Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Khanna on Wednesday tabled the state’s annual budget for the financial year 2023-24. He announced that a 16.8 per cent growth in state GDP has been registered while the employment rate is down to 4.2 per cent.
For the financial year 2023-24, the nominal rate of increase in Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) is estimated at 19 per cent, said Khanna, adding that the state’s growth rate is encouraging in an era of likely global recession.
Uttar Pradesh government pegged the total Budget size at Rs 6.90 lakh crore giving the main focus to infrastructure development, welfare schemes and empowerment of youths and women in the state.
In 2022-23, the state’s Budget estimate was at Rs 6.15 lakh crore.
The Yogi government allotted Rs 3,600 crore for the provision of tablets and smartphones to eligible students of the Swami Vivekananda Youth Empowerment Scheme and Rs 1,050 crore under Chief Minister Kanya Sumangala Yojana, which offers financial assistance to the guardians or parents of two girl children in one family.
The government allotted Rs 4,032 crore for destitute widows, Rs 600 crore for Samuhik Vivah scheme for the marriage of all girls of all classes and Rs 150 crore under the marriage grant scheme for daughters of poor people belonging to other backward classes.
For infrastructure an outlay of Rs 21,159 crore has been announced for construction of roads, bridges and Rs 6,209 crore for maintenance.
Among major budgetary allocations, the state allocated Rs 25,350 crore for Jal Jeevan Mission, hoping that all households will be covered with tap drinking water. Last year’s allocation was Rs Rs 19,500 crore.
“By the year 2023-2024, a target has been set to provide pure and pure drinking water under Jal Jeevan Mission by providing functional household tap connections to all 2.26 crore households in the state,” the Finance minister said.
Further, for Kanpur Metro, the first 9m- odd section of which is already operational, a further Rs 585 crore budgetary allocation has been made for the year 2023-24.
The Uttar Pradesh government also announced that the state will soon have over 20 operationalised airports including five international airports.
State finance minister Suresh Khanna, in his speech, said, “During the tenure of the Yogi government, unprecedented work has been done in the field of civil aviation. Presently nine airports are functional in the state and air service is available for 80 destinations.”
He further said that three international airports are functional in the state and international airports are under construction at Jewar and Ayodhya.
“International airports are under construction in Jewar and Ayodhya and soon five international airports will become functional in the state. State Government has decided to increase the number of runways in Jewar Airport from two to five,” Khanna said.
During the tenure of the Yogi government, the construction work of four airports has been completed so far and the construction work of six airports (Aligarh, Azamgarh, Moradabad, Shravasti, Chitrakoot and Sonbhadra) is nearing completion, the minister added.
“In the coming years, five international and 16 domestic airports in the state, in this way a total of 21 airports will become functional. We believe that air travel should be made accessible to the people of the state,” he added.
The Yogi government’s annual budget for the financial year 2023-24 also gives special attention to enhanced rail and ropeway connectivity in the state.
Priority is also given to India’s first ropeway project for public transportation in Varanasi in the Yogi government’s budget 2023-24, which includes a provision of more than 2500 crores for the development of metro rail service in the four metropolitan cities of UP.
In the Yogi government’s budget 2023-24, emphasis has also been laid on the development of infrastructure facilities in all the development authorities of the state, including Lucknow and urban areas.
Under this, a provision of Rs 150 crore is proposed to develop ropeway service in Varanasi and other cities. In the financial year 2023-24, a budget provision of Rs 585 crore has been made for the Kanpur Metro Rail Project.
Under the agriculture sector, Finance Minister Suresh Khanna said that it is proposed to organize 17,000 Kisan Pathshalas in the year 2023-24 for ‘The Million Farmers School.’
A provision of Rs 631.93 crore has been made for the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture scheme. Under the National Mission on Natural Farming scheme, a provision of Rs 113 crore 52 lakh is proposed for the scheme. A provision of Rs 1950 crore has been made for the supply of electricity to private tube wells at subsidized rates for the farmers, Finance minister Khanna said.
A provision of Rs 984.54 crore is proposed for the National Agriculture Development Scheme.
The government has arranged Rs 753. 70 crore for the National Crop Insurance Scheme.
An allocation of Rs 55.60 crore has also been made for the implementation of the UP Millets revival programme.
The Yogi government has announced the Khelo India University Games to be held this year, for which a budgetary provision of Rs 30 crores has been made.
For the first time, the Khelo India National University Games will be held in four cities of Uttar Pradesh including Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Varanasi and Noida. In this, about 4500 players from about 150 universities from all over the country will participate in 20 sports competitions including basketball, judo, kabaddi, roig, wrestling, boxing.
The budget also has several provisions to boost infrastructure and connectivity with a provision for Varanasi ropeway, Rs 1300 crore for RRTS project and Rs 2500 crore for development of metro in major cities.
The budget for 2023-24 pays special attention to enhanced rail and ropeway connectivity in the state.
Special priority has also been given to India’s first ropeway project for public transportation in Varanasi and over Rs 2500 crore have been earmarked for the development of metro rail service in the four metropolitan cities of UP.
The Yogi government’s budget lays emphasis on infrastructure facilities in all development authorities of the state, including Lucknow and urban areas.
Under this, a provision of Rs 150 crore is proposed to develop a ropeway service in Varanasi and other cities.
A budget provision of Rs 585 crore has been made for the Kanpur Metro Rail Project in 2023-24.
In addition, Rs 465 crore will be invested in the Agra Metro Rail Project.
A provision of Rs 100 crore has been made for the metro rail project in Varanasi, Gorakhpur, and other cities.
The Yogi government has proposed Rs 1306 crore for the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Corridor Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project in 2023-24.
The Chief Minister’s Urban Expansion and New City Promotion Scheme has been allocated Rs 3000 crore in the budget.
In addition, a provision of Rs 650.10 crore has been made in the budget for land acquisition for the project related to the renovation and interception, diversion, and treatment of Goddhoiya Nala and Ramgarh Tal located in Gorakhpur city.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has described the state government’s budget 2023-24 as a manifestation of the spirit of self-reliant Uttar Pradesh.
Addressing a press conference following the presentation of the budget in the Assembly, the Chief Minister said that the state has been following the ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas’ mantra of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the last six years and working towards speedy, inclusive and overall development of Uttar Pradesh, in which this budget is a significant step, aimed at building a self-reliant Uttar Pradesh on the lines of ‘self-reliant India’.
Referring to the budget provisions in sequence, he said,” Before the assembly elections, we had made 130 promises in the manifesto, out of which 110 promises have been included in today’s budget. It shows our commitment to deliver on our promises.”
“In the year 2017-18, our total exports in the state were only between Rs 86000-Rs 88,000 crores, today it is going to increase to around Rs 1.60 lakh crore”, he added.
Sharing happiness over the presentation of the biggest budget of Rs 6.90 lakh crores in the history of Uttar Pradesh, CM Yogi said that the government worked on stopping tax evasion and financial management.
“This budget is double as compared to the budget of 3.40 lakh crores of 2016-17. During this, no new tax was imposed on the public, while tax exemption was given on petrol and diesel in the state and today petrol and diesel are cheaper in Uttar Pradesh as compared to other states. Despite this, not only has the revenue collection of the state increased, but fiscal discipline was also taken full care of and the income of the government has also increased.
Referring to the strong financial position of the State, the Chief Minister said that earlier around 8 per cent of the budget used to go towards arrears of old loans, but today it has come down to 6 per cent due to efficient financial management. The unemployment rate of UP which was 17-18 per cent in 2016-17 has come down to 4 per cent today.
There has been a massive improvement in the CD ratio and today it stands at 55 per cent. He said that the state tax revenue in 2016-17 was Rs 86,000 crores, which is estimated to increase to Rs 2.22 lakh crore in 2022-23. Sales tax/VAT collection was Rs 51883 crores in the year 2016-17, today it is going to be up to 1.24 lakh crores.
Similarly, Rs 14277 crore was received as state excise in 2016-17, which is estimated to be more than 49,000 crores in this financial year. He said that in the year 2022-23, according to the FRBM Act, the government has been successful in keeping it up to 3.96 per cent against the prescribed limit of a 4 per cent fiscal deficit.
In the year 2016-17 own state tax was 33 per cent of the total revenue receipt, while today in the year 2022-23 the budget has doubled, yet this ratio is estimated to be up to 44 per cent. The Chief Minister said that 20 per cent of the budget for the year 2016-17 was financed by loans, while today the percentage of loans in the budget for the year 2023-24 has come down to 16 per cent. Similarly, about 8 per cent of the budget was spent on the interest on loans and the year 2022-23 budget has been reduced to 6.5 per cent.
The Chief Minister said that the size of the budget is according to the needs of the state. This goal is achieved by creating financial discipline.
“We have always presented a budget representing Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, and Sabka Prayas. The state government made a systematic effort with regard to one theme in each of its budgets.
The present government dedicated its first budget to the farmers in the year 2017-18. The budget for the year 2018-19 was for industrial development and basic infrastructure facilities.
The budget for the year 2019-20 was dedicated to women’s empowerment. The budget for the year 2020-21 was dedicated to youth and infrastructure development. The budget of the year 2021-22 was dedicated to empowerment through self-reliance and the budget of 2022-23 was dedicated to the concept of self-reliant Uttar Pradesh and ‘Antyodaya’.”
“Similarly, the basic spirit of the budget of 2023-24 is self-reliant Uttar Pradesh. The increase in the size of the budget of the state by more than 02 times in 06 years shows the commitment to expand the economy of the state”, the CM pointed out.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that the budget of the state has more than doubled in the last 6 years. During this period the per capita income of the state has more than doubled too. He said that in the announcements made in today’s budget, mainly a large part is for capital expenditure in the state.
This means that amount will be spent on the development of infrastructure in the state, which will play a major role in employment generation in the state. The Chief Minister said that in this biggest budget in the history of the state, special care has been taken for basic infrastructure development, education, health and farmers, women and youth.
Uttar Pradesh is the largest state in the country with a population estimated at 24 crore. The state is also the country’s largest consumer and labour market, with its contribution to the country’s GDP estimated at more than eight per cent.
However, the Opposition termed the budget as “directionless” and “is a box of promises regarding the coming Lok Sabha elections.”
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav termed the Uttar Pradesh budget ‘directionless’ and said that it has ‘no solution for the existing problems.
He also pointed out that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led state government has ‘not built a single stadium’ yet it ‘talks about building sports university’.
“This is a directionless budget. The budget neither has a solution for the existing problems, nor can it take forward the policies for the future,” he said.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati said the state budget is a ‘vadon ka pitara’ (a bunch of promises) ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.
“The budget presented today in the assembly by the UP government is less for public interest and public welfare and again a box of promises regarding the coming Lok Sabha elections. Will this unrealistic budget fulfill the interest and welfare of the people here and the claim of becoming India’s growth engine? Debt-ridden UP needs an employment-oriented budget, not an illusionary one,” she said.
She said that keeping in mind the much-publicised announcements, promises and claims of the UP BJP government, its statements and actions to remove poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, backwardness, anarchy etc, the budget is a betrayal of about 24 crore people who are suffering from inflation.
“In view of the Lok Sabha general elections, the UP government has not kept the honest report card of the previous budget in front of the people before making new misleading promises and claims. It is clear that the ground reality of per capita income and development in the BJP’s double engine government is false propaganda and rhetoric,” she added.
This report is filed by ANI news service. TheNewsMill holds no responsibility for this content.
