Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has called the UP annual budget of 2021-22 as an all-inclusive budget representing sentiments of 24 crore people of the state.
He said the budget was a true representation of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas and Sabka Vishwas and would become a medium to give new hope, new energy and new possibilities of development in the state during the Covid period.
Addressing a press conference after the budget was tabled in the state assembly by Finance Minister Suresh Khanna; the chief minister said the first budget of the Bharatiya Janata Party government of 2017-18 was farmer-oriented budget, the 2018-19 budget focused on industrial development, the 2019-20 budget focused on women welfare, the 2020-21 budget on youth welfare and entrepreneurship development and the latest 2021-22 budget was all-inclusive with focus on empowerment of the different communities and deprived sections of society.
The chief minister congratulated the finance minister and his entire team for creating a new history by presenting the first-ever paperless budget.
He said the budget reaffirmed the resolve of the government to provide tap water in each household, electricity supply to every house, water to every farm and work to every hand.
"Not only this, efforts like connecting rural areas with banking facilities through village secretariat, common service centre, banking correspondent Sakhi in every village, employing women in community toilets, will give a new dimension to women empowerment and self-reliance and making villages digital," he said.
Referring to the importance of financial disciplines due to shortfall in revenue collection during the Covid period, the chief minister said that the budget would expedite the efforts towards all-inclusive and integrated development of various sections while realising the concept of 'Ease of Living' and 'Self-reliant Uttar Pradesh' on the ground.
He said the budget size of 2021-22 was 7.3 per cent more than the budget of 2020-21 fiscal. He said despite the shortfall in revenue collection due to the Covid pandemic, the fiscal deficit was estimated to be 4.1 per cent under FRBM (fiscal responsibility and budget management) Act.
He said though the Centre had amended the FRBM Act and the state government had the fiscal space to increase the deficit up to 4.5 per cent of the GSDP, it was kept below that level.
Yogi lauded the provision for including farmers' families and 'bataidar' (sharecropper) in the Kisan Accident Insurance Scheme. Similarly, he said, it provided social security to about one crore labourers in the unorganised sector. He said each worker of the unorganised sector would be registered and provided a social security cover of Rs 2 lakh.
Yogi Adityanath said the Mukhyamantri Saksham Suposhan Yojana for anemic children, establishment of Sainik Schools and state universities in each division, constructing medical colleges under the P-PP Model in unserved districts, setting up of law university in Prayagraj, extension of Jal Jeevan Mission to all the districts, development of road connectivity in rural areas, new policies in the aviation sector, including international airports in Ayodhya and Kushinagar, development of destitute 'gauvansh' in collaboration with NGOs at panchayat level and proposal for establishment of tribal museum in Lucknow, were the most thoughtful schemes which promised to take the state to new heights.
The chief minister also referred to the enthusiasm of the youth and parents towards the newly-launched Chief Minister Abhyudaya Yojana for the youth appearing in competitive examinations like civil services, NEET, JEE.
He termed the proposal to provide tablets to youths under the scheme as very useful and said that a large number of youth would be benefited from it.
