The BJP government in Odisha presented its maiden budget on Thursday with a total estimate of Rs 2.65 trillion for the 2024-25 fiscal, laying emphasis on agriculture and women empowerment.
The size of the budget for the current financial year was around 15 per cent more than the budgetary estimate of Rs 2.30 trillion for the 2023-24 fiscal, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said in the assembly.
Majhi, who also holds the finance portfolio, proposed an outlay of Rs 33,919 crore for agriculture, which is about 36 per cent more than the allocation made in the previous year.
Of the total budget estimates, programme expenditure was pegged at Rs 1.55 trillion , administrative expenditure at Rs 97,725 crore and an outlay of Rs 3,900 crore for Disaster Risk Management Funds, he said.
To ensure the speedy empowerment of women, as promised by the BJP in its election manifesto, Majhi allocated Rs 10,000 crore for the ‘Subhadra’ scheme, a financial assistance programme for women.
The chief minister proposed a Rs 5,000 crore allocation for the Samrudha Krushak Yojana for farmers. He also announced a new scheme CM Kisan’ for farmers with an outlay of Rs 1,935 crore in the state budget.
The government has taken suggestions from various stakeholders before preparing the document, Majhi said, adding that it is a people’s budget”.
“As many as 12,000 people were consulted in the last few days to prepare the annual budget,” he said.
Apart from agriculture, the chief minister said the focus was on the industries, health, education and service sectors. Development for farmers, women, youth, and poor people has been “prioritised”, and the government would fulfil the aspirations of the people.
He said the objective of the BJP government was to ensure an inclusive development of the state.
The chief minister hailed the BJP’s economic policies, and said the state budget has been prepared on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s principles of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayaas.
Noting that the state’s GSDP is expected to grow at the rate of 8 per cent, Majhi said the aim is to ensure a ‘Viksit Odisha’ in the next few years.
Asserting that Lord Jagannath is the identity of Odisha, he said major allocations have been proposed for the promotion of Shree Jagannath Culture and Odia Asmita’ (pride).
A corpus fund of Rs 500 crore has been created for Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), he said.
Similarly, a corpus fund of Rs 200 crore has been made for Odia Asmita, Majhi said, adding that the ‘Mukhya Mantri Kalakara Sahayata Yojana’ has been provided with an outlay of Rs 72 crore and Rs 15 crore proposed for the conservation and protection of monuments.
Referring to strengthening the urban transport system, Majhi allocated Rs 1,000 crore for the Bhubaneswar Metro Rail project. Similarly, Rs 918 crore has been proposed for a new city development programme, while Rs 200 crore for a land bank scheme.
The chief minister allocated Rs 600 crore for the development of railway projects in the state and another Rs 6,180 crore for road development initiatives.
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First Published: Jul 25 2024 | 10:40 PM IS