Signalling continuity, Bhupender Yadav took charge of the Environment Ministry on Tuesday. This is his second stint in the Ministry.
Kirtivardhan Singh also assumed charge as Minister of State.
Speaking to reporters, Mr. Yadav said several steps had been taken by the Ministry since 2014 under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure that environmental needs and industrial development went together.
Union Minister Bhupender Yadav arrives at Indira Paryavaran Bhawan in New Delhi on June 11, 2024, to assume office. | Photo Credit: ANI
The Union Minister said the focus will remain on initiatives such as Mission LiFE-Lifestyle for Environment, championed by Prime Minister to promote and incentivise “mindful consumption” and promote “environmental-friendly self-sustainable behaviour”.
One of the first things Mr. Modi did on the morning of June 5, World Environment Day, and the day after the National Democratic Alliance won a third consecutive mandate, was to launch a campaign – ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam (Plant a tree as a tribute to your mother)‘ – to encourage tree planting. Mr. Modi’s mother, Heeraben Modi, passed away on December 30, 2022.
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“Everyone should plant a tree, as per the call given by Prime Minister Modi, to combat desertification and challenges to biological diversity. Do this with your mother or in her memory. We must do this for Mother Earth,” Mr. Yadav said on Tuesday. “We must not only plant trees but also conserve them.”
He said that India had instituted multiple reforms to protect tigers, elephants and to reintroduce cheetahs. With initiatives such as the India Solar Alliance, the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and the Big Cat Alliance, India had displayed global leadership, and reforms on these lines would continue, he said.
