Politics
Focus On Infra, Social Welfare, Religious Tourism: Highlights From Yogi Sarkar's Budget
UP Finance Minister Suresh Khanna presenting the Budget as Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath looks on
Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna presented the State's Budget for FY 2023-24 in the UP Vidhan Sabha in Lucknow today, 22 February.
The total amount of the Budget was Rs 6,90,242.43 crore, including new schemes worth Rs 32,721.96 crore.
The total receipts are estimated at Rs 6,83,292.74 crore, which includes revenue receipts of Rs 5,70,865.66 crore and capital receipts of Rs 11,247.08 crore, Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna said.
The fiscal deficit is estimated at Rs 84,883.16 crore, which is 3.48 per cent of the estimated Gross State Domestic Product.
Finance Minister Khanna also shared that the state's Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) grew at a rate of 16.8 per cent in FY 2021-2022.
In his Budget speech, the finance minister emphasised on the success and various investments that were materialised at the recently held UP Global Investors Summit in Lucknow. With the Summit, 19,000 Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) worth about Rs 33.50 lakh crore were signed.
Infrastructure development
The Budget includes a proposal of Rs 235 crore for the development of the initial stages of the Jhansi link-expressway and Chitrakoot link-expressway.
Additionally, Rs 550 crore has been proposed for the Bundelkhand expressway and Defence Corridor projects.
Rs 36,230 crore have been allocated for the new 594 km long Ganga Expressway, from Meerut to Prayagraj.
For the construction of roads and bridges, an amount of Rs 21,159 crore has been allocated.
Rs 6,209 crore has been earmarked for maintenance.
The government has allocated Rs 1,525 crore for rural roads. Rs 250 crore have been allocated for road widening leading to sugar mills, while Rs 50 crore for widening of roads leading to industrial and logistic parks.
Metro rail development is also a key focus area of the budget, with provisions of Rs 100 crore proposed for the Varanasi and Gorakhpur metro rail project, Rs 585 crore for the Kanpur metro project, and Rs 465 crore for the Agra metro project.
Additionally, an amount of Rs 1,306 crore has been proposed for the Delhi-Ghaziabad Meerut Corridor Regional Rapid Transit System.
The Minister spoke about the budget for airports in the state, "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,"
He further added, during the tenure of our 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.
In the coming years, five international and 16 domestic airports will become functional in the state, thus a total of 21 airports.
Social welfare programmes
The Chief Minister Kanya Sumangala Yojana given an allocation of Rs 1,050 crore,
Rs 4,032 crore for destitute widows,
Rs 600 crore for the Samuhik Vivah scheme for the marriage of girls of all classes.
A grant of Rs 150 crore has also been proposed for the marriage of poor girls belonging to other backward classes.
Religious tourist circuits development
The budget proposed an investment target of Rs 10 lakh crore for the development of religious tourism in the state;
Along with an allocation of Rs 1,000 crore for the development of 'Dharmarth Marg'.
Other announcements
Under the Swami Vivekananda Youth Empowerment Scheme, an amount of Rs 3,600 crore has been allocated for providing tablets and smartphones to eligible students.
A State Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development will be set up at a cost of Rs 20 crore.
The budget has also made provisions for old age and farmer pension schemes, with an allocation of Rs 7,248 crore.
Rs 12,631 crore has been set aside for the implementation of various programs under the National Rural Health Mission.
With inputs from PTI.
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