The Punjab government presented the state Budget worth Rs 1,96,462 crore for the financial year 2023-24 on Friday. Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said the effective capital budget expenditure increased by 22 percent over the last year. Cheema started his budget speech in the assembly on Friday, saying that this year's budget focuses on farmers and agricultural sector. This is the first full budget of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government which came to power in Punjab last year with a thumping majority.

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Here are some top announcements from Punjab Budget 2023-34:

For Farmers

> Rs 13,888 crore for agriculture and farmers welfare, an increase of 20 percent

> Punjab government to initiate Fasal Bima Yojana (crop insurance scheme). Cheema said the government will also bring a new policy to find ways to increase the income of farmers.

> Rs 350 crore allocated for management of stubble

> Rs 253 crore allocated for horticulture sector

> Rs 2,574 Kisan Mitras to be deployed in each village to provide extension services and spread information and knowledge at the farmers' doorstep.

> Rs 125 crore allotted for direct sowing of sorghum (cereal) and purchase of coral at minimum support price'

> Rs 1,000 crore allocated for market intervention by government for procurement of basmati. 33 percent subsidy proposed on cotton seeds. Track and trace mechanism to ensure quality seeds to farmers.

> Bought coral crop on MSP for the first time, which benefitted 20,898 farmers and Rs 79 crore was transferred

> "Kisan Milni" received overwhelming response and more such meetings to be organised to solve farmers' problems, Cheema said.

> Rs 125 crore sanctioned for direct sowing of paddy and sugarcane crop

For employment and skill development

> Rs 231 crore proposed for employment generation and skill development. Rs 163 crore proposed for implementing various skill development programme.

Cheema claimed that Punjab received 2,295 investment proposals amounting to Rs 41,043 crore in the last 11 months. He said this opened job avenues to nearly 2.5 lakh people.

For schools and education

> Rs 199 crore proposed for the maintenance of schools

> Rs 17,072 crore proposed for school and higher education and Rs 200 crore proposed for upgradation of the schools into Schools of Eminence.

> Rs 324 crore for upgradation of government schools and Rs 450 crore for mid-day meals. Rs 3 crore for maintenance of Sainik School Kapurthala.

> Rs 615 crore proposed for improving technical education institutes

> Rs 990 crore proposed for providing assistance to various state universities

> Rs 200 crore proposed for upgradation of Schools of Eminence

> A budget of Rs 20 crore set aside for improving the skills of teachers.

> 1,015 crore proposed for medical education

> Proposal of 615 crores for technical education

> Rs 78 crore kept for various scholarship schemes. Rs 18 crore and Rs 60 crore allotted for pre-matric scholarship scheme for OBCs students and Scheduled Caste student.

> Rs 30 crore for start-up programme for students: Punjab Young Entrepreneur Programme launched with the aim to encourage class 11th students to propose their original business ideas. They would be supported by the government with the seed money Rs 2,000 per student.

For health

> A budgetary outlay of Rs 4,781 crore proposed for health and family welfare

> Rs 1,015 crore set aside for medical education and research

> Rs 25 crore set aside for treatment and protection from African flu

> A mobile treatment unit to be started for the treatment of animals.

> A provision of Rs 1,015 crore proposed for medical education and research

> Two medical collages to be established in Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur. Designs are yet to be approved.

> An amount of Rs 25 crore has been set aside for the Liver Institute in Mohali.

> To establish a cancer care centre, a trauma centre and a nursing college

> Seven new maternal and child care hospitals to come up at a cost of Rs 43 crore

> 142 more Aam Aadmi Clinics clinics are in the pipeline and are expected to be operational in next few days.

For Sports

> Rs 35 crore is proposed for the construction, up-gradation and strengthening of sports infrastructure in 2023-24.

> 10 sports infrastructure projects identified to be developed under PPP mode, and feasibility reports are under preparation

> New sports policy to be announced soon. This would help athletes to get prepare for national and international tournaments

For Rural and urban development

> For the first time in the budget, a budget of Rs 40 crore has been earmarked for strengthening of infrastructure in the border districts of Punjab. This included installing of CCTV cameras in the areas.

> Rs 6,596 crore proposed for local government and urban development

> Rs 3,319 crore allocated for rural development and panchayats

> Rs 26,295 crore budget allocation for infrastructure development

> Rs 3,297 crore for construction and maintenance of roads, bridges, and buildings in 2023–24

Policies

Punjab proposed industrial and business development policy, Punjab electrical vehicle policy, logistic policy, water tourism policy and adventure policy to attract investments and create jobs.

Other top announcements

> No new tax imposed in Punjab

> Rs 9,331 crore allotted for free power in Punjab. Rs 7,780 crore allocated for providing power subsidy to the domestic consumers. Rs 2,700 crore for subsidised power to industrial units.

> "Bill Leyao Inaam Pao" Scheme: Monthly prizes to be given to people/customers who would submit their bills with the Taxation Department

> Rs 11,782 crore for capital expenditure for the financial year 2023-24.

> Green Punjab Mission: One crore saplings to be planted in 2023-24 under ‘Green Punjab Mission’. 151 Nanak Bagh, 68 Pavittar Van are being developed. Rs 258 crore proposed in FY 2023-24 for Department of Forest and Wildlife.

> Rs 100 crore proposed to nudge MILKFED which is expected to expand its procurement network in villages and alsod market its products in national and international markets.

> Rs 567 crore for transport sector - 42% more than the previous year

> An outlay of Rs 3,751 crore made in the budget to provide financial incentives to industries, which is 19 percent more than the previous year.

> Rs 15 crore allotted for upgradation and setting up of two new galleries of War Memorial Complex in Amritsar

> Rs 8,678 crore proposed for social welfare and social justice

> Rs 10,523 crore for police, law and order and to counter gangster culture. Rs 30 crore to be spent on acquiring land for police lines and police offices and Rs 10 crore for new buildings

> Rs 64 crore proposed for modernisation of police to strengthen officials to tackle crime and maintain law and order

> Rs 84 crore proposed for defense services

> Rs 30 crore proposed for effectively combating cyber crime

> Punjab government to launch new risk mitigation scheme, Bhaav Antar Bhugtan Yojana, for horticulture producers

> Rs 5 crore to create a brand image and publicity campaigns for tourism sector in Punjab

> Allocation of Rs 1,834 proposed for revenue department for services to ensure transparency

> State proposes to introduce one time-settlement scheme for pending cases of defaulter rice millers to restart their closed mills

> Outlay of Rs 77 crore proposed for e-governance projects

A look at Punjab finances

Cheema told the assembly on Friday that Punjab's Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) for FY 23-24 is expected to increase by 9.24 percent over an year to over Rs 6 lakh crore. The Effective Revenue Deficit has been pegged at 3.32 percent, while the and Fiscal Deficit is estimated to be at 4.98 percent.

"The Punjab government received the Consolidated Sinking Fund of Rs 3,000 crore in a year since 2022-23," he said. This fund covers all of the government’s expenses.

He further informed that the Punjab government paid back Rs 15,946 crore as principal and Rs 20,100 crore as interest on debt taken by previous governments. "We inherited a huge debt from the previous governments," Cheema said.

Punjab was already in debt of around Rs 3 lakh crore, News 18 Hindi reported. Between 2016-17 and 2021-22, the state’s debt grew by 44.23 percent, the Times of India said. Moreover, the state is estimated to have a debt-to-GDP ratio of 47.6 percent by March 2023, according to the RBI’s report on state governments budgets for 2022-23 fiscal.

Also, state agencies and boards and corporations had a debt of around Rs 55,000 crore, out of which around Rs 22,250 crore was guaranteed by the state.

On the issue air pollution being caused by stubble burning in Punjab, Cheema said there was a 30 percent fall in the incidents of farm fires and stubble burning due to steps taken by the state government.

The biggest challenge before Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema would be to arrange funds for public welfare and development projects, without burdening the public with any new tax. The Bhagwant Mann government might also woo the voters in view of the Jalandhar by-elections and next year's Lok Sabha elections through this budget.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann tweeted: "Today is a historic day...I hope this budget will be of public interest and a glimpse of Punjab moving towards 'Rangale Punjab' will be seen...".

First Published:Mar 10, 2023 11:15 AM IST