New Delhi, Jan. 27 -- Climate change has moved gradually onto India's economic agenda. Economic Surveys now devote full chapters to climate risk, budget speeches frame growth as green and India has formally estimated its climate finance needs at about $2.5 trillion by 2030.

Yet, Union budgets for the past 10 years show a stubborn gap between recognition and resourcing.

Every budget season brings renewed climate promises, but allocation and implementation remains grossly inadequate.

Even a generous count of solar subsidies, electric vehicle schemes, irrigation programmes and so on reveals that climate-related federal spending has reached perhaps 1.5% of GDP. The government's own estimate says it needs three times that amount.

The annua...