Kerala Budget 2024 updates | Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal says Kerala has been at the forefront of protecting cooperative federalism

Lashing out at the Central government for denying the State its just benefits, the Finance Minister has said Kerala has been in the forefront for protecting cooperative federalism in the country.

He also took a swipe at the Opposition for having adopting an ignorant attitude towards the unfair treatment meted out to the State.

The finance minister announced that a scrapping policy will be introduced in government departments to scrap old vehicles and furniture. 

He added that ₹200 crore of revenue is expected.

The Finance Minister said that gallonage fee on Indian Made Foreign Liquor to be increased by ₹10 per litre. An additional revenue of ₹200 crore expected.

One instalment of DA for government employees and pensioners to be disbursed in April.

The government has announced an assured pension scheme for employees. The existing National Pension System will be reviewed.

Social security pension disbursal affected due to Union government’s policies. The state government will take steps to ensure timely disbursal.

No hike in social security pensions.

Also Read | Woes of those who wait for social security pension in Kerala

₹25 crore has been earmarked for the NoRKA Department Project for Returned Emigrants scheme launched to help returnees earn their livelihood. 

An allocation of ₹44 crore has also been made for the rehabilitation scheme implemented for such sections.

An allocation of ₹859.5 crore for Scheduled Caste development was announced by Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal in the ongoing Budgest session of the State Legislative Assembly.

Mr. Balagopal also announced a project to promote startups by entrepreneurs from Scheduled Caste communities.

₹1.5 crore earmarked for a pilot project to launch stem cell therapy in Government Medical College, Kottayam

Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhathi, the State’s health insurance plan, gets an allocation of ₹678.54 crore

A remittance account will be opened to accept voluntary contributions by those availing treatment facilities in government hospitals

Finance minister K.N. Balagopal said that interdisciplinary research centres will be established in government engineering colleges to augment the activities of diverse engineering streams.

A total allocation of ₹170.49 crore for the culture sector has been announced by the Finance Minister. 

He also announced a project to renovate museums across Kerala.

An allocation of ₹9.65 crore has been made for developing the Malabar International Port that is bound to benefit north Kerala and south Karnataka.

A pre-production centre for graphene-based materials will be established in Ottapalam in association with Carborandum Universal Limited. An allocation of ₹260 crore has been made for the purpose.

One school in every district to be upgraded as a model school.

A grading system will be introduced to assess the quality of schools. Residential training programmes will also be introduced for teachers.

The General Education Department will impart training in AI. Such efforts are part of the State’s efforts in rising up to the challenges posed by AI and deepfake technology.

As part of efforts to make Kerala a hub of Artificial Intelligence, the government will organise an international AI conclave in association with IBM in July 2024.

A round-table conference involving research institutions and robotics companies has also been planned in August 2024 to explore the possibilities in the field of robotics

Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Ltd to get an allocation of ₹119.91 crore. The Kerala Statrtup Mission gets an allocation of ₹90.5 crore

Support price for rubber to be increased by ₹10 to ₹180 under the rubber price stabilisation fund incentive scheme. 

Finance Minister criticises the Union government’s policies, which he says are aimed at promoting monopolies in the sector.

The government will explore the feasibility of manufacturing foreign liquor in Kerala for export to other States and abroad. Efforts will also be made to remove hindrances in this regard.

Solar energy will be tapped to provide electricity connections in tribal settlements in far-flung areas. ₹3.5 crore has been allocated for the purpose.

Industries sector gets an allocation ₹1829.13 crore. 

Finance Minister says there is an investment friendly climate in Kerala. He adds that the entrepreneurship promotion initative for MSMEs will continue,

The Budget has earmarked ₹100 crore for basic infrastructure projects in Kuttanad that will be executed under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund of NABARD

An amount of ₹252.6 crore has been earmarked for the special local development packages being undertaken by the State government. ₹75 crore has been allocated for the coordination works of Kasaragod, Wayanad, Idukki development packages.

Co-operative sector gets an allocation of ₹134.42 crore. 

Finance Minister says Union government making attempts to destroy Kerala’s Co-operative sector

Finance Minister announced an allocation of ₹1132 crore for LIFE housing project. He said that 5 lakh houses will be completed by March 2025. 

₹17,104.84 crore spent till now for the project and 3,71,931 houses have been completed with the same.

The government has initiated steps to establish a Safari park in Nadukani in Taliparamba, Kannur, and a Tiger Safari park in Muthukad in Kozhikode. The projects are expected to boost the tourism prospects of North Kerala.

Finance Minister announced project to promote constitutional literacy among the general population to be implemented through local bodies.

Plan funds share for Local self government institutions increased to 28.09% of State plan. He annpunced an allocation of ₹8532 crore

A new fishing harbour to come up at Pozhiyoor in Thiruvananthapuram, the Finance Minsiter said. An allocation of ₹5 crore has been made for preliminary steps, he added.

Finance Minsiter announced a project to promote sandalwood cultivation. He said that changes will be made in laws related to sandalwood cultivation.

The Finance Minister announced that ₹109.25 crore will be allocated for dairy development sector. This includes funds for a rural dairy extension and farm advisory service.

Punargeham project which aims to rehabilitate fisher families living within 50 metres of the coastline gets ₹40 crore allocation, double the allocation in the previous year.

A task force of academic experts will be formed to rope in expatriate academic experts to utilise their expertise in the field of higher education. Four regional conclaves will be held in Europe, USA, Gulf countries and Singapore during the months of May and June as part of such efforts. A Higher Education Transformation Initiative Global Conclave will be held in Kerala in August in continuance of the endeavour.

The government will explore the feasibility of permitting foreign universities in Kerala. Steps have been initiated to facilitate the launch of private universities in the State.

Kerala has emerged among the most preferred tourist destinations after the COVID-19 pandemic, Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal said during the Budget session of the Legislative Assembly

Steps will adopted to attract investments of ₹5000 crore towards the tourism industry, Mr. Balagopal said.

As part of ongoing steps to boost tourism, the government will give shape to a project to develop facilities for gatherings of up to 500 people. 20 such destinations will be developed for the purpose. 

In the first phase, such facilities will come up in Varkala, Kollam, Munroe Thuruth, Alappuzha, Munnar, Fort Kochi, Ponnani, Beypore, Kozhikode and Bekal. An amount of ₹50 crore has been set aside for the purpose.

₹10 crore earmarked to establish three Centres of Excellence under APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University

The Finance Minister has hailed the higher education sector for its silent revolution in the field of science and technology. He cited the development of the Kairali Chip at the Digital University Kerala. The university, which has bagged 16 patents thus far, is the first institute to develop a processor.

Digital University Kerala has entered into an agreement with Oxford University to student exchange and scholarship programmes, he further says.

Three regional centres will be launched for Digital University Kerala, Mr. Balagopal adds.

Finance Minister speaks extensively on the Union government’s denial of tax shares to Kerala. Says that it is part of a conspiracy to destroy the successful Kerala model. But despite the fall in revenue shares, the State is committed to increase its welfare spendings. No other State has welfare schemes to match Kerala’s.

Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal says Kerala has been successful in keeping revenue deficit under control.

Kerala’s own revenue collection doubled in four years and further increase is also possible, he added during the Budget session of the Legislative Assembly.

Critical of the Centre’s neglect towards Kerala, the State pinned its hopes on the Supreme Court and protests that have been planned against the Union government.

The Opposition, which has turned its back towards the planned protests, too has held the Centre responsible for the State’s fiscal crisis.

Finance Minister asks Opposition to organise protests on its own against the Union government’s denial of tax revenues to Kerala.

The Government will seek alternative models of project development.

Centre’s sanction soon expected for commencing work on Thiruvananthapuram Metro.

The government will forge ahead with steps to realise the SilverLine project.

High speed rail corridor imperative for Kerala.

NH 66 development works to be completed soon, enabling travel from one end of the state to the other in 8 hours.

Law reforms in the offing to attract students from outside the State to pursue professional courses in Kerala

Government to attract investments worth ₹3 lakh crore during the next three years.

The Kerala government will ensure rehabilitiation of fishermen families displaced for the seaport project, the finance minister said

Depsite the Union government’s economic strangling of Kerala, the State’s economy cannot be destroyed, says Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal. 

Mr. Balagopal equates Kerala’s economy to a sunrise that has been rapidly rising on the advancements of science and technology. The Kerala model of development has ensured a high human development index and forged ahead in sustainable development goals.

The Budget must set aside funds for seasonal procurement of paddy on a regular basis to help farmers, who are now driven to penury, rising debt and suffering the worst consequences of deficit rainfall triggered by climate change.

K. Shivanandan, a paddy farmer in Palakkad said that the farmers have submitted a memorandum to the finance minister ahead of the Budget demanding that a permanent feature of the Budget should be funds to support farmers through paddy procurement. He said there are dozens of farmers, who are yet to get money for the paddy procured from them during the last season.

While the money has not been coming through government channels, farmers were forced to take loans from banks against their paddy land, said Mr. Shivanandan. The matter is now under court consideration, he added.

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The Budget will be keenly watched for measures aimed at exploring hitherto untapped revenue sources for the government. 

On the fiscal front, the LDF government has been blaming the BJP-led Union government of unfairly depriving it of ₹ 57,400 crore annually. These issues are likely to persist in 2024-25 as well.

The government’s plans for the social security pensions, and the liquor and fuel cesses announced in the last budget to feed a social security seed fund are of interest this time. The Opposition UDF has been demanding the LDF government to scrap the cesses alleging that they have unable to prevent the delay in social security pension payments.