Union Environment Minister chairs 88th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wild Life, in New Delhi

• SC-NBWL is the apex statutory body that clears infrastructure/defence/utility projects falling inside Protected Areas, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Tiger Reserves and Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs) under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
• The 88th meeting (19 Jan 2026, New Delhi) was chaired by Union MoEFCC Bhupender Yadav and considered 70 proposals, balancing conservation with strategic/development needs.
• Important for UPSC because NBWL governance illustrates the development vs. conservation trade-off, federal coordination, and the working of a statutory body chaired by the PM.