It was just a few days ago the Union budget of India was announced by the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the parliament. It is also the first budget since the COVID-19 pandemic struck the world and it aims to re-energise the Indian economy which had a severe blow due to the lockdown phase the nation underwent in order to tackle the pandemic. It mainly focuses on six pillars of the economy namely health and well-being, Physical and Financial capital and infrastructure, Inclusive Development for Aspirational India, Reinvigorating Human Capital and R&D, and Minimum Government and Maximum Governance. In this, the development of aspirational India includes sustainability and sustainable development in a huge way.
Under the new budget goals here are the points that deal with sustainability and sustainable development:
- 100% electrification of rail routes by Dec 2023 can help boost the railway sector which is one of the main modes of public transport for the citizens of our nation. Majority of the travellers especially interstate can now rely on trains more with this scheme.
- Announcing a voluntary scrapping policy to phase out polluting vehicles after 20 years for personal vehicles and 15 years for cargo vehicles. Air pollution has been a major cause of concern for many of the main cities in India like Mumbai and Delhi. Though there are many other causes of air pollution vehicles contribute a lot to it.
- A budget of 2200 crores is set up for 42 urban centres in order to tackle air pollution across the nation by enabling them to improve infrastructure etc.
- Investing thousands of crores to improve infrastructures like roads and highways to help improve transportation facilities across the country. Improving transportation routes not only help boost the states but also makes it easy for everyone to connect properly thereby making it easier for people to do business.
- To modernize harbours and other landing facilities across the nation to improve economical activities in the area. One of the banes the nation faces today is old and outdated techniques and machinery used in many of these areas and modernizing it not only improves business but also the overall efficiency.
- To facilitate deployment of PPP (public-private partnership) models enabling private owners to own over 20k buses across the nation. This will help improve transportation facilities in many states and reduce the natural resources used as people will rely more on mass transportation.
- Giving a big boost to startup companies in India by letting them start one person company y and reducing the set-up time from 182 days to 120 days. This will help boost the number of startups as more people come forward with businesses that can help further develop our nation.
These are the main clause involved in the union budget that deals with sustainability and sustainable development.
Image credit: economictimes.indiatimes.com
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