Centre takes some important steps for Green Growth in the Budget 2023. What are these steps?
The recently presented Union Budget by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has brought forward a myriad of unexpected changes. These mixed reactions have received mixed reactions. One of the surprising elements in the budget 2023 is that there is no tax at all on incomes up to Rs. 7.5 lakh a year. Moreover, the Government is all set to reduce the highest surcharge rate from 37% to 25% in the new tax regime.
The surprising elements do not end here. In the quest to decrease the Indian economy’s carbon intensity, a slew of measures toward “Green Growth” were also presented on Wednesday in the Union Budget. The attempts are made to meet the country’s clean energy targets, reduce carbon intensity, and offer large-scale green job opportunities.
These attempts consist of initiatives relating to green fuel, green mobility, green farming, green equipment, and green buildings. Certain policies relating to the better and optimum use of energy across multiple sectors of the economy are implemented too.
Green Growth is regarded as one of the seven prominent priorities of the year’s budget. India is shifting toward net zero carbon emissions by the year 2070.
Seven Priority area of Budget are:
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) February 1, 2023
1 Inclusive development
2 Reaching the last mile
3 Infrastructure investment,
4 Unleashing the potential
5 Green growth,
6 Youth
7 Financial sector@nsitharaman #AmritKaalBudget #Budget2023 pic.twitter.com/BvjafCIwom
Let’s talk about all these green initiatives:
Energy Transition:
The budget presented on Wednesday by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman offers Rs35,000 crores for priority capital investment for net zero objectives and energy transition. Energy security by the Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas is also one of the priorities. The outlay is Rs 35,000 crore.
Vehicle Replacement:
Replacing old polluting vehicles, as per the Finance Minister is a crucial step that can green our economy. The Minister has allocated funds to discard old vehicles of the Central government. The states will also show their support in scraping old State ambulances, along with other old vehicles.
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Green Credit Program:
The government has been unique in its approach this time to promote behavioral change and thus has announced the Green Credit Program. The Green Credit Program will be a program notified under the umbrella of the Environment Protection Act, 1986.
Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, said that this would incentivize sustainable measures toward the environment by individuals, companies, and local bodies. This will further aid in mobilizing additional resources for activities like these.
Battery Storage:
In an attempt to encourage sustainable development, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman declared Viability Gap Funding (VGF) for battery energy storage systems coming with a capacity of 4,000 MWh (megawatt hour). Soon, a well-detailed framework for pumped storage projects is also going to be formulated.
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