BHUBANESWAR: The
state government is likely to
offer sops as well as announce its own
food security act in the
annual budget for the 2018-19 fiscal, likely to be the last one ahead of next year's assembly election.
"The state government has been planning to announce a number of new schemes keeping the middle-class, farmers and women in mind in the upcoming budget," an official source said.
A pre-budget consultation meeting is scheduled for Wednesday in which former finance ministers, budget experts and policy makers are likely to participate and discuss various aspects of the annual budget.
"We have been continuously focusing on growth of the agriculture sector and building infrastructure in the previous budgets. We will continue to do so," said finance minister Shashi Bhusan Behera adding that the annual budget is expected be presented in the third week of February, after the presentation of the
Union Budget.
While a team of officials from the finance and planning and convergence department are on the job of giving shape to the budget, sources said the government may announce its own food security act in the forthcoming budget, a promise it had made in the BJD's election manifesto ahead of the 2014 assembly election.
"The scheme would cover those who have been excluded under the National Food Security Act," said an official requesting anonymity.
In sync with its effort to promote Odia language, there is likely to be a separate budget provision for the purpose. The state government had recently announced a series of measures including waiving off tuition fees for students pursuing Odia in graduation and post-graduation levels in government colleges and universities.
