The Telangana Congress administration has set aside Rs 53,196 crore to meet its six "guarantees" election pledge

The Telangana Congress administration has set aside Rs 53,196 crore to meet its six "guarantees" election pledge

Among the six electoral "guarantees" offered by the Congress are monthly support for women amounting to Rs 2,500 and cooking gas cylinders at Rs 500 for qualifying households.

Vikramarka said that the state had been bankrupted by the previous BRS administration and that the load of unforeseen debt was becoming difficult to manage.

Vote on Account, the first budget submitted by the Telangana Congress administration, included Rs 53,196 crore for the fulfillment of its six electoral "guarantees," bringing the total spending to Rs 2,75,891 crore.

Presenting the budget to the Assembly, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said, "The proposal is to fulfill the Congress government's objective to establish 'Indiramma Rajyam' (the former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's welfare rule) in Telangana."

Vikramarka said that the state had been bankrupted by the previous BRS administration and that the load of unforeseen debt was becoming difficult to manage.

He said, "But we will support those who have planned development goals."

We have allocated Rs 53,196 crore in current budget to carry out these initiatives. After a thorough evaluation of the projects, more money would be provided if needed, according to Vikramarka.

Among the six electoral "guarantees" offered by the Congress are monthly support for women amounting to Rs 2,500 and cooking gas cylinders at Rs 500 for qualifying households.

The Congress administration implemented free transportation for women on state-run RTC buses shortly after taking office in December 2023, making this one of the six promises.

The interim budget for 2024–25 provides significant funding for a number of areas, including agriculture (19,746 crore), irrigation (28,024 crore), panchayat raj and rural development (40,080 crore), municipal administration (11,692 crore), as well as education (21,389 crore). Proposals totaling Rs. 11,500 crore have been made. for the health and medical fields.

The proposed budget for the welfare of SC, ST, minority, and backward classes is Rs 21,874 crore, Rs 13,313 crore, Rs 2,262 crore, and Rs 8,000 crore, accordingly.

The Congress administration intends to reduce unnecessary spending in daily government operations and expenditure on unsuitable infrastructure assets, according to Vikramarka, who oversees the finance ministry.

The Finance Minister said, "Our budget is focused on the growth in general, progress, and happiness of the people."

Additional assurances include 'Rythu Bharosa' payments of Rs 15,000 per acre to farmers and renters, 'Griha Jyoti' free electricity for 200 units each house, and 'Indiramma Indlu' land and home sites for those without a dwelling. There were five lakh rupees connected. 'Yuva VikasamSocial security monthly pension of Rs 5 lakh for students under 'Cheyutha' programme as well as Rs 4,000 under 'Cheyutha' scheme.

In his speech to the Legislature on February 8, the first day of the budget session, Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan said that the state administration will carry out two further electoral pledges: 200 units of free power and LPG cylinders for the impoverished, priced at Rs 500.

The whole budgetary spending is broken down as follows: Rs 2,01,177.50 crore for income; Rs 29,669.14 crore for capital; Rs 28,042.68 crore for loans and advances; and Rs 17,001.36 crore for capital distribution.

It was a little disheartening, according to Vikramarka, for the administration to offer its first budget as a vote-on-account budget.

However, on February 1, 2024, the central government will offer the budget for the vote on account. Our administration knows exactly how it wants to raise money for our projects and goals. We are clear that, as part of that strategy, we must get the most money possible from the federal government for its many programs," the speaker said.

According to him, the state government won't be able to accurately project how much money can be sent to it until the central government presents the whole budget.

As a result, the state administration has chosen to unveil the whole budget after the customary budget presentation by the federal government.

According to Vikramarka, the state's economic situation is dire.

Even our wealthy state has descended into poverty as a result of the wrongdoings of its former leadership. He remarked, "The state's economy has suffered huge losses."

He said that funds meant for the state's infrastructure development had been diverted by the previous administration to non-essential projects.

According to him, Telangana's Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) increased from Rs 13,02,371 crore in 2022–2023 to Rs 14,49,708 crore in the fiscal year 2023–2024, at current rates.

He did, however, note that throughout the same time frame, the economic growth rate decreased from 14.7% to 11.3%.

On the other hand, the growth rate dropped dramatically to 8.9 percent at the national level from 16.1%. According to Vikramarka, this led to Telangana's state growth rate being 2.4 percentage points greater than India's GDP growth rate.

Based on current pricing, the estimated per capita income for 2023–2024 is Rs 3,43,297. He said that while the growth rate has slowed, it was Rs 3,09,912 last year.

The accounts for 2022–2023 show that there is a fiscal deficit of Rs 32,557 crore, income surplus of Rs 5,944 crore, and expenditure of Rs 2,04,523 crore.

According to the updated projections for 2023–2024, the total expected expenditure is Rs 2,24,625 crore, of which Rs 1,69,141 crore is allocated for revenue expenditure, Rs 24,178 crore is allocated for capital expenditure, Rs 9,031 crore is allocated for revenue surplus, and Rs 33,786 crore is allocated for fiscal deficit.

In 2014, Vikramarka claimed that it is his and his colleagues' responsibility to congratulate the UPA administration of 2009–14, UPA chairwoman Sonia Gandhi, and then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on behalf of the four crore people of Telangana, for establishing a distinct state.

He said, "It is also our duty to honor the martyrs who gave their lives in order to establish the state."

An additional initiative launched by the Congress government is a Rs 10 lakh health program for the underprivileged.