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Yogi’s First Amrit Kaal Budget to Accelerate $1 Trillion Mark Economy

On 22nd February, 2023, the second budget of ‘Yogi 2.0,’ termed as an inclusive and ambitious one, was unveiled to the people of the state with budget allocation of Rs 6,90,242.43 Crore for FY 2023. Though the budget was seen to strike a balance to be all encompassing and inclusive, the focus, however, was on youth, women and farmers.

Open Open | 17 Mar, 2023

The state of Uttar Pradesh under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, for the second term, is witnessing several projects being developed at a rapid pace and many social welfare initiatives put in place and earlier ones enhanced to ensure that the residents of the state get to lead a quality life.

To ensure smooth progress of all projects and initiatives ongoing in the state and kick-starting new developmental work, the Rs 6,90,242.43 crore budget, presented by Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna, included new schemes worth Rs 32,721.96 crore as per reports. Highlighting that the GDP of Uttar Pradesh grew by 16.8%, he mentioned that unemployment rate had come down from 14.4 per cent before 2017, to 4.2 per cent.

CM Yogi hailed the budget as “The budget of ‘New Uttar Pradesh,’ adding, “It will add new golden chapters in the history of social, economic and cultural development of the state.” With his focus on bringing all- round development in his state, he tweeted, “This budget will fulfil the interests of every section of society, including the villages, poor, farmers, youth, and women of the state as per the vision of the respected Prime Minister,” which is “Sab ka Saath, Sab Ka Vikas, Sab ka Vishwas.”Stating that the budget for 2023 will be the biggest in the history of Uttar Pradesh, the UP State Finance Minister mentioned that the budget will be for youth, strengthening farmers and giving honour to women. He said, “The focus will also be on infrastructure so that more employment opportunities can be generated,” adding, “Undoubtedly, this budget will fulfill the interests of every section of the society and the aim will be to achieve a goal of making UP a $1 trillion economy.”

Empowering the Young

To harness the immense potential of the youth who constitute a large section of the populace of the state, among the most densely populated in the country, the CM Yogi led government proposed Rs 3600 crore for distributing tablets and smart-phones to students under the Swami Vivekanand Yuva Shashaktikaran scheme in the Budget. To encourage young entrepreneurs to set up agri-tech start-ups in rural areas, the Yogi government also proposed Rs 20 crore for an Agriculture Accelerator Fund to facilitate this initiative.

Momentum to Mobility

Infrastructure got a major thrust in the budget in order to hasten the pace of growth with the support of last mile connectivity in the state. An allocation of Rs 21,159 crore has been made for the development of roads, bridges, expressways and Rs 6,209 crore has been proposed for the maintenance of existing ones. Rs 235 crores was also allocated for development of the initial stages of two new link Expressways i.e., Jhansi Link Expressway and Chitrakoot link Expressway. Another Rs 36,230 crore was earmarked for the construction of the new 594 km long Ganga Expressway from Meerut to Prayagraj. Work on the industrial corridor along Gorakhpur link expressways too got a boost with allocation of Rs 200 crore in the budget for accelerating economic growth. The finance minister said that Rs 550 crore has been proposed for the Bundelkhand expressway and Defence Corridor projects that would boost industrial activity and generate jobs of the youth of the state. For ensuring equitable socio-economic growth, special focus has been given to the underserved areas of Bundelkhand and Purvanchal, CM Yogi said that the state government has decided to develop six industrial manufacturing complexes, out of which four shall be along Purvanchal Expressway and two along the Bundelkhand Expressway.

For linking the rural areas to mainstream through connectivity, the UP government has allocated Rs 1525 crore for rural roads and Rs 250 crore for widening of roads leading to sugar mills. Another 50 crores have been allocated for widening of roads leading to Industrial and Logistic parks. Rs 25 crore has been proposed for developing Logistic Parks to propel trade and economic development initiatives.

Gesture of Compassion

Giving priority to support young girls, the budget for FY 23-24 has earmarked Rs 600 crores under CM Mass Marriage Scheme for girls under general category, while Rs 150 crores was proposed for marriage of OBC girls. Also fund allocation of Rs 4032 crore has been set aside to provide support to destitute widows. As of now about 32.62 lakh needy women beneficiaries are being provided assistance in the state, as part of CM Yogi’s inclusive social endeavours. To give focus to rural women, Rs 83 crore has been proposed for Self Help Groups with the objective to supplement their family income, ensure financially secure and empower them.

A Shot in the Arm for Health

To address the growing healthcare need of the residents of the state and ensuring their well-being, the Yogi led government has earmarked a fund of Rs 2491 crore to construct 14 new medical colleges. Also Rs 26 crores was proposed for establishing nursing colleges to meet high demand for nursing personnel for strengthening the healthcare sector. Another highlight was that UP Pharma industry hailed Rs 20 crore allocation for R&D in the state budget.

Respite to Farming Community

Fulfilling the promise made in the Jan Lok Kalyan Sankalpa Patra of the BJP for 2022 Assembly polls, an allocation of Rs 1500 crore has been proposed in the current budget for provision of giving100 percent exemption of power tariff for private tube wells, as against 50 percent in the budget for FY 2022-23.

Harnessing Clean Energy

Contributing towards attaining the SDG goals, which includes reducing carbon foot print and explore alternate and renewable energy sources, the UP Government has given a boost to develop the second phase of Green Energy corridor in Bundelkhand for generating energy from solar plants. Rs 1554 crore is proposed in the budget to complete the scheme in next 3 years for augmenting energy resources to meet the growing energy demand to support the developmental goals of the state.

Bovine Care

CM Yogi Adityanath, is a strong advocate of ensuring well-being of stray cattle for which focus was given to address this issue by proposing Rs 750 crore in the current budget. Rs 120 crore will also be set aside for building ‘Gaushalas’ or cow conservation centres.

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