Budget 2024: Modi govt's commitment to meet ‘Net Zero by 2070' explained

Sitharaman said that to promote green growth, a new scheme of bio-manufacturing and bio-foundry will be launched.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday announced a slew of measures, including financial assistance, to aid India's sustainable development and green push. Here's a look at these green initiatives announced by the Narendra Modi government in the Interim Budget 2024:

1) The government announced financial assistance for converting biomass into Compressed Bio Gas (CBG) and phased mandatory blending of CBG with natural gas to be used as fuel for vehicles and domestic supplies.

2) Sitharaman said financial assistance will be provided for procurement of biomass aggregation machinery to support collections.

3) She also said that to promote green growth, a new scheme of bio-manufacturing and bio-foundry will be launched, which will provide environment-friendly alternatives, such as biodegradable polymers, bio-plastics, bio-pharmaceuticals, and bio-agri-inputs. This scheme will also help transform today's consumptive manufacturing paradigm to the one based on regenerative principles, she added.

4) Under the rooftop solarisation scheme, the government said 1 crore households will receive free electricity of up to 300 units every month.

5) The government also said it will expand and strengthen the e-vehicle ecosystem by supporting manufacturing and charging infrastructure. It said greater adoption of e-buses for public transport networks will be encouraged through the payment security mechanism.

6) 36.9 crore LED bulbs, 72.2 lakh LED tube lights, and 23.6 lakh energy efficient fans will be distributed under the UJALA programme.

7) The Finance Minister also said that 1.3 crore LED street lights will be installed under the government’s Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP) programme.

(With PTI inputs)