Union Budget 2024:?These states found mention in Sitharaman's budget speech, here is what they are getting
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the first budget of the third National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday. Unsurprisingly, the two states that are set to gain the most from the budget are Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, ruled by the Telugu Desam Party and Janata Dal (United), two key allies holding the Modi 3.0 government together.
Though Sitharaman announced that the center will also formulate a plan 'Purvodaya' for the all-round development of the eastern region of the country, covering Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh, the two states are getting the lion's share of the deals.
Also read:?Union Budget 2024 allocations for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh sparked hilarious meme-fest online
What Bihar is getting
"On the Amritsar-Kolkata industrial corridor, we will support the development of an industrial node at Gaya in Bihar. We will also support the construction of road connectivity projects, namely Patna-Purnia Expressway, Buxar-Bhagalpur Expressway, Bodhgaya-Rajgir-Vaishali-Darbhanga, and an additional two-lane bridge over the river Ganga at Buxar at a total cost of Rs 26,000 crore."
"Power projects, including setting up a new 2400-megawatt power plant at Pirpainti, will be taken up at a cost of Rs 21,400 crore," she added.
The Finance Minister said that new airports, medical colleges, and sports infrastructure in Bihar will be constructed. An additional allocation to support capital investments will be provided, she said.
She emphasized that the requests of the Bihar government for external assistance from multilateral development banks will be expedited. The FM also announced an allocation of Rs 11,500 crore for flood control measures in Bihar. Funds have also been provided for developing the temple corridors in the iconic temples in Bihar. The Kashi Model will be implemented in Bodh Gaya. Special funds have also been provided for the Rajgir Jain Temple site.
What Andhra Pradesh is getting
Andhra Pradesh also benefited from the Union Budget 2024-25 as the Finance Minister announced special financial support to the state, recognizing the state's need for capital.
"Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act - Our government has made efforts to fulfill the commitments in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. Recognizing the state's need for capital, we will facilitate special financial support through multilateral agencies," Sitharaman said.
"In the current FY, Rs 15,000 crore will be arranged with additional amounts in future years," she added.
Andhra-Bihar budget?
The preference given to the two states hasn't gone unnoticed, and many in the opposition have criticized it, calling it an NDA ally budget and Bihar-Andhra budget.
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