As the Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday tabled the state’s budget for the financial year 2023-2024, it was a clear reflection of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s growing confidence in success of his policies and initiatives over the past six years.
The budget document tabled by finance minister Suresh Khanna reflects ‘Yogi-Nomics’, which aspires to make the state a 1-trillion-dollar economy over the next four years.
The second budget of the Yogi 2.0 government has the imprint of his confidence as an administrator of India’s most populous state since 2017. The politician, with a staunch Hindutva image, has over the years gained in terms of governance and belief in his approach for UP’s economic transformation and image makeover.
For Adityanath, the new budget with a total size of more than Rs 6.9 lakh crore also comes at a time when his government has been euphoric about the grand success of the recently concluded global investors’ summit. The government has claimed that memoranda of understanding (MoU) worth more than Rs 33 lakh crore have been inked during the summit. The optimism was clearly reflected in Khanna’s budget speech.
‘LONG-TERM VISION’
Adityanath’s long-term vision for industry and infrastructure development in the state took centrestage in the budget. A major focus is strengthening road and air connectivity. Sizeable fund allocation for expressways, airports and industrial corridors has also been proposed.
The road for CM Adityanath has not been easy so far. In 2017, when he first took charge as the chief minister, the state was marred by a negative perception around law and order and growth momentum inertia. The budget size then was around Rs 2 lakh crore and revenue tax share in the total budget stood around 33%.
The government now claims that revenue tax share in the total budget has gone up to more than 44% and stands at around Rs 2.20 lakh crore. This, despite no new taxes being levied by the state.
Khanna, in his speech, claimed that this has been achieved through articulate financial planning, aimed at reducing wasteful expenditures, curbing corruption and adopting better financial discipline. The over expenses through loans stand at 14%, compared to more than 20% in 2016-17.
‘VIKAS PURUSH’
The governance model, focused on curbing financial misuse and wasteful expenditures, is reflected in Adityanath’s image as an honest administrator. The fact that more than six years of Yogi rule, despite diverse political controversies, has not seen any serious charge of corruption is proof of this new approach.
Being able to set in motion the new style of governance, Adityanath clearly aspires to cement his image as ‘Vikas Purush’ over the next few years. The budget tabled on Wednesday is a push in that direction.
What Yogi Adityanath probably aspires is to build on this new narrative of growth and development in the state. The increase in expenditure for MSME, infrastructure development, skill enhancement and medical healthcare and education sector signal this approach.
Confident of an economic turnaround for the state, the government has also been generous in making provisions for different sections of society. Provisions of around Rs 54,000 crore have been announced for more than 100 promises made in the BJP’s 2022 election ‘sankalp patra’.
In the year leading to the general election in 2024, the government has doled out funds for all, including farmers, women, girls, senior citizens and the differently abled. In order to attract the youths, Rs 3,600 crore have been allocated for providing smartphones and tablets to students.
A big push has also been given to promoting startups in different sectors, ranging from agriculture to food processing. Around Rs 180 crore has been allocated for such schemes.
The government eyes long-term employment opportunities through industrial and infrastructure growth. Creating 40,000 new job opportunities in the textile sector and 20,000 in the tourism sector over the next few years are on the agenda. The concept of ‘unity malls’ in every district to promote the ODOP scheme has also been adopted. It is expected to give a big boost to local industries and in turn create new employment opportunities.
The Yogi government also aims to apprentice around 31,000 youths with different industries over the next one year. The government claims that the unemployment rate in the state is now at 4%, compared to around 17% in 2016.
SCHEMES FOR WOMEN
Apart from youth, ‘YogiNomics’ also focuses on women. In the election year, a sizable budgetary provision has been made for women-centric schemes. More than Rs 4,000 crore have been allocated for financial assistance to destitute women under the widow pension scheme.
The Kanya Sumangla Yojna for poor girlchild has got a budget allocation of more than Rs 1,000 crore. While Rs 600 crore has been sanctioned for marriage of adult poor girls from all sections of society, a Rs 160-crore special provision has been made marriage of girls from poor OBC families.
The government has announced two free Ujjwala cylinders, one each on Holi and Diwali to the beneficiaries of the scheme with an allocation of Rs 3,000 crore.
Talking to the media post presentation of the budget, the confident UP CM gave an insight into his economic vision. He said, “The budget will be the foundation stone for the state’s all-round growth and economic development.”
Citing the generous allotment of funds for completion of under-construction expressways and airports and commencing new expressway projects, Yogi further said that “the budget will help cement Uttar Pradesh’s role as the growth engine of the nation’s economy”.
The budget refrains from sheer populism, focusing on the economic vision, helping cement the CM’s as a development and growth oriented leader with his brand of Hindutva.
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