In the first budget of the third term of the Modi government, special care has been taken of Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. Andhra Pradesh has got a gift of 15 thousand crores and Bihar has got 60 thousand crores.
The opposition is protesting against the special attention given to Andhra and Bihar in the budget. The opposition has accused the central government of discriminating against other states. India Block leaders also protested in the Parliament premises regarding this. India Block claims that the states in which there are opposition governments have been ignored in the budget.
Congress President and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said in Parliament that in the budget presented yesterday, no one got anything except two states.
The opposition has also boycotted the meeting of the NITI Aayog to be held on July 27 under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in protest against the budget. The Chief Ministers of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Jharkhand have accused the government of ignoring the state.
Such allegations are being made because Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP and Nitish Kumar’s JDU are important allies in the NDA government at the Centre. TDP has 16 MPs and JDU has 12 MPs in the Lok Sabha.
On the other hand, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman says that there has been no discrimination against anyone in the budget. On the allegations of not mentioning the states in the budget speech, Nirmala Sitharaman said that if the name of a state has not been mentioned in the budget speech, it does not mean that it has not been covered.
In such a situation, let us know what Bihar and Andhra Pradesh have got in this budget? And what provision has been made in the budget for the rest of the states?
What did Bihar get?
In the budget of 2024-25, about Rs 59 thousand crore has been announced for Bihar. Patna-Purnia Expressway and Buxar-Bhagalpur Expressway will be built at a cost of Rs 26 thousand crore. Road projects of Bodh Gaya, Rajgir, Vaishali and Darbhanga will also be completed from this. Apart from these, a two-lane bridge will also be built on the river Ganga in Buxar, in which the central government will help.
Along with this, power projects will also be started at a cost of Rs 21,400 crore, which includes building a new 2,400 MW power plant in Pirpainti. Apart from this, Rs 11,500 crore will be given to deal with floods.
Apart from all this, the Centre will also help in developing the industrial centre in Gaya in the middle of the industrial corridor which is being built between Amritsar and Kolkata.
Not only this, new airports, medical colleges and sports infrastructure will be expanded in Bihar. Vishnupad Temple of Gaya and Mahabodhi Temple of Bodh Gaya will be developed. Vishnupad Temple Corridor and Mahabodhi Temple Corridor will be built on the lines of Kashi Vishwanath Temple Corridor. Nalanda University will also be developed as a tourist spot.
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What did Andhra Pradesh get?
The central government has made a provision of Rs 15 thousand crores for Andhra Pradesh in the budget. This amount will be given to Andhra to build a new capital. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is making Amaravati the new capital.
While presenting the budget, Nirmala Sitharaman had said that Andhra’s Polavaran irrigation project will also be completed soon.
Funds will be provided for water, electricity, railways and roads in the Koppathi area in the Visakhapatnam-Chennai Economic Corridor and the Orvakal area in the Hyderabad-Bengaluru Economic Corridor. Grants will also be given for backward areas of Rayalaseema, Prakasam and North Coastal Andhra.
So what did the rest of the states get?
No special announcement has been made for the rest of the states. The Finance Minister said that a new scheme named ‘Purvodaya’ will be started. Under this scheme, the eastern region of the country will be developed by including Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
Apart from these, flood affected states are also mentioned. Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Centre will help in compensating the losses caused by floods in Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim. The Centre will also help in the ongoing projects to deal with floods in Assam.
The central government has given a budget of Rs 42,277.77 crore to Jammu and Kashmir. This is 1.2% more than the previous budget. Apart from Rs 42,277 crore, the central government has also kept Rs 9,789.42 crore for Jammu and Kashmir Police.
Also read: Budget 2024: 15 thousand for those getting their first job, 1 crore house, tax exemption.. Understand what came out of Nirmala’s box?
What else have the other states got?
According to the budget document, a total of Rs 23,48,980 crore will be transferred to the state governments and union territories. This amount is about 12 percent more than in 2023-24.
Out of this Rs 23.38 lakh crore, Rs 12.47 lakh crore will be received as the states’ share in central taxes and duties. Whereas, the remaining Rs 11.01 lakh crore will be given as grant.
According to the recommendations of the Finance Commission, the states and union territories should have a 41% share in the Centre’s income from taxes and duties. That is, if the central government has earned Rs 100 from taxes and duties, then Rs 41 of that will go to all the states and union territories.
According to the budget document, the central government has earned more than Rs 38.40 lakh crore from taxes and duties in 2024-25. Out of this, the Center will transfer Rs 12.47 lakh crore i.e. 32% to the state governments and union territories. That is, less than what is decided.
This time Uttar Pradesh will get the highest tax. The central government will give UP a share of more than Rs 2.23 lakh crore. Meanwhile, Bihar will get Rs 1.25 lakh crore and Andhra Pradesh will get Rs 50 thousand crore.
Apart from all this, the central government will also give Rs 1.50 lakh crore to the state governments for spending on infrastructure.