E-Paper
Budget 2023: Big focus on green growth in automobile sector; check highlights
The Union Budget 2023 also has set aside ₹35,000 crore for priority capital investment towards energy transition and net-zero objectives.
To reduce the carbon intensity of the Indian economy and meet clean energy targets, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a slew of green growth-focused announcements for the auto sector in the Union Budget on Wednesday, With this, the government has put out a clear message to boost zero-carbon strategy and ensure a swift transition to greener fuels like CNG, ethanol, and hydrogen.
The Union Budget 2023 also has set aside ₹35,000 crore for priority capital investment towards energy transition and net-zero objectives, with India aiming to reach net-zero carbon emission by 2070.
Key highlights:
With an outlay of ₹19,700 crore and annual production target of 5 million metric tonnes (MMT) by 2030 for the National Green Hydrogen Mission, Sitharaman emphasised on the importance of green mobility to enable the transition to “low carbon intensity”, lessen reliance on fossil fuel imports, and encourage hydrogen fuel-powered mobility.
The Budget also scrapped the custom duty on capital goods/machinery for manufacture of lithium-ion cells for use in batteries of electrically operated vehicles (EVs), which will decrease the cost of EVs.
The automobile industry sales could see a spike thanks to the proposed reduction of basic customs duty on goods other than agriculture and textiles from 21 per cent to 13 per cent and increase of rebate limit on personal income tax from ₹5 lakh to ₹7 lakh - which means more disposable income with salaried consumers.
In an important step towards building a green economy and continuing the vehicle scrapping policy of the last Budget, funds were earmarked to scrap old vehicles of the Centre. States will also be assisted in replacing old ambulances and other vehicles.
During her budget speech, Sitharaman on Wednesday left the Parliament in splits after a slip of tongue involving “political and polluting”. Speaking about the vehicle replacement policy, Sitharaman used the word “political” instead of “polluting”. The finance minister immediately corrected herself with a much deeper emphasis on the word “polluting”.
“Replacing the old political…sorry, I know…replacing old polluting vehicles…maybe applicable, right?… is an important part of greening our economy,” the FM joked.
