'One Child, One Tree' programme may be announced in the budget

The government may announce a nationwide "One Child, One Tree" programme in the upcoming budget as part of its efforts to promote environmental conservation and expand green coverage across the country.

Under the proposed initiative, the finance adviser is expected to announce a plan to plant 10 million trees nationwide.

The government is also preparing new measures to help address the impacts of climate change, with a particular focus on protecting coastal mangrove forests.

As part of the initiative, authorities are planning to bring 50% of the country's coastal mangrove forests under carbon trading programmes, according to officials familiar with the proposal.

Govt may announce 250m-tree planting drive, 350,000 green jobs over next 5 years

The government may announce a programme to plant 250 million trees nationwide over the next five years in the upcoming budget as part of efforts to protect the environment and address the impacts of climate change, according to sources familiar with the proposal.

The initiative is expected to generate around 350,000 green jobs, both directly and indirectly, through nursery operations, plantation work, maintenance, monitoring and related environmental services.

As part of an expanded afforestation drive, the government may set targets for FY2026-27 to plant 42.897 million saplings in 25,960 hectares of block plantations, 3.727 million saplings along 3,727 kilometres of strip plantations, and 17.776 million saplings across 4,000 hectares of mangrove plantations.

The proposal may also include plans to distribute and plant 5.6 million saplings under homestead afforestation programmes.

The budget may further include measures to modernise waste management through the implementation of a "Circular Future Model" aimed at promoting resource recovery, recycling and circular-economy practices.