N Rangasamy, Chief Minister (CM) of the Union Territory (UT) of Puducherry, who also holds the finance portfolio, presented the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government’s Rs. 11,600 crore budget for the fiscal year 2023-24 (FY24) in the Territorial Assembly.
- The CM noted that, out of the Rs. 11,600 crore budget, the UT’s own resources are Rs. 6,154.54 crore, Normal Union Government assistance, including the Disaster fund, is Rs. 3,117.77 crores, and Rs. 620 crores are for Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS).
- The remaining Rs. 1,707.69 crores would be raised through open market borrowing and loans from Central Financial Institutions (CFIs).
Various Announcements Made in The FY24 Budget
i.To encourage farmers to cultivate millets, a millets cultivation scheme is proposed to be implemented during the International Year of Millets 2023.
ii.Water supply augmentation will be carried out at a cost of Rs. 28.27 crore under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) scheme.
iii.The Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme has allocated an additional Rs. 175.07 crore for the water supply scheme.
iv.Moreover, 2500 beneficiary-led construction houses would be completed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U) Scheme.
v.Every family ration card holder would be entitled to receive a subsidy of Rs. 300 per month for 12 Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders each year, with the UT government spending an additional Rs. 126 crore each year.
vi.For school education, an amount of Rs. 924.68 crore has been earmarked.
vii.The PM SHRI Schools (PM ScHools for Rising India) scheme has chosen about 12 schools from the UT of Puducherry.
- A grant of Rs. 2 crore would be provided to each of these 12 schools annually to develop their infrastructure.
- The PM SHRI scheme, a new CSS intended to emphasize the implementation of the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020), was approved by the Union Cabinet in 2022.
- PM SHRI schools will be implemented during a five-year period from 2022-23 to 2026-27 at a total project cost of Rs. 27,360 crore, including a central share of Rs. 18,128 crore.
viii.An estimated Rs. 55.90 crore of development in urban areas is currently in progress under the Smart City mission.
ix.Furthermore, Public Works Department (PWD) tenders have been called for, and a work order has been issued for works worth Rs. 786.65 crore.
Recent Related News:
i.In January 2023, RailTel Corporation of India Ltd. (RailTel), a Mini Ratna (Category I) Public Sector Unit (PSU) under the Ministry of Railways, has obtained a work order from the Department of Revenue and Disaster Management of the Government of Puducherry for design, develop, supply, install, test, commission, and operations and maintenance for a period of 5 years.
ii.The project involves setting up an Integrated Command Control Center (ICCC) and other related activities for the Puducherry Smart City Area.
About the Union Territory (UT) of Puducherry:
Chief Minister (CM) – N. Rangasamy
Lieutenant Governor – Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan
Lake – Oussudu Lake
Airport – Puducherry Airport
