Washington: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman here on Saturday (April 15) said climate change is now “hitting us in everyday life” from different angles. During a panel discussion at a World Bank-organised event on “Making it Personal: How Behavioral Change Can Tackle Climate Change, Union Minister Sitharaman said,
Climate is now hitting us from various different angles, hitting us in everyday life.
On being asked how India implements the LiFE agenda, she said,
Repeated persuasion, repeated speaking about and speaking about issues which you think are commonplace, but repeated speaking by people who hold positions, by people who are responsible, by people who can really catch eyeballs. That’s where and that is why I think most advertising campaigns for very mundane things catch hold of top icons to support the idea.
Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) initiative aims to encourage the adoption of sustainable lifestyles in India and internationally to tackle the challenges of environmental degradation and climate change.
LiFE initiative plans to leverage the strength of social networks to influence social norms surrounding climate. It plans to create and nurture a global network of individuals, namely ‘Pro-Planet People’ (P3), who will have a shared commitment to adopt and promote environmentally friendly lifestyles.
The Finance Minister said: You need to have more people talking about it, more influential people talking about it.
Union Minister Sitharaman on Friday also spoke at length on DPI (Digital Public Infrastructure), underlining how India, during the last couple of years, has seen its contribution to targeted quick, efficient and inclusive service delivery through innovative methods.
Speaking as a Keynote Speaker at “India’s Digital Public Infrastructure – Stacking Up the Benefits”, organised by IMF on how public and private sectors can work together on DPI in Washington, Minister Sitharaman said that because of the numerous macroeconomic and pandemic-related difficulties in the present times, examples accessible demonstrate the DPI’s potential to benefit both the public and private sectors.
As we are dealing with multiple challenges in macroeconomics and pandemic-related ones. available instances show that the potential of DPI to contribute to both public and private sectors is both enormous and can transform the development trajectory of the country even under difficult times. In India, during the last couple of years, we have seen how DPI (Digital Public Infrastructure) can contribute to targeted quick and efficient and inclusive service delivery through innovative methods, the Union Finance Minister said during her keynote address.
Also Read: IPCC Report Key Takeaways: Only Urgent Climate Action Can Secure A Liveable Future For All
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
