A splash of sunshine and a hint on thermal

Mention of clean air in the Budget indicates that some sort of priority is accorded to it

For those concerned about the issues of clean air and sustainability, there were four things of interest in Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget. The announcements were, however, incremental in na­ture, rather than path-breaking.

Solar power: The recently-launched solar pump scheme is set to be ex­panded. The government aims to provide two million farmers (1.75 million earlier) with subsidised standalone solar pumps, help another 1.5 million (1 million earlier) to solarise their grid-connected pump sets, and set up solar plants on barren land under KUSUM scheme. The targeted installation of 25,750 megawatts by 2022 under the original plan would also be increased,