Why it is in the news
On 18 September 2026, the findings of the report Prosperous and Resilient Himalayas: Securing India and South Asia’s Natural Infrastructure for Future Generations were reported in India, warning that the Hindu Kush–Himalaya is approaching a tipping point because its glaciers are now losing mass about 65% faster than in the previous decade. The report is the work of Systemiq, the Integrated Mountain Initiative (IMI) and the G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment, with technical inputs from ICIMOD and funding from The Rockefeller Foundation, and was issued as an Abridged Report — Emergency Issue.
The exam angle
Issue: Should the Himalaya be governed as national economic infrastructure — funded, instrumented and spatially planned as such — rather than as a frontier to be developed and then relieved after each disaster? Examine with reference to the monitoring deficit, Centre–State fiscal design and transboundary cooperation.