GOBARdhan, MISHTI and PRANAM — Modi govt's love for acronyms continues | Budget 2023

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget 2023 presentation on Wednesday was interspersed with words like GOBARdhan, PM-PRANAM, MISHTI and more as Modi government's love for acronyms continued.

From Top (tomato, onion, potato) to Jam (easy payment transfer) and Spice (incorporating company electronically), here's a look at some such acronyms:

PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth (PM-PRANAM) will be launched to incentivise States and Union Territories to promote alternative fertilisers and balanced use of chemical fertilisers.

MISHTI: Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes (MISHTI) scheme is aimed at preserving mangroves and planting them along the coastline and on the salt pan lands through convergence between MGNREGS and CAMPA Fund.

GOBARdhan: Galvanising Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan (GOBARdhan) scheme aims to establish 500 new ‘waste to wealth’ plants promoting a circular economy with an investment of Rs 10,000 crore.

Bharat SHRI: ‘Bharat Shared Repository of Inscriptions’ is aimed at setting up a digital epigraphy museum and digitise ancient inscriptions in its first stage.

LiFE: Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) aims to spur a movement of environmentally conscious lifestyle and move forward firmly towards achieving net-zero carbon emission by 2070.

PM VIKAS: PM VIshwakarma KAushal Samman (PM VIKAS) scheme aims to enable traditional artisans and craftspeople, who work with their hands using tools, to improve the quality, scale and reach of their products and integrate them with the MSME value chain. This scheme will also benefit the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, OBCs, women and people belonging to the weaker sections.

UDAN: Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN) is a regional airport development program that aims at improving regional connectivity by upgrading under-serviced air routes and making air travel affordable in India.

SHAKTI: Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyala Transparently in India (SHAKTI), launched in 2018, aims at providing coal to stressed power units which lack coal supply.

SAGAR: Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR), announced by PM Modi on March 2015, is the country’s policy of maritime cooperation in the Indian Ocean region.

USTTAD: Upgrading the Skills and Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development (USTTAD) scheme aims to promote the heritage of traditional arts and crafts of minorities and is mainly focussed on training and upgrading skills of artisans belonging to the minority communities.

PRASHAD: Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) scheme was launched under the Ministry of Tourism in 2015. This scheme aims at the integrated development of pilgrimage destinations in a prioritised, planned, and sustainable manner to provide a complete religious tourism experience.

GeM: Government e-Marketplace (GeM) is a paperless, cashless and system-driven platform for public procurement in India with minimal human interface. The initiative was launched on August 2016, by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.