Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Khanna on Wednesday presented the annual budget for the financial year 2023-24 and highlighted the 16.8% growth in the state’s GDP. It was the second budget for the Yogi Adityanath 2.0 government after the BJP, led by him, was re-elected in March last year.
“The state has recorded a 16.8% increase in the GDP, which is higher than the national growth rate,” Khanna said in his budget speech. He said the unemployment rate, which was 14.4% before 2017, has come down to 4.2per cent.
In his speech, the finance minister made several announcements. As expected, the annual budget of Rs 6,90,242.43 was the biggest in the state’s history with focus on infrastructure development, welfare schemes and empowerment of youths and women in the state. This budget assumes significance and is an opportunity for the Yogi government to woo different sections of the society, including, youths, women, farmers and deprived classes, because of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections slated for April-May 2024. At a high-level meeting recently, Yogi Adityanath had indicated that the budget would be in accordance with the aspirations of 25 crore people of the state.
On May 26, 2022, the state government had presented the annual budget of Rs 6.15 lakh crore while a supplementary budget of Rs 33,769.55 crore was presented on December 5, 2022, taking the total size of the state budget in 2022-2023 to Rs 6.50 lakh crore.
For students, the government has allotted Rs 3,600 crore for the provision of tablets and smartphones to eligible students under the Swami Vivekananda Youth Empowerment Scheme. Additionally, there is a sum of Rs 1,050 crore under the Chief Minister Kanya Sumangala Yojana, which offers financial assistance to guardians or parents of two girl children in one family. Further, there is a sum of Rs 4,032 crore for destitute widows, Rs 600 crore for Samuhik Vivah Yojana for girls of all classes, and Rs 150 crore under the marriage grant scheme for daughters of poor people belonging to other backward classes.
An outlay of Rs 21,159 crore has been announced for the construction of roads & bridges while Rs 6,209 crore for maintenance. A sum of Rs 3,473 crore has been proposed for the work of bridges and roads for agricultural marketing facilities while Rs 1,525 crore for roads in rural areas.
Besides, a sum of Rs 1,700 crore has been proposed for the construction of railway overhead bridges and Rs 1,850 crore for other bridges. A sum of Rs 2,588 crore has also been proposed for widening/ strengthening and new works of state highways.With religious tourism in mind, there are proposals of Rs 1,000 crore for the development of ‘Dharmarth Marg’ (roads to religious places).
