Punjab Budget 2024: FM Cheema Tables Over Rs 2 Lakh Crore Budget; Here Are The Key Highlights

Punjab's FM Cheema highlighted that the government had created over 40,000 jobs in the last two years during the budget presentation

A proposal has been presented to launch a One River One Fish Farming Program to establish a new fish farm in the village of Kanya, located in the Fazilka district ( Image Source :pti )

Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Cheema unveiled the state Budget for the financial year 2024-25 in the state Assembly on Tuesday, amounting to over Rs 2 lakh crore. Notably, the state government has allocated a significant amount of Rs 13,784 crore to the agriculture sector. This marks the second budget presentation by the AAP  (Aam Aadmi Party) government in Punjab, with a strong emphasis on prioritising health and education initiatives.

During the Budget presentation in the state assembly, under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann from the AAP, Cheema highlighted that the government had created over 40,000 jobs in the last two years. Out of the total annual Budget exceeding Rs 2 lakh crore, Cheema outlined the allocation of Rs 16,987 crore for education work in the state. In addition, Cheema said that the state registered a growth rate of 9.4 per cent.

Here are the key announcements by the Punjab government in the Budget for FY25:

A Budget allocation of Rs 1,425 crore has been kept for all the state universities. A new initiative called the "School of Happiness" has been introduced in this budget with the aim of fostering a nurturing environment for children between the ages of 3 and 11. The proposal entails the transformation of 100 primary schools into "Schools of Happiness," with a dedicated allocation of 10 crores.

The Finance Minister has also introduced the School of Applied Learning to nurture technical skills among students. A Budget proposal of Rs 10 crore has been allocated for this initiative, which is aimed at establishing high-tech vocational labs in 40 schools.

The state’s finance minister has projected total revenue receipts for the fiscal year 2024-25 to amount to Rs 1,03,936 crore. This comprises the state's own tax revenue of Rs 58,900 crore. Furthermore, it is expected that the state will obtain a share of Rs 22,000 crore from central taxes and Rs 11,748 crore as grants-in-aid from the centre for the same financial year.

A proposal has been presented to launch a One River One Fish Farming Program to establish a new fish farm in the village of Kanya, located in the Fazilka district. The plan includes allocating 3233 acres of land for fish farming.

The Punjab government has launched the online integration of mandis with rice mills to tackle the sale of rice sourced from outside within the mandis. The portal has been connected with PCSCL for grain procurement. The objective is to monitor the electricity usage of rice mills to prevent the procurement and recycling of PDS rice. A budget proposal of Rs 1072 crore has been allocated for various schemes in the department for the fiscal year 2024-25. In addition, a Budgetary allocation of Rs 9,330 crore has been set aside to provide free electricity to farmers.