India, Feb. 1 -- Rs 18,000 crore to support public bus transport services; experts believe move could bring down pollution

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced Rs 18,000 crore to augment public bus transport services as part of the Union Budget 2021-22. Experts believe the move could help reduce local as well as global pollution.

Sitharaman said:

"We will work towards raising the share of public transport in urban areas through expansion of metro rail network and augmentation of city bus service. A new scheme will be launched at a cost of Rs 18,000 crores to support augmentation of public bus transport services. The scheme will facilitate deployment of innovative public-private partnership models to enable private sector...