The union budget’s environmental hits and misses

The union budget’s environmental hits and misses

Subject: Environment

Section: Government schemes

Context: Union Minister of Finance reiterated ‘green’ 23 times and ‘sustainable’ nine times in her budget speech on February 1. FM pegged ‘green growth’ as one among four opportunities that can be transformative during Amrit Kaal.

More on the Environment Budget:

• Green growth, which is economic growth that is environmentally sustainable, was announced as one of seven priorities for the government in the 2023-24 union budget released yesterday.
• One of the major announcements the finance minister made was a capital investment of Rs. 35,000 crores (Rs. 350 billion) towards energy transition. The funds, though, would go to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. Of this, Rs 30,000 crores (Rs. 300 billion) will go to oil-marketing companies (OMCs), and the remaining Rs. 5,000 crores (Rs. 50 billion), will be spent on strategic petroleum reserves.
• The minister’s other big announcements related to the environment were the viability funding gap for battery energy storage system, inter-state transmission system for evacuation and grid integration of renewable energy from Ladakh, 500 new ‘waste-to-wealth’ plants, and Rs. 19,700 crores (Rs. 197 billion) for the National Green Hydrogen Mission.
• The union minister also announced the extension of customs duty exemption on the import of capital goods and equipment needed to produce lithium-ion cells for use in electric vehicle batteries.
• The finance minister announced a Green Credit Programme to incentivise environmentally sustainable and responsive actions by companies, individuals, and local bodies.
• The union minister said that the government would promote wetland conservation with the help of local communities through Amrit Dharohar, a scheme to protect vital wetlands through optimal use for sustaining aquatic biodiversity.
• Similarly, FM announced a new scheme named Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes (MISHTI), for mangrove plantation along the coastline and on salt pans.
• FM announced a scheme named PM PRANAM (Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment, and Amelioration of Mother Earth) which will incentivise states and Union Territories to promote alternative fertilisers and balanced use of chemical fertilisers.

About Green Hydrogen Mission https://optimizeias.com/green-hydrogen-mission-gets-cabinet-nod-initial-outlay-rs-19744-crore/