Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Going green: On Budget 2023’s and India’s net-zero commitment

Going green: On Budget 2023’s and India’s net-zero commitment

The Budget can help India transition (संक्रमण, परिवर्तन) out of its dependence (निर्भरता, भरोसा) on fossil fuels (जीवाश्म ईंधन)

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s latest Budget is noteworthy (ध्यान देने योग्य, विचारणीय) for the emphasis (जोर, बल, महत्व) she has laid on the government’s commitment to move towards net-zero (शुद्ध-शून्य) carbon emission by 2070. As an article presented at the World Economic Forum’s (विश्व आर्थिक मंच) Annual Meeting in Davos last month notes, India holds the key to hitting global climate change (जलवायु परिवर्तन) targets given (considering, taking into account, bearing in mind) its sizeable (बड़ा, पर्याप्त) and growing (बढ़नेवाला, प्रगतिशील) energy needs. With the country’s population set to overtake China’s some time this year, India’s appetite (hunger, strong desire, liking) for energy to propelprompt, push, drive, get going the economy is set to surge (increase suddenly) exponentially (in a way something is increasing quickly/rapidly by large amounts; rapidly, dramatically, aggressively, abruptly). The transition to green (environmentally friendly, energy-efficient, energy-saving) alternatives from the current reliance on fossil fuels is therefore (इसलिए, उस वजह से) an urgent imperative (अनिवार्य, जरूरी) and an opportunity to leverage (लाभ उठाना, फायदा उठाना) this move to catalyse (उत्प्रेरक) new industries, generate jobs on a sizeable scale (extent), and add to (में जोड़ना, बढ़ाना, तीव्र करना) overall economic output. In a nod (a sign of approval) to this, Budget 2023-24 devoted a fair amount of space to the green industrial and economic transition needed. With the electric vehicle (EV) revolution poised (get into position, be prepared to do something) to take off as every automobile major rolls out new EV models to tap (make use of, put to use, use, utilize, deploy, exploit) demand, the availability of indigenously (in an indigenous (originating from native/local) manner, something is produced in a particular region/country) produced lithium-ion batteries has become a necessity (essential requirement), especially to lower the cost of EVs. The Budget hearteningly (encouragingly, hopefully, favourably/promisingly) proposes to exempt customs duty (the taxes levied on goods coming from outside the country (as opposed to excise duty that levied on the manufacture of goods within the country)) on the import of capital goods and machinery required to manufacture lithium-ion cells used in EV batteries. This ought to (must, should) give a fillip (stimulus, boost, encouragement, incentive, impetus) to local companies looking to set up (start, begin, establish, initiate) EV battery plants (factory).

Another key proposal relates to the establishment (creation, formation, initiation) of a viability gap funding (a capital grant from the government that bridges the gap between project cost and the price quoted by the developer) mechanism (procedure, process, system, method, technique) to support the creation of battery energy storage systems with a capacity of 4,000 MWh. Energy storage systems are crucial in power grid stabilisation and essential as India increases its reliance (dependence) on alternative sources of power generation including solar and wind. With wind turbine farms and solar photovoltaic (the branch of technology used to generate electricity directly from sunlight by an electronic process naturally occurring in semiconductors) projects characteristically (typically, usually, habitually) producers of variable electric supply, battery storage systems become enablers of ensuring the electricity these generators produce at their peak output is stored and then supplied to match the demand arriving at the grid from household (family, house) or industrial consumers. Ms. Sitharaman also set aside (keep, reserve, earmark, withhold, save, reserve, put aside) a vital ₹8,300 crore towards a ₹20,700 crore project for building an inter-State (existing between states) transmission system for the evacuation and grid integration (the practice of developing efficient ways to deliver variable renewable energy (VRE) to the grid) of 13 GW of renewable energy from Ladakh. With its vast (huge, broad, wide) stretches of barren (unproductive, infertile) land and one of the country’s highest levels of sunlight availability, Ladakh is considered an ideal location to site (install, put, place) photovoltaic arrays (the complete power-generating unit, consisting of any number of PV modules and panels) for producing a substantial (considerable, large, significant) capacity of solar power. The transmission line will help address what had so far (until now, up to the present, up to this point) been the hurdle (obstacle, difficulty, problem, barrier, impediment, obstruction, hindrance) in setting up solar capacity in the region, given its remoteness (lack of connection; lack of relationship to something) from India’s main power grid.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.net-zero (noun)

Hindi Meaning - शुद्ध-शून्य
English Meaning - Put simply, net zero means cutting greenhouse gas emissions to as close to zero as possible, with any remaining emissions re-absorbed from the atmosphere, by oceans and forests for instance.

2.transition (noun)

Hindi Meaning - संक्रमण, परिवर्तन
English Meaning - change, transformation.

3.dependence (noun)

Hindi Meaning - निर्भरता, भरोसा
English Meaning - reliance on, need for.

4.fossil fuel (noun)

Hindi Meaning - जीवाश्म ईंधन
English Meaning - non renewable resources (or fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas are formed from the buried/deposited organic materials).

5.noteworthy (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - ध्यान देने योग्य, विचारणीय
English Meaning - worthy of mention, significant, important, noticeable, interesting.

6.emphasis (noun)

Hindi Meaning - जोर, बल, महत्व
English Meaning - importance, significance; priority, insistence.

7.World Economic Forum (WEF) (noun)

Hindi Meaning - विश्व आर्थिक मंच
English Meaning - an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas. Incorporated as a not-for-profit foundation in 1971, and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the Forum is tied to no political, partisan or national interests.

8.climate change (noun)

Hindi Meaning - जलवायु परिवर्तन
English Meaning - a long-term change in the Earth’s climate, or of a region on Earth (Courtesy: NASA).

9.sizeable (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - बड़ा, पर्याप्त
English Meaning - substantial, significant, considerable, fairly large.

10.growing (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - बढ़नेवाला, प्रगतिशील
English Meaning - increasing.

11.therefore (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - इसलिए, उस वजह से
English Meaning - because of that.

12.imperative (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अनिवार्य, जरूरी
English Meaning - necessary condition, precondition, essential requirement.

13.leverage (noun)

Hindi Meaning - लाभ उठाना, फायदा उठाना
English Meaning - use (something) to maximum gain/benefit/advantage.

14.catalyse (verb)

Hindi Meaning - उत्प्रेरक
English Meaning - to cause/accelerate some action/process.

15.add to (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - में जोड़ना, बढ़ाना, तीव्र करना
English Meaning - increase, intensify, heighten.

16.go green (phrase)

English Meaning - live in such a way that protects environment.

17.lay on (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - provide, give, impart, bestow.

18.move towards (something) (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - to change from a particular situation/condition to another; to advance, gravitate or progress in the direction of something.

19.carbon emissions (noun)

English Meaning - Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere; Carbon dioxide is also a greenhouse gas produced as a byproduct of human activities. Burning fossil fuels—coal, oil, and natural gas—is the number one source of global CO2 emissions.

20.net zero emissions/carbon neutrality (noun)

English Meaning - it means annual zero net CO2 emissions; Carbon neutrality means every ton of anthropogenic (human-caused or influenced) CO2 emitted is compensated with an equivalent amount of CO2 removed (e.g. via carbon sink or carbon sequestration).

21.note (verb)

English Meaning - mention, refer to, point out, indicate.

22.hold the key (phrase)

English Meaning - to have control.

23.hit (verb)

English Meaning - reach a particular level.

24.given (preposition)

English Meaning - considering, taking into account, bearing in mind.

25.set to (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - start doing something determinedly/vigorously.

26.appetite (noun)

English Meaning - hunger, strong desire, liking.

27.propel (verb)

English Meaning - prompt, push, drive, get going.

28.surge (verb)

English Meaning - increase suddenly.

29.exponentially (adverb)

English Meaning - in a way something is increasing quickly/rapidly by large amounts; rapidly, dramatically, aggressively, abruptly.

30.green (adjective)

English Meaning - environmentally friendly, energy-efficient, energy-saving.

31.reliance (noun)

English Meaning - dependence.

32.scale (noun)

English Meaning - extent.

33.nod (noun)

English Meaning - a sign of approval.

34.devote (verb)

English Meaning - allocate, assign, allot, commit, give, dedicate.

35.poise (verb)

English Meaning - get into position, be prepared to do something.

36.take off (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - become popular, progress, prosper, do well, succeed.

37.roll out (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - launch, introduce, organize, inaugurate (something officially).

38.tap (verb)

English Meaning - make use of, put to use, use, utilize, deploy, exploit.

39.indigenously (adverb)

English Meaning - in an indigenous (originating from native/local) manner, something is produced in a particular region/country.

40.lithium ion battery (noun)

English Meaning - a type of rechargeable battery that is charged and discharged by lithium ions moving between the negative (anode) and positive (cathode) electrodes.

41.necessity (noun)

English Meaning - essential requirement.

42.hearteningly (adverb)

English Meaning - encouragingly, hopefully, favourably/promisingly.

43.custom duty (noun)

English Meaning - the taxes levied on goods coming from outside the country (as opposed to excise duty that levied on the manufacture of goods within the country).

44.capital goods (noun)

English Meaning - capital goods are man-made, durable items that businesses use to produce goods and services. They include tools, buildings, vehicles, machinery, and equipment. Capital goods are also called durable goods, real capital, and economic capital.

45.ought to (modal verb)

English Meaning - must, should.

46.fillip (noun)

English Meaning - stimulus, boost, encouragement, incentive, impetus.

47.set up (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - start, begin, establish, initiate.

48.plant (noun)

English Meaning - factory.

49.establishment (noun)

English Meaning - creation, formation, initiation.

50.Viability Gap Funding (noun)

English Meaning - a capital grant from the government that bridges the gap between project cost and the price quoted by the developer.

51.mechanism (noun)

English Meaning - procedure, process, system, method, technique.

52.power grid (noun)

English Meaning - electrical grid, energy grid; an interconnected network for electricity delivery from producers to consumers.

53.stabilisation (noun)

English Meaning - an act of making something more stable.

54.solar photovoltaics (noun)

English Meaning - the branch of technology used to generate electricity directly from sunlight by an electronic process naturally occurring in semiconductors.

55.characteristically (adverb)

English Meaning - typically, usually, habitually.

56.enabler (noun)

English Meaning - supporter, facilitator.

57.household (noun)

English Meaning - family, house.

58.set aside (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - keep, reserve, earmark, withhold, save, reserve, put aside.

59.inter-state (adjective)

English Meaning - existing between states.

60.inter- (prefix)

English Meaning - between; among.

61.power evacuation (noun)

English Meaning - a critical function that allows generated power to be immediately evacuated from the (wind power plant) WPP to the grid for distribution.

62.grid integration (noun)

English Meaning - the practice of developing efficient ways to deliver variable renewable energy (VRE) to the grid.

63.renewable energy (noun)

English Meaning - green/clean energy; energy generated from natural resources (such as water, wind & solar energy).

64.vast (adjective)

English Meaning - huge, broad, wide.

65.barren (adjective)

English Meaning - unproductive, infertile.

66.site (verb)

English Meaning - install, put, place.

67.photovoltaic array (noun)

English Meaning - the complete power-generating unit, consisting of any number of PV modules and panels.