PM Modi champions green growth in post-Budget webinar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday virtually addressed a post-Budget webinar on green growth hosted by the Ministry of Power. In his speech, Modi emphasised the need to swiftly implement budget policies highlighting some key announcements made on schemes such as the PM Kusum and GOBARdhan.

"This budget is an opportunity for the security of India's future. We need to work collectively and swiftly to implement budget policies," Modi said.

Seeking investments in the green energy sector, the prime minister added that India's potential in renewable energy is no less than a gold mine.

Climate action and sustainability were key topics of discussion throughout the year leading up to the Budget and received a big push in Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's presentation of it on February 1. As pointed out by a Ministry of Power official in today's webinar, it was also one of the "saptrishis" announced by the FM.

Starting his remarks, Modi outlined three pillars of India's transition towards clean energy and green growth: increasing renewable energy production, reducing the use of fossil fuels and moving forward with a gas-based economy.

The prime minister lauded his government's Budget saying it would "establish India as a leading player in the global green energy market."

He pointed out that the Budgets of yesteryears and Budget 2023 have all followed a common pattern  — a push towards new age reform while keeping current problems in mind. Past budgets have witnessed major announcement for solar manufacturing incentives, rooftop solar schemes and battery storage initiatives, Modi said.

This year's Budget had something for everyone, the prime minister said. The green credit programme was launched to boost industries, while farmers benefited from the PM-PRANAM scheme. Villages were kept in mind through the GOBARdhan Scheme while a goal of scrapping 3 lakh old government vehicles was promised to help the cities of India with a Rs 3,000 crore outlay in the Budget.

"The provisions that have been made in this year's budget regarding Green Growth are in a way the foundation stone for the bright future of our future generations. Since 2014, India has been the fastest in renewable capacity addition," Modi said.

Presenting the Budget for 2023-2024, FM Sitharaman had set outside an outlay of Rs 19,700 crore for the National Green Hydrogen Mission.

The prime minister also noted that India was on track to achieve its 500 GW non-fossil fuel target by 2023 and that it had already achieved its goals of reaching an installed power capacity with 40 percent renewable energy nine years ahead of target. He also referred to India achieving 10 percent ethanol blending target five months ahead of schedule.

Tweeting about the webinar, the prime minister said, "At 10 AM, I would be addressing a webinar that focuses on aspects relating to green growth in this year's Budget. Urging all those passionate about the energy sector and boosting sustainable development to join the webinar."

In his speech, Modi urged investors to come out and invest in India's green future singling out the nation's waste to energy program and agri-waste as opportunities.