Why India is spending ₹91,000 crore on Great Nicobar | The Climate Economy

India's Great Nicobar Project is moving closer to reality. What began as a proposal for a transshipment port has evolved into a massive plan involving a new airport, township, tourism infrastructure, industrial zones and a projected population increase from fewer than 10,000 people to more than three lakh. Supporters argue that Great Nicobar's location near the Strait of Malacca could strengthen India's economic and strategic position in the Indo-Pacific. Critics warn that the project could irreversibly alter one of India's last intact tropical rainforest ecosystems, affect Indigenous communities and raise difficult questions about transparency, consent and environmental trade-offs. In this episode of The Climate Economy, we examine what India is planning to build in Great Nicobar, why the debate has intensified and the questions that remain unanswered.