Lucknow: The annual budget for the financial 2023-24 tabled by the Yogi Government of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday has some sops for almost everyone.
Two crore students in UP would get smartphone or tablet as per the announcement made in the budget. The UP Government has allocated Rs 3,600 for this scheme in the annual budget. Besides this, the long pending promise of providing free electricity for irrigation to farmers has also been fulfilled by allocating Rs 1,500 crore for it in the budget. With this, UP has become sixth state in the country after Andhra, Telangana, Karnataka, Punjab and Tamil Nadu to provide free electricity for irrigation to farmers.
The key announcements:
To create a 'feel-good effect' UP has toed the lines of Union Government by making hefty increase in capital expenditure this time. Against 1.23 lakh crore capital expenditure in 2022-23, the UP Budget this year has made a provision of Rs 1.87 lakh crore in this head. The total size of the budget for financial year 2023-24 is Rs 6.90 lakh crore, while it was Rs 6.15 lakh crore last year. The budget expects to recover of Rs 1.50 lakh crore from GST and VAT in the year 2023-24 and Rs 58,000 crores from the excise revenue. The target for revenue receipt from stamp duty has been estimated at Rs 34,560 crore and Rs 12,672 crore from vehicle registration fee.
While presenting the annual budget for 2023-24 in the state assembly on Wednesday, UP Finance Minister Suresh Khanna said that new projects worth Rs 32,721 crores have been included. The total receipt is expected at Rs 6,83,292 crore of which Rs 5,70,865 from revenue and Rs 1,12,427 from capital receipts. UP is expecting Rs 1.83 lakh crore from its share in the central taxes this year. According to the Finance Minister the fiscal deficit for the year 2023-24 is expected to be 3.48 per cent of the GDP.
Setting up industrial corridor
The major announcements made in the budget include setting up industrial corridor on the sides of Bundelkhand and Purvanchal Expressway as well as Gorakhpur Link Expressway. An amount of Rs 550 crore has been earmarked for developing infrastructure in the defense corridor. For two new projects of Jhansi Link Expressway and Chitrakoot Link Expressway Rs 235 crores have been allocated. To promote handicrafts and products made under the ODOP scheme a unity mall would be set up with an expenditure of Rs 200 crores. In budget Rs 25 crore have been allocated for the proposed pharma park in UP. For the metro projects in Varanasi and Gorakhpur Rs 100 crore each have been allocated in the UP budget. Besides Rs 465 crore have been earmarked for Agra and Rs 585 crore for Kanpur Metro project.
To make the 2025 Mahakumbh at Prayagraj a grand show, Rs 2500 crore have been allocated for it in the UP budgetthis year. This money would be spent on lay infrastructure facilities for Mahakumbh in Prayagraj.
