Amid row over Budget funds to Andhra, Bihar, how money has been allocated to states over the years

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday defended the Budget allocations to Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. “In a Budget speech, if a state is not named, it doesn’t mean no money will go to them,” she said, adding, “The Budget speech of 2004-’05 did not take the name of 17 states. Did money not go to those states? If they stopped the money, then they can raise this issue.”

The focus on Andhra Pradesh and Bihar is notable, particularly because Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand, and Jammu and Kashmir are set to hold their Assembly polls this year and the BJP struggled in some of these states in the recent Lok Sabha polls.

In the absence of coalition pressure in the last two BJP governments at the Centre, special allocations have been spread across states. Even in the UPA-I and UPA-II administrations, both of which were coalition governments led by the Congress, such allocations were not entirely uncommon.

NDA Budgets

Besides natural disaster-related assistance and some tourism sector provisions, there were no other major allocations for state-specific projects mentioned in the Budget speech this year. In previous Budget speeches under NDA governments, several states found mention in connection with specific large-scale infrastructure projects.

2023-’24: The Budget allocated Rs 5,300 crore for the Upper Bhadra irrigation project in Karnataka. In the same Budget, for a 13 GW renewable energy project in Ladakh, the Centre provided Rs 8,300 crore of the total Rs 20,700 crore cost.

2022-’23: The implementation of the Rs 44,605-crore Ken-Betwa Link Project to provide water and power supply across several districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh was announced with Rs 1,400 crore made available in that year.

2021-’22: Several large-scale, multi-year road projects were announced for Tamil Nadu (with a total investment of Rs 1.03 lakh crore), Kerala (Rs 65,000 crore), Assam (Rs 34,000 crore), and West Bengal (Rs 25,000 crore). This Budget also provided funding for several metro rail projects: Rs 63,246 crore for Chennai, Rs 14,788 crore for Bengaluru, Rs 5,976 crore for Nagpur, Rs 2,092 crore for Nashik, and Rs 1,957 crore for Kochi.

2020-’21: The government pledged Rs 18,600 crore for a 148-km-long suburban transport project in Bengaluru, of which the Centre directly provided 20%.

2019-’20: The interim and full Budget speeches did not make any mention of large-scale state-specific project allocations.

2018-’19: The Budget announced expansions to Mumbai and Bengaluru’s rail networks at a total cost of Rs 51,000 crore and Rs 17,000 crore, respectively.

2017-’18 and 2016-’17: No major state-specific projects were mentioned.

2015-’16: The Gujarat and Maharashtra sections of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridors were allocated an initial Rs 1,200 crore, with the promise of additional funds in the future.

2014-’15: In the first Budget of the Narendra Modi-led government, a range of infrastructure projects across the country were announced, including the fulfilment of the Centre’s obligations to Andhra Pradesh after it was bifurcated and Telangana was formed. Among the projects with the biggest outlays were the Rs 11,635 crore for the Outer Harbour Project in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi and the Rs 4,200 crore over six years allocated for the National Waterway on the Ganga between Prayagraj in UP and Haldia in West Bengal.

UPA Budgets

The Budgets from the Congress-led UPA years show that several high-profile allocations mentioned in the speeches were generally for projects spread across multiple states or targeting the least developed states.

2014-’15 interim Budget: In the last Budget of the Congress-led UPA government, Rs 1,200-crore special assistance was provided to Northeastern and other hill states. Most Budgets under both the Congress and the BJP made similar allocations for the development of the Northeast as a region.

2013-’14: The Centre allocated Rs 1,000 crore to support rice production in Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal. For the development of backward districts in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, and Odisha, the Centre provided Rs 11,500 crore under the Backward Regions Grant Fund.

2012-’13: The Centre pledged Rs 28,000 crore to Jammu and Kashmir under the PM’s Reconstruction Plan, with Rs 8,000 crore allocated in that financial year.

2010-’11: There were no major outlays for state-specific projects.

2009-’10: The government provided a capital subsidy of Rs 2,138 crore to the Assam Gas Cracker Project, which was first sanctioned in 2006. The Centre also provided Rs 1,000 crore from the Calamity Relief Fund to repair the damage from Cyclone Aila in West Bengal. The 2009-’10 Interim Budget did not include any major state-specific allocations.

2008-’09: The Budget included a special allocation of Rs 1,042 crore for polio eradication drives with a focus on high-risk districts in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The government also provided Rs 5,800 crore through the Backward Regions Grant Fund, most of which was allocated to Odisha, Bihar, and UP.

2007-’08: The Backward Regions Grant Fund provided Rs 5,800 crore, with a focus on Bihar and Odisha.

2006-’07: The Centre set aside Rs 4,595 crore for metro rail projects, including in Mumbai and Bengaluru. The government also provided Rs 2,300 to Jammu and Kashmir as special assistance.

2005-’06: Bihar received Rs 7,975 crore spread over five years for the development of the health and education sectors. Jammu and Kashmir also received Rs 4,200 crore in special assistance.

2004-’05: The first Budget of the UPA government saw it allocate Rs 1,000 crore for a desalination plant in Chennai and a special economic package of Rs 3,225 crore for Bihar.