No new tax was imposed in Punjab government’s Rs 1.96 lakh crore budget for 2023-24. The budget was presented in the state assembly on Friday

Presenting the first full budget of the Aam Aadmi Party Government which came to power last year with a thumping majority, Finance Minister Harpal Cheema said education, health, and agriculture are among the priority sectors for the government.

“Total Budget size has been increased by 26 per cent to Rs 1,96,462 crore for 2023-24 over the previous year,”  the minister said.

The effective revenue deficit and fiscal deficit have been pegged at 3.32 per cent and 4.98 per cent respectively. The estimates of revenue expenditure of state at Rs 1,23,441 crore, a growth of 14 per cent over 2022-23. Out of this, Rs 74,620 crore is proposed towards the committed expenditure, a jump of 12 per cent in comparison to 2022-23. Capital expenditure is pegged at Rs 11,782 crore, an increase of 22 per cent.

Cheema proposed Rs 13,888 crore for agriculture and allied sector, an increase of 20 per cent. The government will soon come out with a new agriculture policy for which a committee of experts has been formed for the purpose, he said.

“A sum of Rs 1,000 crore has been allocated for crop diversification. A revolving fund for Basmati crop purchase has also been set up”, the minister said.

Cheema said the central themes for 2023-24 would be to boost farmer income through promotion of   agriculture and allied activities, create a conducive environment for industrial promotion, infrastructural development through judicious capital spending and strengthen the state finances through asset monetization and expenditure rationalisation.

To engage farmers by providing various possibilities and solutions to eliminate this practice of burning paddy straw, Rs 350 crore has been allocated under the sub-mission on agriculture mechanism, to provide various machines.

An outlay of Rs 17,072 crore has been alloted for school and higher education, which is 12 per cent higher than the previous year. He said the government has decided to launch a risk mitigation crop insurance scheme — Bhaav Antar Bhugtan Yojana.

Cheema said that Rs 125 Crore has been allocated for direct sowing of paddy and moong crop purchase.   Rs 9,331 Crore has been earmarked in 2023-24 for free power subsidy to the farm sector.

On the health sector, the minister said 10.50 lakh people have been treated in ‘Aam Aadmi Clinics’ in the state so far. He said 26,797 jobs have been given so far by the Bhagwant Mann government.