Bhopal: With a renewed focus on women empowerment, culture, cow welfare, industrial promotion and infrastructural development under the leadership of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, Madhya Pradesh Finance Minister Jagdish Devda presented a budget of Rs 3,65,067 crore for FY 2024-25 — an increase of 16 percent from previous fiscal’s budget of Rs 3,14,025 crore.
The revenue surplus for the year has been estimated at Rs 1,700 crore, expected to be made possible by a faster growth in revenue than expenditure. Revenue receipts are estimated to stand at Rs 2,63,344 crore — 18 percent higher than last year’s budget estimate of Rs 2,25,709 crore, and about 14 percent higher than the receipts according to revised estimates for 2023-24.
The government’s total earnings, including both revenue and capital receipts, are expected to stand at Rs 3,30,193 crore, which is 17 percent higher than last year’s earnings of Rs 2,81,660 crore.
The budget was presented in the state assembly Wednesday, amid protest by the Opposition over the alleged nursing colleges scam and demand for resignation of minister Vishwas Sarang, who was the medical education minister in the previous term. Led by the leader of Opposition Umang Singhar, Congress MLAs walked out while the budget was being presented.
Devda, thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, pointed out that the money received by the state as Centre’s tax share was Rs 6,519 crore more that the budget estimate for 2023-24.
The Madhya Pradesh government is estimating an increase of 18 percent in state tax collection for this year at Rs 1,02,097 crore, as opposed to Rs 86,500 crore in 2023-24. Whereas the non-tax revenue is expected to increase by 10 percent from Rs 14,913 crores in 2023-24 to Rs 20,603 crore in 2024-25.
Meanwhile, the state’s expenditure is projected to increase by 16 percent from Rs 2,81,553 crore in 2023-24 to Rs 3,26,383 crore in 2024-25. Of the total estimated spends of Rs 3,26,383, about Rs 2,61,644 will be revenue expenditure, while Rs 64,783 crore will be spent under capital expenditure.
The loans taken by the government, including the projected borrowing for the year 2024-25, stands at Rs 3,71,579 crore. The government will be paying Rs 21,072 crores or 10 percent of its total revenue receipts towards interest payments. The 2024-25 fiscal deficit is estimated to be Rs 62,564 crores or 4.11 percent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).
However, Manish Singh, principal secretary – finance, emphasised that the stipulated borrowing limit is 4.12 percent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). “MP government has not borrowed the amount beyond the stipulated borrowing limit, and the money borrowed will only be used towards capital expenditure that creates economic multipliers,” he told the media after the presentation of the budget.
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Key announcements
Like last year, the state government did not announce any new taxes.
The women and child development department has been allocated a total of Rs 26,560 crore, compared to Rs 14,686 crore in 2023-24. The government’s flagship scheme, Ladli Behna Yojana, which was touted as a game changer for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections last year, helping them overcome anti-incumbency and return to power for a fourth term, has been allocated Rs 18,984 crore.
However, the government remained tight-lipped over the hike in monthly instalment from Rs 1,250 per month. The then CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, while launching the scheme for women in the 21-60 age group, had said that it was being rolled out with monthly receipts of Rs 1,000 for women, but the amount would gradually be increased up to Rs 3,000.
The state government, prior to the assembly election in December 2023, had increased the amount to Rs 1,250. On Wednesday, when asked if the instalments would be increased, finance minister Devda hinted at an increment in instalments over next five years.
He said, “The ‘sankalp patra’ of BJP is for five years, and this is definitely the sankalp we have taken in the midst of the people. We have received their blessing. We respect it and will fulfil all the promises we have made.”
The budget for the water resources department has been doubled from Rs 3,867 crore in 2023-24 to 6,348 crores for 2024-25, while that for the industry policy and investment promotion department has been hiked from Rs 2002 crores in 2023-24 to Rs 2,820 in 2024-25. The Public Health Engineering department, which is also overseeing the execution of Jal Jeevan Mission in the state, has been allocated Rs 10,278 crore.
Similarly, the budget for the state’s MSME department has also been increased from Rs 879 crore last year to 1,218 crores for 2024-25. In a boost to the millet mission, the Madhya Pradesh government announced a support price of Rs 10 per kilogram for production of millets, such as Kodu and Kutki.
Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, in a bid to increase the income of milk producers, has announced the CM Cooperative Milk Producers Promotion scheme. Under this, milk-producing farmers will be brought under a cooperative, and milk will be procured at a higher rate per litre, compared to market price.
Devda also announced that the money allocated for fodder of cows in gaushalas has been increased from Rs 20 per day per cow to Rs 40. A budgetary provision of Rs 250 crore has been made towards this. Notably, the state government has announced 2024-25 as ‘Gauvansh Raksha Varsh’.
Meanwhile, despite the BJP government announcing a bonus on wheat in the last term that would have taken the minimum support price on wheat to Rs 2,800, the same did not find any mention in the new budget.
The government also allocated Rs 40,804 crore towards the Scheduled Tribe sub-plan, and another Rs 27,900 towards Scheduled Caste sub-plan.
For the construction of roads and highways, the government has made a provision of Rs 10,000 crore in the budget. The government plans to construct 299 km long Atal Pragati Path, 900 km long Narmada Pragati Path, 679 km long Vindhya Express Way, 450 km long Malwa-Nimar Vikas Path, 300 km long Bundelkhand Vikas Path along with 746 km long Madhya Bharat Vikas Path.
For facilitating urban transportation under the PM-eBus Sewa scheme, about 552 electric buses will be deployed across six major cities of the state, including Indore, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Gwalior and Ujjain.
For the upcoming Simhastha, Ujjain’s Kumbh Mela scheduled to be held in 2028, Rs 500 crore have been allocated for development and planning of 10 districts in Ujjain region to cater to the influx of devotees.
The Madhya Pradesh government has also announced a scheme to provide financial aid to poor prisoners, who are unable to pay the penalties imposed on them.
The state’s cultural department was allocated Rs 1,081 crore, 1.5 times higher than the previous year. About Rs 50 crore were allocated to CM Teerth Darshan Yojana, under which 7.8 lakh senior citizens would be taken to religious places of worship in trains and airplanes.
In addition, the budget has also made provision for the development of various places, where Lord Ram is believed to have travelled within the boundaries of Madhya Pradesh. The Shri Krishna Patheya Yojana has also been announced to promote the culture and tradition.
The budget of the state’s happiness department has been more than doubled from an allocation of Rs 7 crore in 2023-24 to Rs 15 crore in 2024-25.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
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