BT Online New Delhi Last Updated: July 12, 2017 | 09:44 IST
The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday presented its first Budget for the state. CM Yogi Adityanath's Rs 3,84,659 crore maiden Budget was 11 per cent more than the previous Akhilesh Yadav's government.
The Budget allotted Rs 36,000 crore to the farm loans waiver and Rs 55,781 crore for new schemes. However, the UP government also had discontinued funds for some welfare and freebie schemes launched by the Samajwadi government.
Presented by Finance Minister Rajesh Agarwal, the Budget showed a deficit of Rs 7,468 crore for the year 2017-2018 after deduction of the total expenditure from receipts of the consolidated fund.
Agarwal said the focus is on the poor, unemployed and farmers. The government has set a target of 10 per cent growth rate in this budget.
Education department has been awarded the biggest allocation of Rs 66,599 crore followed by Rs 15,760 crore for construction of roads and Rs 6,123 crore for irrigation. Much focus was laid on allocating funds for Central schemes launched by PM Modi.
Wif-Fi would be provided in all government colleges and universities with Rs 50 crore.
Adityanath said the Budget is dedicated to "village, poor, farmer and women", adding that over Rs 240 crore has been set aside for development and promotion of "cultural heritage" and religious tourism.
