- Education receives a significant boost with a Rs 55,114 crore allocation
- Under the newly proposed ‘Namo Lakshmi’ scheme, girls studying in government, aided and private schools from Classes 9 to 12 will be given Rs 50,000 over the four years of their education
- To encourage students from underprivileged backgrounds to pursue science, the “Namo Saraswati Scheme” offers financial assistance of Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000 for students opting for science stream in 11th and 12th standard
- Seven municipalities – Navsari, Gandhidham, Morbi, Vapi, Anand, Mehsana and Surendranagar-Wadhwan – will be upgraded into municipal corporations
- Plans Fintech Hub, Semiconductor School & Manufacturing hub for space sector in 2024-25 budget
- The government will be constructing a Rs 50 crore Gujarat Yatri Niwas in Ayodhya
NE NEWS SERVICE
GANDHINAGAR, FEB 2
With the Lok Sabha polls around, the BJP-ruled Gujarat government on Friday presented a Rs 3.32 lakh crore budget that imposed no new taxes with a new ‘GYAN’ -‘Garib’ (the poor), ‘Yuva’ (youth), ‘Annadata’ (farmer) and ‘Nari Shakti’ (women power).
અમારી સરકાર માટે સુશાસન એટલે રામ રાજ્ય !
नहीं दरिद्र कोउ, दुःखी न दीना,
नहीं कोउ अबुध, न लच्छन हिना। #ViksitGujaratBudget pic.twitter.com/3j16X6Cgdz— Kanu Desai (मोदी का परिवार) (@KanuDesai180) February 2, 2024
Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai presented the budget for 2024-25 in the Assembly here on the second day of the Budget Session.
Desai informed the House that the budget outlay of Rs 3,32,465 crore for 2024-25 indicates an increase of Rs 31,444 crore, or 10.44 per cent, over the previous fiscal.
સ્ત્રી-શક્તિનું સામર્થ્ય,
ગુજરાતની અસ્મિતાને અર્ઘ્ય !ગુજરાતના ઇતિહાસનું સૌથી મોટુ અને ઐતિહાસિક બજેટ બહાર પાડવા અને મહિલા અને બાળ વિકાસ વિભાગ માટે ₹6,885 કરોડ રૂપિયા ફાળવવા બદલ મહિલા ધારાસભ્યો સાથે મળીને માનનીય નાણામંત્રી શ્રી @KanuDesai180 જીનો આભાર માન્યો અને અભિનંદન પાઠવ્યા. pic.twitter.com/UpZHKq5xIA
— MLA – DARSHNA VAGHELA (Modi Ka Parivar) (@MLA_Darshna) February 2, 2024
The state government presented the budget with an estimated surplus of 146.72 crore and proposed no new taxes.
In his budgetary address, Desai announced a host of schemes and projects and said the state government kept GYAN – ‘Garib’ (the poor), ‘Yuva’ (youth), ‘Annadata’ (farmer) and ‘Nari Shakti’ (women power) – at the core while preparing the budget.
ગુજરાતની પ્રગતિને વધુ ગતિ આપનારું અને દરેક વર્ગને આવરી લેતું સર્વાંગી વિકાસ માટેના બજેટ બદલ આદરણીય પ્રધાનમંત્રી શ્રી @narendramodi જી, માનનીય મુખ્યમંત્રી શ્રી @Bhupendrapbjp અને નાણામંત્રી શ્રી @KanuDesai180 નો ખુબ ખુબ આભાર વ્યક્ત કરું છું.#ViksitGujaratBudget pic.twitter.com/hChqpBPRdK
— Darshana Jardosh (मोदी का परिवार) (@DarshanaJardosh) February 2, 2024
Under the newly proposed ‘Namo Lakshmi’ scheme, girls studying in government, aided and private schools from Classes 9 to 12 will be given Rs 50,000 over the four years of their education. A provision of Rs 1,250 crore has been made in the budget for this programme.
Under the ‘Namo Shri’ scheme, pregnant women belonging to backward and poor sections will be provided assistance of Rs 12,000 and a provision of Rs 750 crore has been made in the budget.
The government has said it will be constructing a ₹50 crore Gujarat Yatri Niwas in Ayodhya.
The finance minister also announced the conversion of seven municipalities – Navsari, Gandhidham, Morbi, Vapi, Anand, Mehsana and Surendranagar-Wadhwan – into municipal corporations.
He also announced the ‘Jan Rakshak’ scheme wherein all the emergency services, including police and fire brigade, can be accessed centrally by dialling 112. Additionally, the “Jan Rakshak Scheme” introduces 1,100 new vehicles equipped with advanced technology to strengthen the emergency response system.
The budget allocates Rs 187 crore for adding 2,500 new buses to the State Transport Corporation (GSRTC), significantly enhancing public transportation accessibility.
Recognizing the importance of social welfare, the budget commits Rs 6,193 crore to various initiatives. Notably, the “Sant Surdas Yojana,” which provides financial assistance to senior citizens, will be extended to individuals without BPL cards, with a dedicated allocation of Rs 87 crore. Additionally, Rs 4,374 crore is earmarked for tribal development and Rs 2,659 crore for skill development and employment generation.
Education receives a significant boost with a Rs 55,114 crore allocation. To improve accessibility, the budget extends transportation facilities to one lakh students of 9th to 12th standard. Furthermore, six new ITIs will be converted into “Mega ITIs,” offering advanced skill training to youth.
To encourage students from underprivileged backgrounds to pursue science, the “Namo Saraswati Scheme” offers financial assistance of Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000 for students opting for science stream in 11th and 12th standard, respectively.
In line with Gujarat’s vision of becoming a technology hub, the budget proposes a Rs 52 crore Fintech hub in GIFT city and allocates Rs 33 crore for establishing a “School of Semiconductor” in collaboration with Micron. These initiatives aim to foster innovation and attract talent in the technology sector.
The state budget also provides for the extension of the existing riverfront on Sabarmati till GIFT-City (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City) in Gandhinagar in Phases 4 and 5.
While no new taxes were proposed, the state government has proposed to give citizens a relief of Rs 754 crore by easing some provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act and stamp duty.
