RAS question
How much funding was allocated in Budget 2026-27 for Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) technologies?
Correct answer: (C) ₹20,000 crore.
Budget 2026-27 proposed an outlay of ₹20,000 crore for Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage technologies.
Explanation
The relevant Budget 2026-27 provision was for Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage, or CCUS, technologies. The Press Information Bureau release states that these technologies would be rolled out to raise readiness levels in end-use applications across five industrial sectors, including Chemicals, Power, Steel, Cement and Refineries. It gives the funding figure as an outlay of ₹20,000 crore over the next five years to facilitate CCUS technologies. That is why option C is the right answer. The broader budget context also mentions green-industry measures such as zero customs duty on lithium-ion manufacturing equipment and ₹18,000 crore under RDSS for power-sector reforms, but the CCUS allocation itself is ₹20,000 crore.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) ₹5,000 crore is too low; the Press Information Bureau release gives the CCUS outlay as ₹20,000 crore, not one-fourth of that amount.
- (B) ₹10,000 crore understates the allocation, because the Budget provision for CCUS technologies is ₹20,000 crore.
- (D) ₹50,000 crore overstates the figure; the CCUS outlay is ₹20,000 crore over the next five years.
Concept
This tests budgetary allocations for green industrial policy, a recurring RAS economy theme because candidates must connect climate technology with sectoral reform. CCUS also links environment, energy and industrial competitiveness, making it a high-yield current-affairs concept.