In big budget push to green growth, Ladakh gets 13 GW renewable energy project

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday presented a budget in which major announcements have been made in relation to implementing many programmes like-- fuel, green energy, green farming, and green mobility. The decision has been taken under the Budget's Fiscal Year 2023-24 'green growth' priority.

13 GW of renewable energy evacuation in Ladakh

FM Sitharaman announced the inter-state transmission system for evacuation and grid integration of 13 GW of renewable energy from Ladakh. The project will be constructed with an investment of Rs 20,700 crores including central support of Rs 8,300 crore. 

Besides, the budget also provides Rs 35,000 crore for priority capital investments towards energy transition, net zero objectives and energy security by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural gas. 

In order to steer the economy on the sustainable development path, Battery Energy storage systems with a capacity of 4,000 MWH will be supported with Viability Gap Funding. A detailed framework for pumped storage projects will also be formulated.

The Finance Minister informed that green growth is the fifth priority. "The Prime minister has given vision for LiFE, or lifestyle for the environment. To spur a movement for an environmentally conscious lifestyle, India is moving firmly for the Panchamrit, the net zero carbon emission by 2070, ushering in green industrial and economic transition. This budget builds on our focus on green growth," she said.

It is pertinent to mention that in November 2021, PM Modi pledged to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2070 under the Paris Agreement at the UN climate conference COP26 in Glasgow.

Sitharaman announces various measures for MSMEs

The move of a unified filing process eradicates the need for submitting the same information separately to various government agencies. The filing of data on a common portal will subsequently be shared with relevant agencies as per the choice of the individual filing it. 

Apart from this, several other measures were announced that offered relief to MSMEs who were deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, the decisions have made it easier to run businesses in the world’s biggest democracy, India. Furthermore, she announced that the government will be bringing in the National Data Governance policy, which in turn “will enable anonymised data” and make the KYC process easier.