Kerala Finance Minister Thomas IsaacKerala Budget 2021: In a speech that lasted over three hours, considered the longest in the history of Kerala Assembly, Finance Minister TM Thomas Isaac Friday unveiled the LDF government’s agenda for the next five years, if re-elected to power in May.
Tackling unemployment in Kerala, which has one of the highest rates of joblessness in the country, was one of the primary thrust-areas of Isaac’s budget. He proposed a new Rs 20-crore project to convert buildings with at least 5000 sq ft into work-stations at the block and municipal level. A digital platform, through which companies can directly hire job-seekers for ‘work from home’ or ‘work near home’ models, has been envisaged. Professionals getting jobs through the platform will have access to government incentives like purchasing computers and technical devices on affordable loans through KFC, KSFE and Kerala Bank. The finance minister said the government plans to provide jobs to at least 20 lakh people in the next five years through the digital platform. This includes a large section of skilled women who may have been forced to break their careers for personal reasons and wishing to work again on a ‘work from home’ model.
As part of skill training, the budget also talks about forming a ‘skill mission’ under the Kerala Development Innovation Strategy Council (K-DISC) as part of which 50 lakh educated youth will be imparted training on a war footing.
At the same time, the LDF government’s eye on strengthening welfare schemes and pension packages was clearly seen in the budget. The social welfare pension was hiked by Rs 100 to Rs 1600, honorarium for ASHA workers and elected local body representatives hiked by Rs 1000, welfare fund contribution of NRK returnees hiked by Rs 200, a new social welfare board will be created for employees in the tourism sector and pension of journalists and non-journalists increased by Rs 1000.
Some of the government’s flagship projects like K-FON which assures affordable internet connectivity for all, the Silver Rail semi high-speed railway project and the carbon-neutral coffee project in Wayanad got allocations in the new budget.
Women who arrived for work await information after the Cochin Special Economic Zone that houses several industrial units was closed as part of Covid-19 containment measures in Kochi on Oct 1, 2020. (AP Photo/R S Iyer)
The three hour, 18 minute budget speech of Thomas Isaac concludes after covering almost all sectors of the state's economy.
In his closing remarks, the finance minister attrbutes the LDF's win in the local body polls to the achievements of the incumbent government and the manner in which it unveiled welfare initiatives during the floods and most recently in the Covid lockdown phase.
Local media reports say this is the LONGEST ever budget speech in the Kerala Assembly. Isaac is reported to have crossed the previous record held by former Congress CM Oommen Chandy. Isaac had started his speech at 9 am.
A Medical College Hospital, one of the long-standing demands of the people of Wayanad district, will be realized in the next two years, Isaac said. The government, he said, would allocate Rs 300 crores for the construction of a medical college hospital in the district. There will also be a research centre to study new genetic diseases like sickle-cell.
The Kasaragod-Thiruvananthapuram semi high-speed railway corridor, also known as Silver Rail, is a flagship project of the LDF government through which one can travel by train from one end of the state to the other in under four hours. Currently, it takes around 12 hours for the same journey.
The FM has underlined that land allocation for the K-rail project will begin soon. The DPR of the Rs 66,000 crore project got approval from the state cabinet in June last year.
Also, the FM underlined that Kerala was ready to share the cost of the Sabari railway which will involve laying railway lines from Angamaly to take trains to Sabarimala.
* Allowance for ASHA workers hiked by Rs 1000
* Identification cards to be issued by govt soon for roadside sellers
* Honorarium for elected local body representatives to be hiked by Rs 1000
* Allocation of Rs 10 crores for welfare of migrant workers
* Rs 520 crores for midday meal scheme in schools
* Counsellors to be appointed in all government schools.
* Rs 60 crores to be allocated for special schools in the state
Holders of white and blue coloured ration cards will be able to purchase 10 kilos of rice at Rs 15/kg in a new announcement by the FM. This is seen as expanding the state government's effective public distribution system.
* Rs 100 crores (highest allotment) for tourism marketing
* Social welfare board to be formed for employees in the tourism sector
* Rs 7 crores for Muziris-Kochi Biennale
* Rs 40 crores for Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram heritage projects
* Rs 5 crores to encourage student trips to heritage places in state
* Interest-free loans for entrepreneurs in tourism sector
The state government is pondering about introducing a train service through the popular hill station of Munnar to attract tourists. Discussions are on with Tata company, which owns a majority of the tea gardens there, to allocate land for the service.
In the British era, there was a train service to Munnar which fell in disrepair.
Thomas Isaac is known for quoting poems and prose passages of eminent Malayalam writers during his budget speeches. Last year, Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala had poked fun at him, saying he should note down his literary musings in a separate book and hand it to Opposition leaders rather than employ them during a serious budget speech.
This time, the FM has quoted very few poems in his budget speech and has largely stuck to the announcements.
As part of a new project to reduce unemployment in Kerala, one of the highest in the country, the government plans to create a digital platform through which employers can find the right candidates. Loans will be available to job-seekers to purchase laptops and computers.
Through Skill Mission, 50 lakh people will get skilled in order to get jobs. Target is 20 lakh jobs to be created in the next five years.
The finance minister has announced that the laptop distribution project of the state government will be expanded in a way that every household in the state will have access to a laptop.
BPL families will be able to purchase laptops at a subsidy of 25% and those classified as 'financially vulnerable' will get free laptops.
Additionally, 3.5 lakh students in the state will get access to digital study materials.
* 1000 new posts to be created in universities.
* Setting up 30 centres of excellence among existing universities.
* Rs 1000-crs outlay for affiliated colleges
* 800 vacancies in the higher education sector to be filled instantly.
* Creation of new post-doctoral fellowships to encourage research.
Isaac, in his budget speech, condemned what he termed as an 'organised attack' on KIIFB, the favourite investment arm of the Kerala government which has faced allegations of corruption. In the last 5 years, the LDF government has leaned heavily on KIIFB to steamroll many of its social welfare projects: from building roads and bridges to upgradation of schools and hospitals.
* Government to create 8000 new posts in the health department.
* First phase of the flagship scheme K-Fon, envisaging affordable internet for everyone, will conclude next month.
* Govt plans to give 8 lakh new jobs in the next financial year.
* Rs 1000-cr outlay for self-governing local bodies
* 3900 new startups have been created in the state in last 5 years.
One of the important commodities coming out from Kerala, rubber will now have a base price. The budget envisages that the base price of rubber has been fixed at Rs 170, helping shore up earnings of farmers.
A populist measure, the finance minister has announced the widely-expected move of hiking the social welfare pensions by Rs 100. The monthly pension will now be Rs 1600.
Welcome to our live blog where we will be discussing the announcements by Kerala Finance Minister TM Thomas Isaac as he presents the last budget for the current LDF government.