Synopsis
Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema presented a Rs 1.96 lakh crore budget for 2023-24 on Friday. The budget has a focus on agriculture, education, and health segments, with total budget size increased by 26% to Rs 1,96,462 crore. The budget is the first full budget of the AAP government. After coming to power in March 2022, the AAP government first passed a vote-on account on March.
Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema presented a Rs 1.96-lakh-crore state budget for 2023-24 in the assembly here on Friday which focussed primarily on agriculture, education and health sectors. Cheema announced various new schemes such as a market price risk mitigation scheme for the horticulture sector, solarisation of agriculture pumps, a young entrepreneur scheme and two coaching initiatives for students in the first full budget of the AAP government.
Speaking in the Assembly, Harpal Singh Cheema said education, health, and agriculture are among the priority sectors for the government.
Total budget size has been increased by 26 per cent to Rs 1,96,462 crore for 2023-24 over the previous year, the state finance minister said.
It was the first full budget of the AAP government. After coming to power in March 2022, the AAP government first passed a vote-on account on March 22 and then it presented its budget in June for the remaining part of the year.
Opposition Congress MLAs staged a walkout from the House while FM was reading out the budget speech after the Speaker did not allow Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring to raise a point of order.
During his speech, the state finance minister said the AAP government is working to provide clean, effective and efficient governance and he targeted the previous regimes of leaving the state in a financial mess.
He also targeted the Centre, accusing it of turning a deaf ear to the long pending legitimate demands.
The Finance Minister proposed an allocation of Rs 13,888 crore for the agriculture and allied sector, up by 20 per cent over the previous budget. The government will soon come out with a new agriculture policy for which a committee of experts has been formed, he said.
A sum of Rs 1,000 crore has been allocated for crop diversification. A revolving fund for Basmati crop purchase has also been set up, he said.
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