3 min readLucknowFeb 22, 2023 10:11 PM IST
First published on: Feb 22, 2023 at 12:36 PM IST
The Yogi Adityanath government Wednesday proposed Rs 3600 crore for distributing tablets and smart-phone to students under the Swami Vivekanand Yuva Shashaktikaran scheme in the Budget for the fiscal year 2023-24.
With a focus on the youth, the government also proposed Rs 20 crore for an Agriculture Accelerator Fund aimed to encourage young entrepreneurs to set up agri-tech start-ups in rural areas.
In the Budget tabled in the UP Vidhan Sabha, Finance Minister Suresh Khanna, claimed the unemployment rate in UP was 14.4 per cent before 2017 and it has come down to 4.2 per cent now.
In a major expenditure on infrastructure, apart from expressways, the government made allotted a budget of Rs 21159 crore for the development of roads and bridges, and Rs 6209 crore has been proposed for the maintenance of existing ones.
Khanna said a proposal of Rs 235 crore has been made for the development of the initial stages of the Jhansi link-expressway and Chitrakoot link-expressway. He also said Rs 550 crore has been proposed for the Bundelkhand expressway and Defence Corridor projects.
In his Budget speech, Khanna announced a Rs 7248 crore proposal under the old age/farmers pension schemes and Rs 1120 crore for the Divyang pension scheme.
He proposed Rs 12631 crore for various programmes under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and Rs 1655 crore for the Pradhan Mantri Aatmnirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana. A budget of Rs 25,350 crore was proposed for the Jal Jivan Mission in the new fiscal 2023-24 with a goal of providing domestic tap water connection for clean drinking water supply in all 2.26 crore households. The minister proposed Rs 2288 crore for constructing 6.65 lakh toilets under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Rural) and plastic management in 330 development blocks.
Khanna said Rs 2491 crore has been proposed for setting up and operating 14 new medical colleges in the state. At present, there are 8528 seats of MBBS in the government- and private-run medical colleges and universities in the state. Also, there are 2847 post-graduation seats in these medical colleges and universities.
To set up unity malls to promote the marketing of One District-One Product (ODOP) and handicraft products, the government proposed Rs 200 crore.
The government also proposed Rs 750 crore for taking care of stray cattle and Rs 120 crore for setting up cow conservation centres.
Before it was tabled in the Assembly today, Adityanath referred to the state budget as the “Budget of new Uttar Pradesh” and said it would add “golden chapters” in the history of social, economic, and cultural development of the state.
“The budget of ‘New Uttar Pradesh’, which is going to be presented today in the first year of “Amrit Kal” after Independence, will add new golden chapters in the history of social, economic and cultural development of the state. Undoubtedly, this Budget will fulfil the interests of every section of the society, including villages, poor, farmers, youth, and women of the state as per the vision of the respected Prime Minister,” said Adityanath.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath with Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna before presentation of the State Budget 2023-24 in the Assembly, in Lucknow, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023. (PTI Photo/Nand Kumar) 
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