On February 1st, 2023, India’s Minister of Finance, Nirmala Sitharaman, delivered the much-awaited Union Budget 2023–24 to Parliament. With the overarching goal of India at 100 in mind, the budget was constructed with the idea of “inclusiveness,” with an emphasis on improving the welfare of women, children, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes. Let’s have the look at it and see whats there for Renewable Energy in Budget 2023.
“We are implementing many programs for green fuel, green energy, green farming, green mobility, green buildings, and green equipment, and policies for efficient use of energy across various economic sectors. These green growth efforts help in reducing the carbon intensity of the economy and provide for large-scale green job opportunities.” Finance minister of India
The budget contains seven core themes, including inclusive development, transformative infrastructure, green growth, and the empowerment of the young population of the nation, in line with the government’s vision for an independent India. The budget intends to meet the nation’s urgent needs while establishing the groundwork for long-term, sustainable growth and development. But what exactly is green growth? By accessing this article, you can learn more about and broaden your understanding of the concept of green growth. Renewable Energy in Budget 2023 showcased that India is focused to achieve the goal of net zero
Green Growth: Renewable Energy in Budget 2023
The term, “green growth” refers to a strategy for economic growth that prioritizes sustainable development and reduces its negative environmental effects. India ranked 169th out of 180 nations in the 2022 Environment Performance Index, which was based on the assessment of factors like waste management, air quality, biodiversity and habitat, fisheries, ecosystem services, and climate change. India’s score was lower compared to a few other smaller economies, despite the country having the fifth-largest economy in the world.
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In a study on air pollution among the G20 economies, the World Health Organization found that 13 of the 20 most contaminated cities were in India. Being the most populous nation in the world today, India is using up its limited resources, including minerals, water, and fossil fuels, to keep up with rising demand.
The environment and the nation’s economy will both suffer greatly as a result of this excessive resource depletion. India’s road to sustainable growth and development now faces a severe obstacle in the form of environmental sustainability.
The government of India is building Green Economy with Green fuels, Green energy, Green Farming, Green buildings, Green equipment, Green Mobility, and Green Jobs.
Green fuels are fuels made from biomass sources using a range of biological, thermal, and chemical methods. They are chemically equivalent to petroleum-based gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. They are also known as renewable hydrocarbon biofuels or drop-in fuels. Green fuels are supposed to be environmentally benign because they are made from plant and animal components.
Green energy is a type of energy that is produced from renewable energy sources and natural resources like sunshine, wind, or water. The release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere is one way that green energy does not hurt the environment.
Renewable energy sources including solar energy, wind energy, and hydroelectric power are common sources of green energy. But not all renewable energy sources are environmentally friendly. Because of the carbon dioxide that is produced during the burning process, power generation from organic material from sustainable forests is renewable but may not be environmentally friendly.
In response to the damage that chemical pesticides and synthetic fertilizers used in conventional agriculture cause to the environment, green farming is an agricultural system that uses biological pest controls and fertilizers made primarily from animal and plant wastes and nitrogen-fixing cover crops. There are various ecological advantages to green farming.
Green mobility seeks to lessen the negative effects of transportation on the environment, specifically in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, noise pollution, and air pollution. Green mobility fosters nodes that are not on fossil fuels for operation, walking, and cycling in urban areas and the idea of “moving people than automobiles.”
A green building, also known as a sustainable building, is designed to preserve or enhance the quality of life in the area in which it is located.
Green building is the practice of designing and using systems that are resource- and environmentally conscious at every stage of a building’s life cycle, from site selection to design to construction to operation to maintenance to renovation to deconstruction. Green building practices make efficient use of energy, water, and other resources, lessen waste, pollution, and environmental degradation, and safeguard occupant health.
Green technology is energy-efficient gear that is primarily solar-powered and has a battery life of many hours. Fuel, which comes from non-renewable resources, is not consumed by this machinery.
According to Sitharaman, measures to promote green growth help to lower the economy’s carbon intensity, which results in lower carbon emissions. Additionally, the initiatives to promote green growth will result in numerous green job possibilities. The International Labour Organization defines “green jobs” as respectable jobs that help preserve or restore the environment, whether they are in established green industries like manufacturing and construction or more recent green industries like renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Green jobs reduce waste and pollution, increase energy and raw material efficiency, and aid in climate change adaptation.
Nirmala Sitharaman, the minister of finance, stated that the Union Budget for 2023–24 will focus on seven important areas, including green growth. An amount of Rs 35,000 crore has been set aside for capital investments that are to be made first in the transition to green energy. The announcement was made as part of India’s efforts to advance decarbonization and the growth of renewable energy sources. Funding for the renewable energy industry has increased by 48% in the current budget. Nirmala Sitharaman, the minister of finance, declared that the country would focus its efforts on promoting green growth to reduce carbon emissions and create job opportunities in the green industry.
Insights on initiatives mentioned in the budget 2023:
- With a budget of INR 19,700 crore, the National Green Hydrogen Mission has been developed to aid in the transition of the economy from relying on fossil fuels to using renewable energy sources.
- By the end of the current decade, the government has promised to cut India’s predicted carbon emissions by 1 billion tonnes. By 2030, the nation’s economy should have a carbon intensity of less than 45% and net-zero carbon emissions by 2070.
- Positive announcements in the form of Manufacturing Linked Incentives (PLIs) are anticipated in the upcoming budget to encourage the domestic production of sustainable and environmentally friendly products later in the year.
- Battery energy storage systems (BESS) with a capacity of 4,000 MWh will receive support in the form of viability gap funding (VGF), for which information will be provided, to steer the economy towards a course of sustainable development.
- The Minister declared that the Environmental Protection Act will have authority over the establishment of a green credit program meant to encourage responsible environmental conduct. This program is intended to complement the ethical and ecologically conscious measures already being performed by businesses, people, and neighborhood groups.