Maha Budget: Ahead of Assembly polls, govt announces freebies & sops worth over Rs 1 lakh crore

Months before the Assembly elections, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who also holds the finance and planning portfolios, presented a full budget for 2024-25 in the state Assembly on Friday with freebies and sops worth over Rs 1 lakh crore.

Pawar announced the 'Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana' with a monthly aid of Rs 1,500 to eligible women between 21 and 60 years of age with an annual outgo of Rs 46,600 crore.

In a bid to lure the farmers of the state, who are in distress due to damage to crops and a dip in prices of agricultural produce, the government announced the 'Mukhya Mantri Baliraja Vij Savlat  Yojana' to provide free electricity for running agricultural pumps of up to 7.5 horsepower capacity. This will benefit 44.06 lakh farmers with an annual subsidy of Rs 14,761 crore.

The government also proposed a Rs 5 per litre subsidy for dairy farmers.

Tabling the budget, Pawar announced the 'Mukhyamantri Annapurna Yojana' wherein three gas cylinders will be given for free per household each year. The scheme will benefit 52,16,412 families.

The government will also provide financial assistance to 10,000 women from 17 cities to buy Pink E-rickshaws with a provision of Rs 80 crore.

A scheme for solarisation of irrigation to achieve the goal of clean and green energy at the cost of Rs 4,200 crore was also announced.

Under the 'Shubhmangal Samuhik Nondanikrut Vivah' (mass marriages), the government increased the subsidy to the beneficiary girls to Rs 25,000 from Rs 10,000.

Further, the government proposed free higher education for girls whereby 100 per cent reimbursement of education and examination fees will be made to Other Backward Classes and economically weaker sections with an annual family income of Rs 8 lakh. This will benefit 2,05,499 girls with an annual financial outlay of Rs 2,000 crore.

The government also proposed the 'Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Startup Yojana' for women entrepreneurs and repayment of interest on loans up to Rs 15 lakh to small women entrepreneurs in the tourism sector under the 'Aai Yojana'. This is expected to create 10,000 jobs.

A slew of sops were also announced for the youth in the budget.

Under the 'Mukhya Mantri Yuva Karyaprashikshan Yojana' (training programme), 10 lakh youth will be given an annual stipend of up to Rs 10,000 per month. The expenditure for this scheme will be around Rs 10,000 crore annually.

Also, 50,000 youth will be imparted training each year to disseminate information about the government's schemes to the people.

The government also proposed the 'Applied Knowledge and Skill Development for Human Development', a World Bank-assisted project costing Rs 2,307 crore wherein upgradation of 500 industrial training institutes and strengthening of various other institutions will be undertaken.

For students from minority communities, a scholarship scheme for foreign education will be implemented, the government announced.

Under the 'Dnyanjyoti Savitribai Phule Aadhar Yojana', the government has proposed an increase in the accommodation allowance of the students for higher education to Rs 60,000 from the present Rs 38,000, which will benefit students from Other Backward Classes, Vimukta Jati and Nomadic Tribes, and Special Backward Classes.

Pawar estimated a revenue deficit of Rs 20,051 crore and a fiscal deficit of Rs 1,10,355 crore by the end of 2024-25, besides proposing an outlay of Rs s 6,12,293 crore with revenue receipts of Rs 4,99,463 crore and revenue expenditure of Rs 5,19,514 crore.

An outlay of Rs 18,165 crore has been proposed under the 'District Annual Plan' for the year 2024- 25, which is 20 per cent more than the previous year.

Further, an outlay of Rs.1.92 Lakh crore has been proposed under the scheme expenditure in the 'Annual Plan' for 2024-25. This includes an outlay of Rs 15,893 crore for the 'Scheduled Caste Plan' and Rs 15,360 crore for the 'Tribal Development Sub Plan'.

(With inputs from IANS)