Jharkhand govt tables Rs 1.16 trillion budget for FY'24 in Assembly

The Jharkhand government on Friday tabled a Rs 1.16 lakh crore budget for the 2023-24 fiscal in the assembly.

The budgetary estimates for FY'24 were 15 per cent higher than the previous annual financial statement.

The Hemant Soren government had presented a budget of Rs 1.01 lakh crore for the financial year 2022-23.

"I lay on the table of the House a budget of Rs 1,16,418 crore for the financial year 2023-24," Finance Minister Rameshwar Oraon said in the House.

Members of the opposition BJP and AJSU Party staged a walk-out of the assembly during the budget speech by the state finance minister, alleging that it has no substance.

Oraon announced that a programme with a cost of Rs 50 crore would be launched to encourage millet production in the state.

The budget will meet aspirations of the poor, exploited, downtrodden people and bolster all-round development in the state, he said.

Despite the formidable economic challenges, we strengthened the economy and took care of those who are not able to raise their voice. We have tried to bring forward the last-row people in the path of development he said.

The JMM-led coalition government has brought many innovative schemes that will pave the way for rapid economic growth in the state, the minister added.

"The economic growth rate of the state in the year 2019-20 was 1.1 per cent. Considering the exceptional circumstances of the Corona period, the economic growth rate was 8.2 per cent in 2021-22. In the year 2022-23, the growth rate of our state is estimated to be 7.8 per cent in comparison to the national economic growth rate of 7 per cent." Oraon said.

The minister said the government's top priority was to control and minimise the fiscal deficit.

Through better financial management, the state has succeeded in keeping the fiscal deficit below 1 per cent in the year 2021-22 and as a result, the debt-GDP ratio of the state has improved, the minister claimed.

The state has achieved a steady increase in its revenue earnings (tax and non-tax revenue), Oraon said.

The total revenue income in 2019-20 was Rs 25,521.43 crore which increased to Rs 31,320.36 crore in 2021-22 and is estimated to be Rs 38,612.84 crore in 2022-23, he said.

The minister also claimed that there has been a steady reduction in establishment expenditure in the last three years while there is an increase in plan outlay.

"If the ratio of establishment and plan expenditure is seen in the total outlay, it was 47:53 in the year 2019-20 and is estimated to be 39:61 in 2023-24," he said, adding, this indicated that the present government is giving more priority to the development works.

The minister said the state government has emphasised on increasing the capital outlay gradually.

In the year 2021-22, it was Rs 10,789 crore while the same has been envisaged at Rs 25,317 crore in 2023-24," he said.

The minister also mentioned that Rs 84,676 crore was earmarked for revenue expenditure in 2023-24 and Rs 31,742 crore was proposed under capital expenditure.

Fiscal deficit is estimated at Rs 11,674.57 crore, which is 2.76 per cent of the gross state domestic product, he added.