India aims to achieve land degradation neutrality by the year

The correct answer is B) 2030. India has committed to achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) by 2030, and it has reaffirmed that target at UNCCD meetings, including COP-14 held in New Delhi in 2019.

LDN, as defined under the UNCCD framework and linked to SDG 15.3, means that the amount and quality of land-based natural capital stays stable or increases over a set period. India's concrete step is to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030. This builds on its earlier Bonn Challenge pledge of 21 million hectares by 2020.

• A) 2025: Not the official target year for India's LDN commitment.
• C) 2035: Not India's stated target. It is a later date that aspirants sometimes pick by mistake.
• D) 2040: Not linked to any commitment India has made.

Core concept: LDN and land restoration under SDG 15. For Mains GS-3 (Environment), link this to desertification, soil erosion, the Great Green Wall and the trade-offs between afforestation, agriculture and water use.

Trap: Candidates confuse the Bonn Challenge target year (2020) with the LDN target year (2030). Remember that the 2030 date is tied to the SDG timeline and the revised national restoration target.