Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac presented the 2020-21 budget of the Pinarayi Vijayan led-LDF government on Friday.
Here are the key points from the Minister’s budget presentation at the Kerala Assembly on Friday.
- Budget proposes a tax hike of 2% on new two wheelers above ₹2 lakhs and cars above ₹15 lakhs
- 12-point package to improve GST collection
- Fair price of land hiked by 10%, hike goes up to 30% for land near big projects
- Outlay for local bodies peged at ₹12,724 crore
- ₹2,000 crore for Life Mission to provide housing for the needy
- ₹4,384 allocation for water supply projects
- Welfare pensions hiked by ₹100
- ₹1,000 crore set aside for construction and improvement of rural roads
- ₹1,000 crore for coastal development package
- 2.5 lakh water connections for houses in 2020- 21
- 1,00,000 houses to be constructed
- 500 MW of power to be generated
- ₹900 crore set aside for welfare of non-resident Malayalis
- ₹40 crore outlay for royalty to paddy farmers
- IT workforce in Kerala to go up from one lakh to 1,85,000
- Package for start-ups: Loan without collateral security for start-ups executing government orders, up to ₹1 crore assistance for development of prototypes, stamp duty rationalisation
- Ban on sale of filament bulbs, CFL from November 2020
- 585 km west coast canal from Bekal to Kovalam to be commissioned in 2020
- ₹6,000 crore construction works to be taken up in Kochi
- Kochi Metro to implement Integrated Water Transport Project
- To boost tourism sector, ₹20 crore outlay for boat league. Muziris heritage project to be commissioned in 2020, 12 museums in Alappuzha to receive facelift, and spice-route and Malabar tourism to be promoted.
- Kerala State Drugs and Pharmaceuticals to begin production of anti-cancer drugs and drugs for post-organ transplant. An Oncology Park to be set up.
- 25,000 ponds to be cleaned and septage treatment plants to be established under Clean Kerala project
- Rain shelters to be installed for horticulture promotion. One crore fruit trees to be planted, and a Uber-type aggregator service for vegetable and fruit distribution
- 1,000 fair price hotels to be set up by the Kudumbasree Mission to provide lunch at ₹25 per plate
- ₹600 crore outlay for Kudumbasree Mission
- ₹2,000 crore set aside for Wayanad package/bamboo and tree planting drive for carbon sequestration, value addition of crops
- ₹1,000 crore for Idukki package/spice park and organic farming initiatives. An airstrip to be constructed in Idukki.
- ₹2,400 crore set aside for Kuttanad package
- 1,000 new teacher posts to be created in Higher Education sector