By: Veer Sharma | February 1, 2023 | Opinion

Emphasising the need for sustainability and the net-zero carbon emission target, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman outlined eleven important components that highlight the government’s aim to transition to green alternatives. This green growth push is one of the seven “saptarishi initiatives for Amrit Kaal” – the most auspicious time – to enter the world of renewable energy.

While the initiatives deserve plaudits, it looks like the government needs to plan how the initiatives will pan out. For instance, the PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth (PM-PRANAM) scheme launched to increase the adoption of green fertilizers does not incentivise people to adopt such alternatives. The Budget lacked an increase in subsidies for environment-friendly nutrients, which suggests the usage will be much lower than what the government expects as chemical inputs are cheaper than organic manure.

 Despite expectations around the automobile sector, the Union Budget didn’t allocate money to the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles (EV).

The absence of charging stations is one common apprehension among buyers in the country. A transition to EVs would not be an attractive proposition for drivers and would continue with conventional internal combustion engine vehicles.

The Customs duty exemption for lithium-ion batteries– the biggest component of an EV– is not the only solution that would convince citizens to adopt electric vehicles. The government should have focused on ways it can recycle lithium batteries, a crucial step that could reduce the cost of electric vehicles.

The Budget has allocated Rs.19,700 crore for Green Hydrogen Mission. This amount is too meagre to achieve the goal of a green India.

The GOBARdhan scheme is a welcome initiative taken by the government to encourage the adoption of waste management. The need of the hour is to create awareness regarding the same. The government’s allocation of Rs.35,000 crore for energy transition is not a big amount as renewable energy costs are high. This could hinder the green growth push.

The government hopes the vehicle scrapping policy would generate more sales in the auto sector. However, the biggest question is whether it will generate sales of EVs or petrol and diesel cars, which the finance minister did not specify in her speech.

It remains to be seen how the government will scrap old vehicles. The current initiatives adopted are noteworthy but the net-zero 2070 emission target seems somewhat far-fetched.