The Green India Mission (GIM) is a government scheme and one of the eight core missions under India's National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). It was formally approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) and launched in February 2014, following a preparatory phase that began in 2011-12. The mission was created to address the dual problem of climate change and the declining quality of India's forests, which are vital for the livelihoods of nearly 275 million people. Unlike earlier forestry programs that focused solely on plantation targets, GIM was conceived as a paradigm shift to restore ecosystems and enhance forest quality, not just count trees.
The mission's mechanism is centered on a holistic, landscape-based approach, aiming to increase forest and tree cover on 5 million hectares (mha) and improve the quality of existing forest cover on another 5 mha of forest/non-forest lands. Key provisions include focusing on multiple ecosystem services like biodiversity, water security, and biomass, alongside carbon sequestration, which supports India's commitment to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5–3.0 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalent by 2030. Implementation follows a 'Bottom-up' model, involving local institutions like Joint Forest Management Committees and Gram Sabhas in planning and monitoring.
GIM connects directly to India's broader climate framework, the NAPCC, and is implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. It is designed for convergence with other schemes, notably the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), to secure funding and labor. The mission has recently been revised with a roadmap for 2021-2030, retaining its core objectives but aligning them more closely with India's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) under the Paris Agreement (2015). The revised focus includes micro-ecosystem restoration in vulnerable areas like the Aravalli ranges, Western Ghats, and Himalayas.