UPSC Prelims 2026 Q77: NIRANTAR Platform Verticals — Explained
Which of the following statements in relation to NIRANTAR (National Institute for Research and Application of Natural Resources to Transform, Adapt and Build Resilience), a platform of institutions under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, is/are correct?
1. Ecosystem Survey and Analysis is a vertical under this platform, the lead institute of which is Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata.
2. Research and Management of Ecosystem Service is a vertical under this platform, the lead institute of which is Central Zoo Authority, New Delhi.
3. Capacity Development Support is a vertical under this platform, the lead institute of which is Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal.
- 1, 2 and 3
- 1 and 3 only
- 2 only
- 3 only
Answer: (b) 1 and 3 only
Statement-wise explanation
- 1: correct — MoEFCC's NIRANTAR portal names Botanical Survey of India (BSI), Kolkata, as the lead institute of the 'Ecosystem Survey & Analysis' vertical. Its member institutes are FSI, BSI, ZSI, the National Museum of Natural History and the National Biodiversity Authority. This vertical surveys forests, flora, fauna and natural resources. It also maintains herbaria, gene banks and natural history museums, so a survey body like BSI is a natural lead.
- 2: incorrect — 'Research and Management of Ecosystem Service' is a NIRANTAR vertical, but its lead institute is ICFRE, Dehradun, not the Central Zoo Authority. CZA is only a member of this vertical, alongside the ICFRE institutes, WII and NTCA. CZA is a statutory regulator of zoos under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. It is not a research body that would lead a research vertical.
- 3: correct — The portal names IIFM, Bhopal, as the lead institute of the 'Capacity Development Support' vertical. ICFRE-IWST, Bengaluru, is the other member. The vertical trains professionals in forest management, forest certification, ecosystem services, climate mitigation and nature-based solutions. That matches IIFM's role as a forest management training school.
How to eliminate
All three verticals named in the question are real NIRANTAR verticals, so the vertical names do not help you eliminate anything. The lead institutes are what you have to test. You can do that by asking whether each institute's own job fits its vertical. BSI is a survey organisation, so it fits 'Ecosystem Survey and Analysis'. IIFM Bhopal is a forest management training school, so it fits 'Capacity Development'. The Central Zoo Authority is a statutory body that recognises and regulates zoos. It does not run research, so it is the odd one out as lead of a 'Research and Management' vertical. Dropping Statement 2 removes three of the four options and leaves only the option with 1 and 3. Without this 'mandate fit' check, you can only answer by knowing the fact. Remember: research and ecosystem services are led by ICFRE, Dehradun, and CZA is only a member.
Know more
NIRANTAR (National Institute for Research and Application of Natural Resources to Transform, Adapt and Build Resilience) is a coordination platform of MoEFCC institutions. It is not a new institute. It groups existing bodies into four thematic verticals, each with a lead institute, so they can share research, avoid duplicating work and run joint projects. The MoEFCC portal says the aim is to "reassess the resources of the country and recalibrate them for better outcomes."
| Vertical | Lead institute | Members |
|---|---|---|
| Ecosystem Survey & Analysis | Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata | FSI, BSI, ZSI, NMNH, NBA |
| Research & Management of Ecosystem Service | ICFRE, Dehradun | FRI and other ICFRE institutes, WII, NTCA, CZA |
| Capacity Development Support | IIFM, Bhopal | ICFRE-IWST, IIFM |
| Climate Change Support | NCSCM, Chennai | NCSCM, G.B. Pant NIHE (Almora) |
Governance: a High Powered Steering Committee (HPSC) chaired by the Union Environment Minister reviews the platform. Its 3rd meeting was on 30 January 2024 and its 4th on 12 January 2026. The 2026 agenda covered collaborative research projects, patents, joint papers in international journals and proposals funded under NIRANTAR. The invitees included NITI Aayog, DST, ICAR, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and DPIIT.
How to remember the leads: match each lead to what the institute already does.
- Surveying flora → BSI leads the survey vertical.
- India's apex forestry research council → ICFRE leads the research vertical.
- Management education → IIFM leads capacity building.
- Coastal and blue-economy research → NCSCM leads climate support.
Regulators such as CZA, NTCA and NBA are members, never leads.
In the news
On 12 January 2026, the Union Environment Minister chaired the 4th meeting of NIRANTAR's High Powered Steering Committee, which reviewed collaborative research across MoEFCC institutions. PIB covered the meeting a few months before Prelims, which put this little-known platform into current affairs.
NCERT Concepts to Revise
- Ecosystem services: One NIRANTAR vertical is named after ecosystem services; knowing the term helps you judge which kind of institute would lead it.