New Delhi: Development of Khatu Shyam Mandir corridor on the lines of the Kashi Vishwanath corridor and Ram temple; 500 ‘Kalika patrolling units’ to ensure safety of women; filling four lakh vacancies in five years; and formulation of a policy for unemployed youth — these are some highlights of the Rajasthan government’s budget tabled in the state assembly Wednesday by Deputy CM and Finance Minister Diya Kumari.
This was the first budget of the BJP government elected last November.
Kumari also announced reduction of Value Added Tax (VAT) on CNG-PNG from 14.5 to 10 percent. This means that CNG and PNG will now be cheaper in Rajasthan.
The Rajasthan government, she added, will develop the Khatu Shyam corridor.
“The land of Rajasthan holds a different attraction for devotees coming from all over the country for its temples and places of worship. Our central government, under the leadership of the Honourable Prime Minister, instilled a new enthusiasm in the country by making Ayodhya and Kashi Vishwanath grand as per the faith of devotees. On the same lines, I announce a provision of Rs 100 crore to give grandeur to Khatu Shyamji,” she said.
The state government also announced that effective immediately, Vice Chancellors of state universities will be called ‘Kulguru’ instead of ‘Kulpati’.
“Taking steps towards improving the level of higher and technical education by re-establishing the tradition of Guru-disciple relationship it is proposed to confer the title of ‘Kulguru’ on the Vice-Chancellors of universities in the state. Also with a view to expand higher education in the state and to further strengthen the technical education system… with a view that students from deprived sections of the society can also get medical education arrangements to be made to provide education through Hindi medium,” the budget document read.
Kumari had presented a Vote on Account in the Assembly on 8 February, and this was the first comprehensive budget presented by her.
The state government has estimated that its fiscal deficit will be 3.93 percent in 2024-25, up from 3.76 percent in 2023-24. This marks a break in the trend of falling fiscal deficits since the pandemic in 2020, when the fiscal deficit spiked to 5.83 percent in FY 2020-21, before falling in FY 2021-22 (4.04 percent) and FY 2022-23 (3.76 percent).
The state expects a 11 percent growth in its revenue receipts to Rs 2.37 lakh crore in FY 2024-25 compared to the revised estimates of FY 2023-24. Within this, its own tax revenue is expected to grow 13.5 percent, while the state’s income as part of its share in central taxes is set to grow 19.6 percent.
The state government expects its revenue expenditure — which includes salaries, pensions, and subsidies — to grow by 8.4 percent.
Notably, it has budgeted a lower capital expenditure for FY 2024-25 at Rs 2.05 lakh crore, which is 1.9 percent lower than the revised estimates for FY 2023-24.
Provision to celebrate festivals with ‘full joy & devotion’
In its budget, government has also made a provision to make arrangements for festivals such as Diwali, Holi, Shivratri and Ram Navami, among others, to be celebrated “with full joy and devotion”. An amount of Rs 13 crore has been earmarked for this purpose and will be spent on overall decoration and organisation of aarti at around 600 temples.
The issue of women’s safety, which the Opposition had been raising, was a key feature of the manifesto of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the assembly elections.
In the budget, the BJP government has said that in order to create a “comfortable and safe environment for girls/women in the state, (along) with the formation of Anti-Romeo squads in each district, women helpdesks will be established in the remaining 174 police stations”.
The finance minister also announced the ‘Ladli Suraksha Yojana’ initiative, as part of which CCTV cameras will be installed in public places, girls’ hostels and Nari Nikentans on priority in every district for “effective prevention of crime and molestation of girls/women”.
“It is proposed to strengthen the Nirbhaya squads and expand them to 500 Kaalika patrolling units to prevent the atrocities against children and women in the state. In the first phase 250 Kaalika patrolling units will be formed,” she said.
The Rajasthan Budget came at a time when the ruling BJP lost 11 out of 25 seats in the Lok Sabha elections.
The government has also promised an Armed Forces Museum.
Presenting the full fiscal budget, Kumari said four lakh vacancies will also be filled in the next five years, and a policy for will be framed for job creation for the youth.
She also made an announcement of ‘one state, one election’ in Rajasthan, which means both municipal and Panchayat elections will now be held simultaneously.
Girls Sainik Schools will also be opened at divisional levels, and Anganwadi children will get milk three days a week, according to the budget document.
Kumari also announced that free tablets and free internet will be provided to around 33,000 meritorious students over the next three years, and four lakh government jobs will be given to people in five years.
“In the Vote on Account, recruitment was announced for 70,000 posts. During our tenure, 20,000 youths have been appointed. It is proposed to increase this year’s target and recruit more than one lakh people. We propose time-bound recruitment every year. We will provide employment by conducting a time-bound recruitment examination every year. Apart from this, 5,500 new posts will be created in Rajasthan Police, and 1,500 traffic volunteers will be appointed in big cities,” the finance minister said.
(Edited by Radifah Kabir)