The Indian budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 is expected to be announced on February 1, 2024 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Based on some web sources, here are some of the possible highlights on the sustainability front from the upcoming budget:
- The budget may designate green growth as one of the seven themes of the union budget, and put thrust on ecosystem development for green hydrogen, infrastructure strengthening for utility-scale renewable energy power, and storage solutions.
- The budget may announce direct subsidy schemes and capex support for industries ready to transition to green hydrogen, which would catalyze the adoption across various sectors, such as steel, fertilizer, and transport.
- The budget may also provide fiscal incentives and tax benefits for renewable energy projects, especially solar and wind, and promote domestic manufacturing of green technologies and equipment.
- The budget may allocate more funds for the National Mission on Climate Change, which covers eight sub-missions on various aspects of climate action, such as solar, energy efficiency, sustainable habitat, water, Himalayan ecosystem, green India, sustainable agriculture, and strategic knowledge.
- The budget may also enhance the spending on environmental protection and conservation, such as forest management, biodiversity conservation, pollution control, and waste management.
