Infrastructure, Metro Network, Youth Main Focus Of Yogi's Budget For 'Naya Uttar Pradesh'. Highlights
UP Budget 2023 Highlights: Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna tabled a Rs 6.9 lakh crore Budget, keeping infrastructure, welfare of farmers, youths and women empowerment as its main focus.
Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna on Wednesday tabled a Rs 6.9 lakh crore Budget, keeping infrastructure development, welfare of farmers, youths and women empowerment as its main focus. This was the seventh Budget of the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government since 2017.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has called it a Budget for 'Naya Uttar Pradesh', saying it will add new golden chapters in the history of socioeconomic and cultural development of the state.
In his opening remarks, FM Khanna said the state's Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) recorded a growth of 16.8 per cent in the year 2021-2022.
"I am happy to inform that in the year 2021-2022, a growth of 16.8 per cent was recorded in the state's Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), which was more than the country's growth rate," Khanna said.
He also highlighted that the unemployment rate, which was 14.4 per cent before 2017, had come down to about 4.2 per cent. "This is an important achievement of the state," he said.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party legislators, including party chief and LoP Akhilesh Yadav, attended the Budget presentation in black sherwanis to protest against the BJP govt's alleged "injustices and unfair action" against party veteran Azam Khan and his family.
Uttar Pradesh Budget 2023-24: Key Highlights
- The Finance Minister allocated Rs 21,159 crore for construction of roads and bridges while Rs 6,209 crore has been kept for maintainance. Rs 12,631 crore has been earmarked for various programmes under National Rural Health Mission.
- Metro rail development was another key focus area of the Budget. A provision of Rs 100 crore has been proposed for the implementation of the metro rail project in Varanasi and Gorakhpur. Moreover, Rs 585 crore and Rs 465 crore have been earmarked for the Kanpur and Agra metro projects respectively. Also, a provision of Rs 1,306 crore has been proposed for the financial year 2023-2024 for the Delhi-Ghaziabad Meerut Corridor Regional Rapid Transit System, whose construction is in progress.
- The Budget made a provision of Rs 1,050 crore under the 'Chief Minister Kanya Sumangala Yojana', Rs 4,032 crore for destitute widows and Rs 600 crore for the 'Samuhik Vivah' scheme for the marriage of girls of all classes. FM Khanna proposed Rs 150 crore for the marriage grant scheme for daughters of poor people belonging to other backward classes.
- The Swami Vivekananda Youth Empowerment Scheme, under which tablets and smartphones are provided to eligible students, has been allocated Rs 3,600 crore.
- The Budget has allocated Rs 1 lakh each for madrassas to set up computer labs. There are an estimated 23,000 madrassas in Uttar Pradesh of which only 561 receive grants from the state government.
- The government has also made a provision to pay an honorarium of Rs 6,000 per month to graduate teachers and Rs 12,000 per month to B.Ed. teachers with masters teaching subjects like Hindi, English, Mathematics, Science etc.
- With religious tourism in mind, the Budget proposed Rs 1,000 crore for the development of 'Dharmarth Marg' (roads to religious places). Under the UP Tourism Policy 2022, the Budget sets an investment target of Rs 10 lakh crore and creation of 20,000 jobs in the next 5 years.
- A provision of Rs 7,248 crore was proposed for old age and farmer pension scheme. FM Khanna also announced Rs 1,120 crore for Divyang Pension Yojana.
- Rs 60 crore outlay has been announced for information technology and startups in Uttar Pradesh. A provision of Rs 20 crore has been proposed for the Agritech startup scheme in four agricultural universities of the state.
- A State Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development will also be set up at a cost of Rs 20 crore, FM Khanna announced.
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