Nirmala Sitharaman Announces Free Electricity Scheme and Critical Mineral Mission
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has launched the Pradhan Mantri-Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, which aims to provide free electricity up to 300 units for one crore households. This initiative has already seen over 1.28 crore registrations and 14 lakh applications.
In her Budget 2024 speech, Sitharaman emphasized the government’s commitment to energy security and economic growth. She announced the introduction of a Critical Mineral Mission to secure essential minerals like lithium, copper, and cobalt for sectors such as renewable energy, space, and telecommunications.
The government will also support the energy transition by expanding the list of exempted capital goods for solar panel manufacturing and promoting pumped storage projects for electricity storage. Additionally, a policy for the development of Bharat Small Reactors and research in nuclear energy will be established.
To support traditional industries, the government will facilitate energy audits and provide financial support for cleaner energy adoption in 60 clusters, with plans to expand to 100 more clusters in the future.
Doubts Revealed
Nirmala Sitharaman -: Nirmala Sitharaman is the Finance Minister of India. She is responsible for managing the country’s finances, including the budget and economic policies.
Pradhan Mantri-Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana -: This is a government scheme in India that provides free electricity up to 300 units to one crore (10 million) households. ‘Pradhan Mantri’ means ‘Prime Minister’ in Hindi, and ‘Muft Bijli’ means ‘free electricity’.
Critical Mineral Mission -: This is a new initiative by the Indian government to secure important minerals like lithium and cobalt. These minerals are essential for making batteries and other technologies.
lithium and cobalt -: Lithium and cobalt are types of metals used in making batteries, especially for electric cars and electronic devices. They are very important for modern technology.
energy transition -: Energy transition means changing from using traditional energy sources like coal and oil to cleaner sources like solar and wind power. This helps reduce pollution and protect the environment.
nuclear energy -: Nuclear energy is a type of energy produced by splitting atoms in a reactor. It can generate a lot of electricity without producing air pollution.
traditional industries -: Traditional industries are older types of businesses like manufacturing and mining. The government wants these industries to use cleaner energy to reduce pollution.