Budget 2024: No 'budget' for energy transition is a cause for concern

Withdrawing funds for the initiative to be taken up by oil refiners, who have lost their power to price fuels for the last few years, is a cause for concern

India’s energy transition is at stake after the government in the final Budget for 2024-25 eliminated a Rs 15,000 crore grant for oil companies to invest in this, and gave no indications of continuing with a programme to subsidize electric vehicles (EVs) — transportation leads to a fifth of global emissions and is one of the key causes behind many Indian cities topping the global pollution charts for the last few years.

Withdrawing funds for energy transition for one of the most polluting industries — oil refining — that has lost its power to price fuels for