At RESTORE 2025, hosted by World Resources Institute (WRI) India in collaboration with the India Climate Collaborative and Transform Rural India Foundation in New Delhi, NITI Aayog CEO B.V.R. Subrahmanyam unveiled a game-changing blueprint for land restoration: “Restore 50” or “Restore 100.”
This ambitious plan targets 50 or 100 specific blocks for intensive, community-led revival of degraded lands, harnessing advanced tech and local partnerships to supercharge India’s Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.
Subrahmanyam framed restoration not as an environmental add-on, but as a “major economic reform.” With land degradation siphoning 2–3% of India’s GDP annually-equivalent to vast productivity losses across 100 million hectares of wasteland-he argued that targeted revival could add 2–3 percentage points to growth.
This could unlock $80 billion in value, propelling the country toward its $30 trillion economy goal without sacrificing a Harit Bharat.
What Is Viksit Bharat?
Viksit Bharat 2047 charts India’s path to self-reliance and prosperity by 2047, the centenary of independence.
It emphasizes inclusive growth, tech innovation, infrastructure, and social empowerment-ending poverty, universal education and healthcare, agricultural boosts, and MSME support-all while prioritizing sustainability.
The Restore 50/100 Blueprint in Action
Drawing from successes like Madhya Pradesh’s watershed projects, NITI Aayog is channeling its aspirational districts and blocks programs into this scale-up. Local administrations and NGOs will lead, focusing on visible impacts in underdeveloped areas.
Innovation shines through pilots like Pune’s biomass-to-green hydrogen initiative, which turns restoration waste into clean energy and community income.
A WRI India paper backs the approach, analyzing 355 studies to show agroforestry and assisted natural regeneration excel in carbon sequestration and resilience-especially with community buy-in.
Economic and Climate Wins for Net-Zero India
Beyond growth, Restore 50/100 bolsters climate goals. Degraded lands become carbon sinks, aiding India’s 2070 net-zero pledge. “Land and water are major carbon sinks,” Subrahmanyam noted. “Improving them accelerates sequestration and adaptation without slowing development.”
Dr. Ruchika Singh of WRI India called it a “new restoration economy,” blending ecology, livelihoods, and Viksit Bharat’s inclusive ethos.
As India races toward developed-nation status, NITI Aayog’s Restore 50/100-launched at RESTORE 2025-positions land revival as a strategic powerhouse, turning wastelands into wealth engines.
