Reduction in carbon emission due to Central govt's initiatives: Minister

India has witnessed a significant reduction in carbon emissions because of the Narendra Modi government's initiatives, Union Minister Mahendra Nath Pandey said on Wednesday.

Under phase-2 of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme launched in 2019, 5.80 lakh two-wheelers, 74,063 electric three-wheelers, 6,784 four wheelers and 3,738 buses have been sold, he said.

"Carbon emission in the country saw a 49 crore kg reduction, while over 34 crore litre petrol and diesel was also saved by the special initiatives of the Modi government, said the Minister of Heavy Industries at a press conference at the BJP headquarters.

Highlighting the Modi government's achievements, Pandey said, "We have provided funds to the petroleum ministry for setting up 7,432 charging stations for electric vehicles at petrol pumps on highways."

In the nine years of the Modi government, Pandey said various reforms were initiated to create a favourable atmosphere for the growth of industries.

He said the ease of doing business that prevailed in Gujarat when Narendra Modi was its chief minister has now spread across the country.

In line with the vision of "Aatmanirbhar Bharat", the Modi government launched various production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes, the minister said.

"Recently one more PLI scheme in electronics with an outlay of Rs 17,000 crore was launched," Pandey said.

He said earlier India was completely dependent on foreign countries for auto parts like sunroofs, automatic brakes, pollution warning systems, and tyre pressure monitoring systems.

"But Prime Minister Modi stressed that we should produce these indigenously. We launched an auto PLI scheme with an outlay of Rs 25,938 crore We hoped to attract investments worth Rs 30 to Rs 40 crore. But, around Rs 75,000 crore investment came in," he said.

This PLI scheme led to the creation of seven lakh direct and indirect employment, the minister added.

Highlighting the achievements of the Modi government in the past nine years, Pandey said financial assistance reaches the beneficiaries directly due to the implementation of the direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme.

"Modi ji has shown this country and the world how a committed prime minister works, unlike in the past when a prime minister expressed helplessness saying out of Re 1 sent by Centre only 15 paise reaches the beneficiaries."

The country was witness to a series of corruption cases during the 10 years of the Congress-led UPA government, Pandey alleged.

He described the nine years of the Modi government as "beyond compare and full of achievements" and said those who voted in the last election and those who would be voting in the upcoming polls are witnessing a "Modi era".