The Union Budget of India presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, 2023 has set out plans to increase investment in sustainable companies and infrastructure that are helping India reduce its carbon emissions.
Stating that the Union Budget 2023-24 focuses a lot on the supply and input side of the agricultural value chain, Anand Ramanathan, Partner, Deloitte India, said that the increased availability of credit, facilitation of better-quality inputs through clean plant programme, investments in digital infrastructure and skill development will all help in increasing farm level productivity by building awareness and facilitating better quality inputs.
The shift towards decentralised storage is also an important step in reducing wastage and helping increase shelf life of agricultural produce. “The increased focus on driving millet cultivation, consumption and exports, higher investment in fisheries and promotion of natural farming are all helpful from a crop diversification, sustainability and nutrition standpoint.”
The focus on better management of co-operatives and producer collectives will help farmers in realising better prices for their produce. “Finally, the agriculture accelerator announcement for promoting start-ups in agricultural technology enterprises will help increase yield and productivity on the supply side while also enhancing price realisation for the farmer on the demand side through more efficient market linkages,” added Ramanathan.
For Sanjay Gupta, MD and CEO, National Commodities Management Services Limited (NCML), the decision to computerise 63,000 primary agricultural credit societies with an investment of Rs 2,516 crore will enable inclusive farmer-centric solutions and help improve access to farm inputs and farm credit.
Innovation is critical for the agriculture sector to thrive and reach its full potential. The goal is to boost productivity, both in quantity and quality, and create value for farmers. To achieve this, it’s necessary to embrace disruptive ideas and leverage technology and deep technology. “The Agriculture Accelerator Fund is a positive step towards this direction by the Finance minister, however, more must be done to unlock funding for startups beyond the accelerator level. Whether it be private or public funding, the key is to provide the necessary resources for these startups,” observed Padmaja Ruparel, Co-Founder, IAN and Founding Partner IAN Fund.
Nidhi Mehra of Myplan8 found the push for Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for the environment) through the Green credit programme, which will be notified under the Environment Protection Act, amazingly exciting.
“The action of setting up the Gowardhan Scheme for promoting a circular economy with a total investment of ₹10,000 cr, the mangrove plantation along the coastline under the new Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes (MISHTI) scheme, to promote conservation values through a scheme to encourage optimal use of wetlands and allocating adequate funds for scrapping old polluting vehicles of government showcases the focus on action through Lifestyle modification directly or indirectly,” she said.
Emissions from energy production and consumption are expected to grow multifold as India moves towards becoming the third largest economy in the world. “The promotion of green hydrogen will help mitigate the emissions along with an already quite robust solar and wind sector,” said Shauraya Bhutani, Co-founder, Capital Connect Advisors.
With the government announcing removal of custom duties on manufacturing components of lithium-ion batteries, electric vehicles will be able to compete with fossil fuel powered vehicles on price and drive further consumer adoption, he added.
