“It is heartening to see the budget clearly outline the priority areas as part of the broad vision for the future, with sustainable use of energy at the core of that plan. The focus on renewables is evident with electric vehicles being one of the ten dimensions for building New India by 2030. The budget announcement that India will drive on electric vehicles with renewables, backed by energy storage devices, becoming a major source of power supply shows that this is expected to be a key focus area for future governments. If concerted steps are taken in this direction, it will be go a long way in bringing down pollution levels addressing the issue of climate change.
The long term focus on creating a fully digital economy with one lakh digital villages in next five years and expanding rural industrialisation by harnessing digital technologies is also laudable. This is combined with a reiteration of Make in India which can support the evolution to the smarter, Industry 4.0 A combination of all these measures, when undertaken, will put India firmly on road to become a $10 trillion economy in next eight years. Further, the government’s decision to set up National Centre on Artificial Intelligence will allow sectors across the economy to draw benefits from this new age technology, boost manufacturing, trim production losses and usher in efficiency.“
