Biodiversity (Environment & Ecology).
Syllabus: UPSC Pre GS1: Environmental Ecology, Biodiversity & Climate Change; Mains GS3
Western Ghats for UPSC: six States, formation, passes, rivers, endemic species, UNESCO and hotspot status, Gadgil vs Kasturirangan reports and landslides.
National parks for UPSC: Wildlife Protection Act rules, park vs sanctuary, first and largest parks, key parks by State, tiger reserves and…
Coral reefs for UPSC: zooxanthellae, growth conditions, fringing, barrier reefs and atolls, Darwin's theory, bleaching, acidification, India's reefs and PYQs.
On 17 October 2026 the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) said it had shared ₹1.19 crore with 29 State Biodiversity Boards and one UT Biodiversity Council. The money came from seed companies that used Indian maize, rice, pearl millet and cotton for research and commercial hybrids. As the crops were bought from markets and the original holders could not be traced, the amount was split in proportion to each State’s cultivation area. The release comes two days before the CBD COP 17 opens in Yerevan.
UPSC angle: Prelims: NBA, BD Act 2002, Nagoya Protocol, BMCs, CBD COP 17. · Mains GS-III: benefit sharing and community-led conservation.
18 Oct 2026
The National Biodiversity Authority distributed ₹2.02 crore of Access and Benefit-Sharing money, paid by seed companies using crops such as rice, tomato and okra, among 27 State Biodiversity Boards and 3 UT councils by cultivation area. Its total ABS disbursement has now reached ₹202 crore, ahead of CBD COP 17 in Yerevan from 19 October 2026.
UPSC angle: Prelims: ABS, KMGBF targets, COP 17 venue. · Mains GS-III: biodiversity conservation and benefit-sharing.
10 Oct 2026
NHAI released a document on wildlife mitigation measures during National Wildlife Week (2-8 October 2026). It records over 2,150 wildlife crossing structures built or proposed on national highways and about ₹19,700 crore spent in five years on such measures, from animal underpasses and overpasses to viaducts, tunnels and canopy crossings.
UPSC angle: Prelims: Wildlife Week, types of crossings. · Mains GS-III: conservation and infrastructure.
8 Oct 2026
On 5 October 2026 KJP21, a 32-month-old Indian-born female cheetah, gave birth to five cubs at Kuno National Park. India now has 60 cheetahs, 41 of them born in India. KJP21 is the third Indian-born female to breed, and the father is from Botswana, starting a Botswanan lineage in India.
UPSC angle: Prelims: Kuno, cheetah facts. · Mains GS-III: species reintroduction.
5 Oct 2026
On 4 October 2026 two captive-bred male Great Indian Bustards were released into the wild at Sam in Desert National Park, Jaisalmer. The breeding centres at Sam and Ramdevra hold 97 birds, 57 of them bred in captivity. The release marks a shift in the decade-old recovery programme from breeding birds to putting them back in the wild.
UPSC angle: Prelims: GIB status, Desert NP. · Mains GS-III: species conservation.
4 Oct 2026
On 2 October 2026 tigress T138, translocated from Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Bihar, was released in Buxa Tiger Reserve, West Bengal. It begins a phased Tiger Reintroduction Programme to rebuild a self-sustaining tiger population in Buxa, after years of prey build-up, grassland restoration and community work under a project supported by NTCA and WII.
UPSC angle: Prelims: tiger reserve–State matching. · Mains: Reintroduction vs natural recovery.
2 Oct 2026