Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has begun presenting the Union Budget 2021-22 in Parliament.
Addressing air pollution, Sitharaman announced a total spend of Rs 2217 crore allocated for 42 urban centres to tackle air pollution.
This would be Sitharaman’s third budget under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In a significant departure from the tradition, this year’s Budget will be unique as it will be paperless.
Here are the updates:
Voluntary scrapping policy announced based on fitness test
20 years in a personal vehicle and 15 years for the commercial vehicle. More details to be available soon: FM
Focus on Swacch bharat and swasth bharat: FM Sitharaman
“Intend to focus on reduction of single use plastic, air pollution and segregation of waste,” FM Sitharaman says while talking about Swacch bharat and swasth bharat.
Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0
The Urban Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 will be implemented with a total financial allocation of Rs 1,41,678 crore over a period of 5 years from 2021.
₹2.87 lakh crore outlay for Jal Jeevan mission
Sitharaman announced the Jal Jeevan mission with an outlay of ₹2.87 lakh crore for 4,378 urban local bodies.
Boost to renewable energy sector
Rs 1,000 crore to solar energy corporation and Rs 1,500 to renewable energy development agency, said FM.
National Hydrogen Mission 2021-22
Launch of National Hydrogen Mission 2021-22 aimed at generating hydrogen from Green Power
100% electrification of the broad gauge network
Railway Budget 2021 highlighted the national transporter’s plan for 100% electrification of the broad gauge network by December 2023.
Wildlife
Rs 25.5 crore was allocated for Wildlife Institute of India in Budget 2021-22. This figure was Rs 34 crore for the financial year 2020-21 and was revised to Rs 22 crore.
Allocation of Rs 3.05 lakh crore for power distribution
The Union Budget 2021-22 allocated Rs 3.05 lakh crore for the power distribution, to be released over five years. Funds will be released based on financial performance and viability demonstration by the distribution companies (DISCOMS), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
Deep Ocean Mission
Nirmala Sitharaman announced an allocation of over Rs 4,000 crore over the next five years for the Deep Ocean Mission
