Budget 2024: Government focuses on Green Energy, EV ecosystem and more

In continuance of the 2023 union budget where for the first time the government focused on Green Growth on the back of India’s Net Zero target of 2070, the 2024 interim budget continued the sentiment. The government is taking various measures towards reducing carbon intensity of the economy and meeting the net zero goal by 2070.

Energy from fossil fuels in the biggest emitter of carbon emissions for India. Hence, the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman started with government’s focus on Green Energy. She said, “Towards meeting our commitment for ‘net-zero’ by 2070, the government will provide viability gap funding for harnessing offshore wind energy potential for initial capacity of one giga-watt. Coal gasification and liquefaction capacity of 100 MT will be set up by 2030. This will also help in reducing imports of natural gas, methanol, and ammonia.”

Sumant Sinha, Founder, Chairman and CEO, ReNew says, “Continued priority to achieve rapid growth of the green energy sector is clear. Announcements on viability gap funding for offshore wind energy and allocations for solar rooftop projects will support development of the whole industry.  The announcement of the corpus of Rs. 1 lakh crore for R&D in sunrise sectors sets a positive tone for the future, encouraging us to accelerate our investments and innovations in renewable energy technologies."

Rishi Agarwal, MD & Head-Asia, FSG adds,  “While viability gap funding to harness offshore wind energy potential for an initial capacity of one giga-watt is a commendable step forward towards diversifying the energy mix, greater emphasis on investing in R&D will be the key to unlocking the full potential of offshore wind and ensuring its long-term viability.”

Finance Minister also stated that a phased mandatory blending of compressed biogas (CBG) in compressed natural gas (CNG) for transport and piped natural gas (PNG) for domestic purposes will be mandated. Even financial assistance will be provided for procurement of biomass aggregation machinery to support collection.

As transpiration is the third large emitter for India, building a comprehensive electric vehicle ecosystem can beneficial. For the same, the finance minister said, the government will expand and strengthen the e-vehicle ecosystem by supporting manufacturing and charging infrastructure. Greater adoption of e-buses for public transport networks will be encouraged through payment security mechanism.

The industry welcomed government’s focus on EV ecosystem. Hari Kiran, Co-Founder and COO,eBikeGo said, “The government's commitment to expand and strengthen the EV ecosystem will significantly boost manufacturing and infrastructure development. This will emerge as a notable contribution in achieving Net Zero Goals and lays a solid foundation for sustainable mobility and a greener environment.” He added, highlighted by the Finance Minister, the new age technologies and data are changing the lives of people and businesses. They are also enabling new economic opportunities as India is showing solutions through innovation and entrepreneurship.

Another focus area by the government was on bio-manufacturing and bio-foundry. For promoting green growth, a new scheme of bio-manufacturing and bio-foundry will be launched said finance minister. This will provide environment friendly alternatives such as biodegradable polymers, bio-plastics, bio-pharmaceuticals and bio-agri-inputs.  This scheme will also help in transforming today’s consumptive manufacturing paradigm to the one based on regenerative principles.

Lastly, for promoting climate resilient activities for blue economy 2.0, a scheme for restoration and adaptation measures, and coastal aquaculture and mariculture with integrated and multi-sectoral approach will be launched.

Also Read: Budget 2024: What is Blue Economy 2.0? Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announces climate-friendly approach