The Green Credit programme is expected to channel the much-needed capital to support transition to a sustainable economy
In line with the Green Growth focus of the Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced, 500 new waste to wealth plants to be established under GOBARdhan (Galvanizing Organic Bio- Agro Resources Dhan) Scheme with a total investment of Rs 10,000 crore. It is expected to contribute to circular economy. GST-paid compressed biogas has been also exempted from excise duty.
Gaurav Kedia, Chairman, Indian Biogas Association, elaborates, “New 500 plants under GOBAR-dhan scheme will be established, including 200 Compressed BioGas (CBG) facilities and 300 community and cluster-based biogas plants at a total investment of Rs 10,000 crore. The Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have been mandated to provide a 5 per cent share of CBGs."
Similarly, the Green Credit Programme to be notified under the Environment (Protection) Act is for incentivising and mobilising additional resources for environmentally sustainable and responsive actions. Anjali Bansal, Founder, Avaana Capital, says, “The Green Credit programme is expected to channel much needed capital to support the transition to a sustainable economy.”
Bansal adds, “Concessional duties on Li-ion batteries will provide further boost to the EV sector and help decarbonise the transport and logistics sectors." To encourage green mobility, the budget noted, the concessional duty on lithium-ion cells for batteries will remain for another year. Experts point it will reduce the price of electric vehicles.
While welcoming the initiatives for green growth and transition to net-zero carbon, particularly National Green Hydrogen Mission, capital investments towards net-zero, PM-PRANAM incentives for mother earth, MISHTI – the Mangrove Initiative and Amrit Dharovar, Sandeep Chachra, Executive Director, ActionAid Association says that more is needed.
Quoting a World Bank report, which suggests that by 2030 India may account for 34 million of the projected 80 million global job losses from heat stress associated with productivity decline, Chachra adds, “In such a situation, budgetary allocation for a national loss and damage financing facility would have been a game changer.”