With an aim to make the state a trillion-dollar economy, the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh tabled its budgetary proposals for 2023-24, the second in Yogi Adityanath-2 regime in the state assembly on Wednesday with special focus on development, infrastructure and peoples’ welfare.

The budget announced two free LPG cylinders on Holi and Diwali for the 1.74 crore Ujjawala beneficiaries, 100 per cent subsidy on electricity bill of private tubewells in the rural area, inclusion of family and landless labourers in the farmers insurance policy, hike in legislators’ development fund from Rs 3 crore per year to Rs 5 crore and family Identity Card for every family of the state.

Most of the new announcements were part of the Lok Kalyan Patr (election manifesto) of the BJP in the 2022 assembly polls.

State Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna presented the budget amid thumping of the desk by the treasury bench members with a deficit of Rs 1,449.69 crore with the total budget of Rs 6,90,242.43 crore. The total receipts are estimated at Rs 6,83,292.74 crore and thus it will be a Rs 1,449.69 crore deficit budget after adjustment of Rs 5,500 crore through a public account. There will be new schemes worth Rs 32,721.96 crore.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath, while briefing media persons after the budget was tabled, claimed that the budget could be termed as historic which will fulfill the aspirations of 25 crore population and an effort to make the “New” Uttar Pradesh. He claimed that in the six years of his tenure not a single new tax on people had been imposed rather than the VAT on petroleum products had been reduced and now the price of petrol / diesel was lowest in the country which had tamed inflation to some extent in the state.

“The budget of the state has reached nearly Rs 7 lakh crore when it was just around Rs 3 lakh crore in 2016-17 when the CD ratio has gone up to 55 per cent from 46 per cent in just 6 years’ time. The loan disbursement in the state has gone up to Rs 9.50 lakh crore from 2017 to 2022 when it was just Rs 5.90 lakh crore between 2012 and 2017. The unemployment percentage which was 17 per cent in 2016-17 has come down drastically to 4 per cent, the CM claimed while mentioning about the financial discipline adopted as per the FRBM Act  by his government  further added that the financial deficit was tamed at 3.24 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product  ( GSDP).

He said the government in 2016-17 was receiving just 33 per cent of the revenue through its own means and rest was acquired through loans and Central assistance, but today the state revenue through taxes has gone up to 45 per cent.  Earlier, the government used to finance the projects through loans of around 20 5 which has come down to 16 per cent while in 2016-17 government had to use 8 % of its fund for repayment of the loans  which has dropped to 6 per cent now.

He claimed that the proposals in infrastructure and development would generate at least 2 crore new jobs in the next five years, while the state’s contribution to the country’s GDP is more than 8 per cent. “I am happy to inform you that in the year 2021-2022, a growth of 16.8 per cent was recorded in the state’s GSDP, which was more than the country’s growth rate. For the financial year 2023-2024, the rate of increase in GSDP has been estimated at 19 per cent in the era of global recession.

In the infrastructure sector, 2 new expressways – Jhansi and Chitrakoot linked expressways – have been proposed and Rs 275 crore have been sanctioned while to develop 7 industrial corridors on the side of the expressways Rs 550 crore have been allotted. Rs 1500 crore has been sanctioned for providing 100 per cent subsidy to the farmers using private tubewells and an amount of Rs 3600 crores have been allotted for distribution of tablets and smart phones to around 2 crore students.

To distribute free LPG to Ujjawala beneficiaries on Holi and Diwali, the government has allotted Rs 3047 crores while Rs 5000 crore have been earmarked in the new Industrial policy to revive the sick units and provide concessions to the new industry.

The budget has proposed to make Ayodhya a solar city by promoting the Nagar Nigams on solar energy. The government has allotted Rs 400 crores for purchasing 1000 new buses while Rs 2500 crores have been given for development infrastructure in Prayagraj for the coming 2025 Maha Kumbh mela.

The CM said that UP will be the first state to have 21 airports including 5 international ones in the next  18 months when there were just 2 active airports in the state in 2017.

To encourage marketing of ODOP and handicraft products in the state, Unity Mall will be established on which Rs 200 crore will be spent while a provision of Rs 3,000 crore is proposed for the Chief Minister’s Urban Expansion / New City Promotion Scheme.Under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Rural), a target of 12,39,877 houses is proposed in 2023-2024 with a budget provision of Rs 9,000 crore  Rs 1,203 crore proposed under Chief Minister’s Housing Scheme.

A budget of Rs 510 crore for a new scheme called PM Shree (Prime Minister’s School for Rising India) with the help of the central government, Rs 300 crore for the new scheme of setting up digital libraries at gram panchayat and ward level, Rs 30 crore provision for Khelo India University Games and Rs 300 crore for the establishment of Major Dhyan Chandra Sports University in Meerut.

The budget has also earmarked Rs 2491 crore  for the establishment and operation of 14 new medical colleges  to  fulfill its target to have at least one medical college in all the 75 districts of the state. The government has also proposed 3 new Universities and a Pharmaceutical research and training institute.

Rs 100 crore each have been allotted for promotion of Electric Vehicles, for Metro rail projects in Gorakhpur, Varanasi and other places, for upliftment of Sanskrit schools and Rs 1,000 crore for setting up smart classes in government schools.