PM Modi: Centre\'s actions are pro-planet

HYDERABAD: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India had set a net-zero target by 2070 while calling for a pro-planet people movement to combat climate change.

Addressing the 50th Anniversary celebrations on the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) campus on Saturday, Modi said, “We have highlighted the need for life-lifestyle for the environment and also called for a pro planet people movement - a movement that is crucial to combat climate change and connects every individual with climate.” The Prime Minister added that the pro-planet people movement was not limited to just words, but also reflected in the actions of the government.

"Natural calamities due to climate change have been a major challenge. The most affected people due to calamities are the economically backward sections. Besides the loss of lives, infrastructure loss resulting from calamities has a devastating effect on people,” he said.

Modi said the union budget 2022-23 was focused on building a green future, natural farming and digital agriculture. “Our focus is on more than 80 per cent of farmers of the country, who are small-size landholders and who need us the most,” he explained.

He lauded the efforts of ICRISAT in the agricultural sector in the last five decades. “Your research and technology have helped make agriculture easy and sustainable,” he said. “ICRISAT has an experience of five decades in helping other nations in making agriculture easy and sustainable. Today, I am hopeful that they will continue to deliver their expertise to strengthen India's agricultural sector,” he said.

Stating that the farmers of Telangana state set big targets in palm oil production, Modi said that the Centre would assist the farmers in every possible manner.

The Prime Minister also said the government was aiming to take the cultivated land usage in the palm oil sector to 6.5 lakh hectares in the next few years. "We are focusing on food security as well as nutrition security. We have developed several bio-fortified varieties in the last seven years," he said.