Speaking at the ‘Save Soil Movement’ programme, the prime minister said the average carbon footprint of the world is about 4 tonne per person per annum compared to just about 0.5 tonne per person per annum in India
Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks at the ‘Save Soil Movement’ programme in Delhi on Sunday. ANI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the various campaigns launched by the Centre as part of India’s multi-faceted efforts to reduce carbon emission are contributing in the conservation of environment.
Speaking at the ‘Save Soil Movement’ programme, Modi said, “Many government schemes carry the message of environment conservation. Be it Swachh Bharat Mission, Namai Gange, or One Sun, One Grid. India’s efforts are multi-faceted. Developed nations are responsible for the largest carbon emissions.” He said that India is making many efforts for environmental conservation even while India’s contributions in carbon emisisons is negligible.
India’s efforts to reduce carbon emission
He said, “the average carbon footprint of the world is about 4 tonne per person per annum compared to just about 0.5 tonne per person per annum in India.”
He said that India is working with the international community and established organisations like Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, International Solar Alliance to protect the environment. The prime minister reiterated India’s goal of net-zero by 2070.
Elaborating on India’s efforts towards reducing carbon emission, the prime minister said India has achieved the target of sourcing 40 per cent of the country’s installed power generation capacity from non-fossil-fuel nine years ahead of schedule. Solar energy capacity has increased by 18 times and policies like Hydrogen Mission and Circular economy related policies, scrappage policy are examples of India’s commitment to environment protection, he said.
He further revealed that India has achieved the target of 10 per cent ethanol blending, five months ahead of schedule. Elaborating on the enormity of the achievement, Modi said in 2014 ethanol blending was at 1.5 per cent. There are three clear benefits of achieving this goal, he explained.
First, it has led to a reduction of 27 lakh tonnes of carbon emission. Second, it has saved foreign exchange worth 41 thousand crore and thirdly, farmers of the country have earned 40 thousand 600 crores in the last 8 years due to increase in ethanol blending. The prime minister complimented the people, farmers and oil companies of the country on this achievement.
Modi said due to PM National GatiShakti Master plan logistics system and transport system will be strengthened and that will lead to reduction of pollution. Multi-modal connectivity work on more than 100 waterways will also help in reducing pollution. He drew the attention of the audience on the aspect of green jobs. India’s momentum on environment conservation is creating opportunities for a large number of green jobs, he said. He asked for increasing awareness regarding environment and soil protection and concluded by calling for a people’s movement for creating 75 Amrit Sarovars in every district.
Soil health and farmers
Speaking on soil health, the prime minister said, “To save the soil, we have focused on five main things — First, how to make the soil chemical free; second, how to save the organisms that live in the soil, which you call soil organic matter in technical language; third, how to maintain soil moisture, how to increase the availability of water to till it; fourth, how to remove the damage that is happening to the soil due to less groundwater. And fifth, how to stop the continuous erosion of soil due to the reduction of forest cover”
The prime minister further laid emphasis on the importance of “soil health cards” in changing the mindset of the farmers.
“Soil health cards are playing an important role in changing the mindset of our farmers. These cards provide farmers with the nutrient status of their soil and its composition. This is helping them decide what is needed for good soil health,” Modi stated.
The prime minister said a huge campaign was launched to give soil health cards to the farmers in the country when they were not aware of soil health. “In this year’s Budget, we’ve announced natural farming along the Ganga river corridor will be promoted. In March, we have begun the rejuvenation project of 13 rivers. It will also help in increasing the forest cover by over 7,400 sq km,” he added.
Record increase in the number of wildlife
The prime minister noted that India’s policies related to biodiversity and wildlife have also led to a record increase in the number of wildlife. “Today whether it is tiger, lion, leopard or elephant, the number of all is increasing in the country.”
Natural farming
The Prime Minister said that in natural farming, there is a big solution to some of our biggest problems. He said, in this year’s budget, the Government has decided to encourage natural farming in the villages situated on the banks of Ganga which will make a huge corridor of natural farming. This will not only make our farms chemical free but the Namami Gange campaign will also gain new strength. The Prime Minister informed that India is working on the goal of restoring 26 million hectare land by 2030. He said adoption of BS VI norms, LED bulb campaign.
Save Soil Movement
The movement was started by Sadhguru in March 2022, who embarked on a 100-day motorcycle journey passing through 27 countries. June 5 marks the 75th day of the 100-day journey.
World Environment Day is celebrated annually on 5 June. It offers a global platform for inspiring positive change in the environment. It also pushes individuals to think about what they consume from the ecosystem and gives them a chance to build a greener future.
With inputs from ANI
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