
Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday (Feb 1st) presented the interim Budget speech in the Lok Sabha,lower house of the Parliament,
During her sixth straight budget, Sitharaman announced a slew of revolutionary schemes for a variety of industries. Here are some you must know.
During her interim Budget speech, Sitharaman announced that through rooftop solarisation, one crore (10 million) households will be enabled to obtain up to 300 units of free electricity every month.
She said that this scheme follows the resolve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the historic day of consecration of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
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The scheme, as per the Indian Finance Minister will create entrepreneurship opportunities for numerous vendors in regards to supply and installation. It is also expected to generate employment opportunities for the youth with technical skills in manufacturing, installation and maintenance.
Furthermore, households are likely to save up to 15,000-18,000 rupees annually. They will also be empowered to sell the surplus power, if any, to distribution companies.
To achieve "atmanirbharta" (self-reliance) for oil seeds, a strategy would be formulated, announced Sitharaman. The strategy, she said will cover "research for high-yielding varieties, widespread adoption of modern farming techniques, market linkages, procurement, value addition, and crop insurance."
To exploit India's status as world's largest milk producer, a comprehensive programme for supporting dairy farmers will be formulated.
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As per Sitharaman, this would be built on "the success of existing schemes such Rashtriya Gokul Mission, National Livestock Mission, and Infrastructure Development Funds for dairy processing and animal husbandry."
To further enhance India's fisheries industry, the aquaculture productivity will be increased from existing three to five tonnes per hectare.
Additionally, exports will be doubled to one lakh crore (one trillion rupees). This would help generatearound 55 lakh (5.5 million) employment opportunities.
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To expand and strengthen the e-vehicle ecosystem, the government plans to support manufacturing and charging infrastructure.
To promote green growth, a new scheme of bio-manufacturing and bio-foundry will be launched.
This, Sitharaman said "will provide environment friendly alternatives such as biodegradable polymers, bio-plastics, bio-pharmaceuticals and bio-agri-inputs."
Thursday's budget was the last budget of the second term of the Narendra Modi led BJP government.