Budget focusing on welfare and comprehensive development
The last budget of the second Pinarayi Vijayan government, as expected, gives equal importance to development and people's welfare. Presenting the fourth-longest budget speech in the Kerala Assembly, Finance Minister KN Balagopal clarified that Kerala has not given up on the path of development despite the Center cutting tax revenue and borrowing limits. The budget presentation lasted for two hours and 53 minutes. This budget will bring joy to government employees and pensioners. Along with the announcement of the Pay Commission, the Finance Minister also announced that the DA and DR arrears will be paid in full. The first instalment of the arrears will be paid with the salary of the month of February and the rest with the salary of the month of March. The Pay Commission report will be submitted within three months. Thereafter, the salary revision will be implemented in a timely manner. Assured pension will be paid from April 1.
Rs 1000 crore has been allocated for Vizhinjam port development and Rs 5917 crore for MC road development. The state's new IT policy will also be announced soon. The announcement of free education up to degree level is a big relief to the common people in this era, when the cost of education has increased significantly. The scheme will be implemented in the Arts and Science College for the time being. Rs 14,500 crore has been announced for the distribution of welfare pension and an increase of Rs 1000 in the monthly income of ASHA employees. The budget presented yesterday was the twelfth of the Pinarayi Vijayan government and the sixth of Minister K.N. Balagopal.
The budget, which also announced a scheme to provide free treatment for the first five days to people seeking treatment after road accidents, has allocated Rs 288 crore for forest and wildlife conservation, Rs 99.64 crore for minority welfare, Rs 200 crore for the Ayyankali Employment Guarantee Scheme and Rs 1498.26 crore for the LIFE scheme. The share of local bodies has been increased. The development fund has been increased to Rs 10,189 crore. The budget also pointed out that the number of houses built under LIFE has crossed 5.25 lakh. 5217 crores have been allocated through KIIFB for the first phase of MC road development. The MC road from Thiruvananthapuram to Angamaly will be reconstructed into four lanes with a width of 24 meters. The construction of Kilimanoor, Nilamel, Chadayamangalam, Ayur, Pandalam and Chengannur bypasses and the development of various junctions will be implemented in the first phase itself. The Finance Minister also stated that the land acquisition process for this is progressing rapidly.
The Finance Minister said during the budget presentation that Kerala has created a new normal and there has been great progress in terms of finances. MediCEP 2.0 will be implemented from February. Rs 15 crore has been set aside for accident insurance for school students from I to XII. An additional allocation of Rs 1,000 crore will be provided for the employment guarantee scheme. The first batch of houses as part of the Wayanad rehabilitation will be handed over in February. Rs 160 crore will be provided for solid waste management. In addition to increasing the honorarium of people's representatives in local bodies, a special welfare fund will also be started for the welfare of former people's representatives. An increase of Rs 1,500 per month in the pension of journalists has also been announced.
The Finance Minister also presented the figures on the state's debt in the House. While the public debt was 12.60 percent in the financial year 2023-24, it increased to 15.68 percent in the year 2024-25. Similarly, the ratio between the public debt and the state's domestic growth has increased from 23.60 percent in the previous year to 24.83 percent. The Finance Minister pointed out that although the debt is increasing, it is not affecting the growth of the state and the amount spent for development purposes is an investment in the future of the state.
Rs 54,000 crore has been provided to the people as welfare pension in the last ten years. When the budget is assessed as a whole, it can be said that this is a practical budget that includes only projects that can be implemented. Rs 2000 assistance to cancer-AIDS patients, group insurance for auto workers, Rs 10,000 assistance to youth clubs, and Rs 10 crore for the KERA scheme were also announced. Rs 1128 crore was allocated for general education, Rs 266.66 crore for the mid-day meal scheme, and Rs 14 crore for the Kochi Muziris scheme. 10 crores have been announced for the feasibility study of the tunnel route from Kattappana to Theni, 15 crores for the development of the pilgrimage road in Pathanamthitta and Kottayam districts, 65 crores for the development of non-major ports, 112.44 crores for K-Phone, and 35 crores for the Life Science Park.
The budget also highlights the imbalance in the state's income and expenditure. While the state's total revenue receipts were Rs 1,82,972.10 crore, revenue expenditure has increased to Rs 2,17,558.76 crore. With this, a revenue deficit of Rs 34,586.66 crore has been recorded in the budget. The public debt has increased to Rs 51,378.49 crore to meet the financial needs. Last time, it was Rs 49,908.80 crore. The biggest challenge before the government is how to move forward with development expenditure and social welfare schemes in the face of continuously increasing revenue shortfall and debt burden.
While ruling party members including the Chief Minister praised the budget as a popular one, Opposition Leader VD Satheesan criticised that the government has undermined its credibility by injecting ideological and political narratives into a financial document, and the people will not trust this budget. What makes this budget popular is that, as a budget presented just before the general election, no new tax burdens have been imposed on the people.