (steel/cement) and DISCOM reforms remain hard; climate finance/technology access is uneven.
• Next steps: Scale storage procurement, carbon markets, electrify process heat where viable, hydrogen for hard-to-abate sectors, phase down inefficient subsidies, and ensure a just transition for coal regions.

Conclusion:
India has formally raised ambition and built policy levers. Delivering 2030 goals—and keeping 2070 net-zero credible—now hinges on grids, storage, industry pathways, and sustained finance/technology flows.