Export engine gets de-carbon filter for toll-free EU drive

In a bid to stay green yet competitive in export markets, the Budget on Sunday proposed an outlay of Rs 20,000 crore for scaling up ‘Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage’ (CCUS) facilities, marking a big push for decarbonisation over the next five years.

This comes at a time when high-emission Indian industries run the risk of being hit by EU’s carbon border tax.




Referring to the roadmap launched in Dec 2025, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said CCUS technologies will achieve “higher readiness levels in end-use applications” across five industrial sectors — power, steel, cement, refineries and chemicals. To begin with, govt has allocated Rs 500 crore for 2026-27 fiscal for CCUS scheme under power ministry.

The move to give decarbonisation a big push through CCUS is in sync with India’s climate target of being ‘net zero’ by 2070, as this technology is considered an important tool to meet emission reduction targets without compromising on development goals.

Under CCUS, the ‘storage’ component refers to processes that separate CO2 generated by energy or industrial applications and then compress, transport and inject it into depleted oil reservoirs or geological structures. Its ‘utilisation’ mechanism, on the other hand, directly uses the captured CO2 as an input or feedstock for production of industrial and consumer goods without getting into the processes for storage.