Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu presents Rs 993-cr deficit budget

Our Correspondent

ITANAGAR: Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein on Wednesday presented an Rs 993.08 crore deficit budget for 2024-25, focusing on three pillars - healthy human resource, robust infrastructure and vibrant economy - centered on the enabling ecosystem of good governance and a secure environment.

Presenting the first budget of the Pema-3 government, Mein, who also holds the Finance, Planning and Investment portfolios, in his address informed that the budget estimate for 2024-25 is pegged at Rs 35,840.79 crore, which is a 20.85 per cent increase over the budget estimate of 2023-24.

The deputy chief minister added that the share of central taxes for 2024-25 budget has been estimated at Rs 21,431.59 crore, an increase of 19.42 per cent over the budget estimate of 2023-24.

The state own resources for budget estimate 2024-25 has been estimated at Rs 4,016.71 crore, an increase of 17.35 per cent over the budget estimate of 2023-24, he added.

“Our vision is people-centric and progressive. Through ‘Modi ki Guarantee,’ we are committed to fulfill the aspirations of every person, especially our youth, women and farmers. Staying on this trajectory, by the time we complete the third term in government, there should be no development gaps in the state. In our current tenure, we shall be guided by the transformative idea of ‘Viksit Bharat, Viksit Arunachal’ as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he said.

 “Be it our ‘aatma nirbhar’ schemes or our saturation approach to facilitate all our farmers, we are continuously aiming for ‘productivity and resilience in agriculture.’ Our efforts to facilitate our youth, indigenous population, women and the vulnerable groups and enhancement of social security nets are a testament to our resolve for ‘inclusive human resource development and social justice’,” Mein said.

 “Together, these priorities align with our budget pillar of ‘Healthy Human Resource’,” he said.

“Towards our next pillar of ‘Vibrant Economy’, our focus on industrialization and skill development mirrors the union budget priorities on ‘manufacturing and services’ and ‘employment and skilling.’ Further, we are fostering a strong start-up ecosystem with this year’s focus on establishing incubation hubs at higher education institutes,” the deputy chief minister disclosed.

 “With respect to our third budget pillar on ‘Robust Infrastructure’ - coupled with our ‘Smart Urbanization’ strategies - we have managed to capture and reflect the union budget priorities on ‘infrastructure’ and ‘urban development’. In addition, the state’s hydropower initiatives can be some of the biggest contributions to the country’s ‘energy security’,” Mein said.

The Finance Minister added that with consistent achievements on governance reforms and prudent financial management, and with further emphasis on youth in this year’s budget, the government has taken a strong resolve to bring in the “Next Generation Reforms” for the development of the state.

Mein said that to further underscore government’s commitment and gratitude for the significant role the youth are playing in the development of the nation and the state, the government has declared 2024-25 as the “Year of Youth.”

“The Year of Youth is an acknowledgement and tribute towards the role and responsibility our youth, our Amrit Peedhi, has in building a Viksit Bharat and a Viksit Arunachal,” he said.

Mein added that an allocation of minimum Rs 100 crore towards various activities for the empowerment and fulfilling aspirations of our youth has been made which include, a holistic and inclusive approach across various sectors focusing on health, education, skill upgradation, tourism, sports etc. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pema Khandu has expressed satisfaction over the Budget 2024-25.

Also Read: Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu hails Union budget (sentinelassam.com)

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