Explained: Budget 2024 growth jargon

One of the proposals is to create a roadmap for moving hard-to-abate industries like steel and cement, from energy efficiency targets to emission targets. Image: Udit Kulshrestha/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Budget 2024 unleashed a host of next-gen reforms in sectors from agriculture and food processing to manufacturing and infrastructure. In the process, the finance minister’s speech had words and phrases that one perhaps heard for the first time. Here are some of them, and what they mean:
 

Natural Farming

Proposal: To initiate 1 crore farmers into natural farming in the next two years
Explained: Natural farming is chemical-free farming largely based on on-farm biomass recycling and integrates crops, trees and livestock with functional biodiversity. It is expected to reduce dependency on purchased inputs and is cost-effective.
 

Nucleus Breeding Centres

Proposal: Financial support for setting up a network of nucleus breeding centres for shrimp broodstock
Explained: NBCs are facilities where pathogen-free shrimp broodstock is raised over generations in a biosecure environment under strict surveillance.
 

Food-Irradiation Units

Proposal: Financial support for setting up 50 multiproduct FIUs in the MSME sector
Explained: In these units, food will be exposed to high levels of radiation to disrupt bacteria DNA, which restricts the ability to reproduce; this extends the product’s shelf life, and preserves the original taste and quality. It also consumes less energy than other preservation techniques. A variety of processed Indian foods like chapati, khichdi, kheer and idli as well as fresh fruits and vegetables can be preserved this way.

Also read: Budget 2024: Govt seeks to boost job-creation through incentive schemes

Plug and Play Industrial Parks

Proposal: To facilitate development of investment-ready plug and play industrial parks with complete infrastructure in or near 100 cities
Explained: Plug and play industrial parks allow companies to expand operations at a modest capex; they provide infrastructure, the space, are typically well located with highway access and rail and sea connectivity. They have the amenities to make them self-sustainable business units.
 

Transit-Oriented Development

Proposal: TOD planned for 14 large cities, along with implementation and financing strategy
Explained: TOD is a type of urban development that maximises the amount of residential, business and leisure spaces within walking distance of public transport. It aims to reduce use of private vehicles and increase use of public transport. Cities like Curitiba in Brazil, Toronto and Vancouver in Canada and San Francisco in the United States have TOD policies.

Also read: Budget 2024: Can Rs 15,000 crore for Amaravati revive Andhra Pradesh's capital dreams?

Pumped Storage Policy

Proposal: A policy to be formulated for promoting pumped storage projects (PSPs) for electricity storage and to facilitate integration of the growing share of renewable energy in the overall mix
Explained: Pumped storage, an essential solution for grid reliability, provides a largescale, cost-effective means of storing electricity. Pumped storage projects store and generate energy by moving water between two reservoirs at different elevations. Such energy storage technologies help deal with over-generation, and generation of one state can be stored in another.
 

Hard-to-abate Industries

Proposal: To create a roadmap for moving hard-to-abate industries from energy efficiency targets to emission targets
Explained: Industries like steel, power, cement and chemicals, which are in demand and are struggling to reduce their carbon intensity fit in the hard-to-abate category. The options for them include alternative fuels and carbon storage.

Also read: Budget 2024: Centre targets improving tourism in Bihar, Odisha

Variable Capital Company Structure

Proposal: To seek legislative approval for providing an efficient and flexible mode for financing leasing of aircraft and ship and pooled funds of private equity via a VCC structure
Explained: A variable capital structure provides a company flexibility in issuing and redeeming its shares. It can pay dividends out of capital, which allows fund managers flexibility to meet such obligations. Such a company can be set up as a standalone fund or an umbrella fund with two or more sub-funds.