We're living at a very critical juncture of time - for both humanity and the environment. The need to protect and preserve our environment by adopting sustainable strategies became loud and clear at COP21 in Paris. It is also here when we first heard of the term - "circular economy". A circular economy is an economic system of closed loops in which raw materials, components and products lose their value as little as possible, renewable energy sources are used and systems thinking is at the core. Since, I'm a student of Economics, I'll focus on how firms and industries, even political parties and national governments have shifted to the principles of circular economy so as to "go green". 

I live in Odisha, a small state in India which derives a majority of its revenue from mining. As much as mining and excavation are vital but they're necessary evils. We've lost an estimated 1.3 lakh trees due to rapid industrialization in the state. And not to mention, we regularly lose tree cover due to devastating typhoons. At this hour when climate change and global warming are knocking on our doors with monstrous noises, isn't it the right time to shift to greener technologies?

One such initiative was taken by the Odisha Government recently. In a bid to save thousands of trees, Odisha Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari presented paperless -- 'Green Budget'-- in the state assembly on Tuesday. Being coined as 'Green Budget', an initiative under 5T has reduced printing of 75 lakh pages, thus saving around 1,000 trees. The Odisha Budget has thus gone green and hi tech. Not only that, it has also introduced an app (available on the Google Playstore now) which can be installed to gain deep insights into the key highlights of the Odisha Budget for the Financial Year 2020-21.

I hope that all other governments also consider using technology to go green like this.