NABARD Grade A Current Affairs — 26 August 2026

The Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee, chaired by Governor Sanjay Malhotra, unanimously held the repo rate at 6.5 percent with a neutral stance in its first bi-monthly review of 2025-26. The Standing Deposit Facility rate stays at 6.25 percent and the Marginal Standing Facility rate at 6.75 percent. The RBI projected real GDP growth at 6.9 percent for FY26, down from 7.6 percent in FY25, citing West Asia conflict risks and possible El Niño conditions. CPI inflation is projected at 4.6 percent.

The MPC decision involves three interlocking mechanisms every aspirant must understand.

**LAF Corridor mechanics:** The repo rate sits at the centre of the Liquidity Adjustment Facility corridor. The SDF rate (floor) is always 25 basis points below repo, and the MSF rate (ceiling) is always 25 basis points above. When the repo rate is 6.5%, the SDF is 6.25% and MSF is 6.75%. A 'neutral stance' means the MPC is neither committed to cutting nor hiking — it retains optionality based on incoming data.

**Inflation targeting framework:** Under the amended RBI Act, the MPC must keep CPI inflation at 4% ± 2%. Projecting inflation at 4.6% keeps it within the tolerance band but above the 4% target, explaining why rates remain unchanged rather than being cut. The twin upside risks — energy prices from the West Asia conflict and El Niño affecting food prices — make the MPC cautious.

**Growth-inflation tradeoff:** Lower GDP growth (6.9% vs 7.6% in FY25) might ordinarily prompt rate cuts to stimulate demand. But with inflation still above 4% and external risks elevated, the MPC chose to hold. This illustrates the classic monetary policy dilemma — easing to support growth risks reigniting inflation. The unanimous vote signals consensus, not division.

**Exchange rate policy:** RBI reaffirmed market-determined exchange rates, with intervention only to curb disruptive volatility — not to defend a specific level. This is distinct from a fixed or managed peg.

MoEFCC and the National Biodiversity Authority have launched a five-year project to strengthen biodiversity governance in Tamil Nadu and Meghalaya. The initiative focuses on operationalising Biodiversity Management Committees, documenting People's Biodiversity Registers, and ensuring fair benefit-sharing under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002. The project aligns with India's commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which targets protecting 30% of land and ocean by 2030.

The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) was established under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, as a statutory body under MoEFCC. It operates as the apex body implementing India's obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), particularly the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS).

Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) are local bodies constituted at the Panchayat or municipal level to promote conservation, sustainable use, and documentation of biological resources. Their primary task is to prepare People's Biodiversity Registers (PBRs) — comprehensive records of local biological resources, their medicinal and other uses, and associated traditional knowledge.

The project targets Tamil Nadu and Meghalaya — two ecologically significant states. Tamil Nadu falls within the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot, one of 36 globally recognised hotspots. Meghalaya is part of the Indo-Burma hotspot and is notable for high endemism and traditional community conservation practices.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), adopted at CBD COP15 in December 2022 in Montreal, set the landmark '30x30' target — protecting at least 30% of the planet's land, inland waters, coastal areas, and oceans by 2030. India's current protected area network covers roughly 5% of its land, making BMC-led conservation of community lands critical to meeting this gap.

For exam purposes, this project connects three testable pillars: the institutional architecture (NBA → BMC → PBR), the legislative basis (Biological Diversity Act, 2002), and the international framework (CBD, Nagoya Protocol, Kunming-Montreal GBF).

India restored 21.76 million hectares of degraded land between 2011 and 2020, generating 1.22 billion person-days of employment, according to a PIB release citing official data. This achievement advances India's commitment under the UN Convention to Combat Desertification to restore 26 million hectares by 2030. The restoration was driven by programmes including MGNREGS, watershed development, and afforestation schemes, positioning India among the leading land-restoration nations globally.

Land degradation is the decline in land productivity caused by unsustainable land use, deforestation, soil erosion, and water stress. India has committed under the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) framework of the UNCCD (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification) to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030. This target is also embedded in India's updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement.

The UNCCD, adopted in 1994 and entering into force in 1996, is the third Rio Convention alongside the UNFCCC and the CBD. India has been a party since 1996. The Conference of Parties (COP) to the UNCCD sets restoration targets and monitors progress. COP 16 was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2024.

The 21.76 million hectare restoration figure for 2011–2020 is significant because it demonstrates measurable progress toward the 26 million hectare 2030 pledge. Key implementing mechanisms include MGNREGS (watershed and land treatment works), the National Afforestation Programme, the Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) now subsumed under PMKSY-WDC, and the Green India Mission under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC).

Land restoration is also directly linked to carbon sequestration — restored land absorbs atmospheric carbon, contributing to India's NDC target of creating an additional carbon sink of 2.5–3 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalent by 2030. For NABARD, restored land improves agricultural productivity, reduces rural vulnerability, and underpins credit viability for farm loans.