Union Budget 2023: What steps has Centre taken for India's green growth? Read to know

This year’s Union Budget did not sideline India’s goal of making monumental growth in the green sector. While presenting the budget on Wednesday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that the Centre is making “green growth efforts” to lower carbon intensity and impact.

She also emphasized that the core foundation of the budget is green growth, and India is already making big steps to achieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for 'panchamrat', a net green transition by 2070. “The government will launch the Atmanirbhar Clean Plant Programme to improve availability of disease-free quality planting material for high-value horticultural crops at an outlay of Rs 2,200 crore,” said FM Sitharaman.

Elucidating the National Green Hydrogen Mission, the minister said that it will help in the smooth transition to low-carbon energy and achieve the target of 5 MMT (million metric tonnes) by 2030. "The recently launched National Green Hydrogen Mission with an outlay of Rs 19,700 crores will facilitate the transition of the economy to low carbon intensity and reduce dependence on fossil fuel imports," she announced.

#BudgetWithArnab | India is moving forward in achieving net zero carbon omission by 2070 which will boost green growth project: #NirmalaSitharaman in her #Budget2023 speech

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Which initiatives have been launched in Green growth?

In order to make progress in green growth, the PM Pranam, which stands for PM Promotion of Alternate Nutrients for Agriculture Management Yojana, will also be launched. It will incentivize states and Union territories by promoting the use of alternative fertilizers and balance chemical fertilizer use. Under the GOBARdhan scheme, 500 new waste-to-wealth plants will be put in place “for promoting circular economy.”

For regions lying on the coastline, mangrove plantations will be carried out. Other initiatives under the Green growth include fund allocation for the replacement of outdated polluting vehicles, the establishment of 10,000 bio-input centres to help farmers transition to natural farming, etc. 

Green growth is one of the seven pointers that this year’s budget has prioritized to help India in its Amrit Kaal era. The priorities include youth power, inclusive development, unleashing potential, finance sector, infrastructure and investment, and reaching the last mile.