Key allies Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister of Bihar, and Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, who are holding the National Democratic Alliance government together got special attention in the Budget speech on Tuesday.
Financial support from the Centre was a key demand from both leaders ahead of the formation of the Modi 3.0 government.
In the budget, Rs 26000 crore was set aside for Bihar while Andhra Pradesh was promised Rs 15000 crore in the current Financial Year for building Amaravati, the new capital of Andhra Pradesh as envisioned by Chandrababu Naidu.
Bihar will be put on a faster lane with many road projects getting the nod.
"We will support the development of an industrial node at Gaya in Bihar. It will catalyse the development of the eastern region. We will also support the development of road connectivity projects- Patna-Purnea expressway, Buxar-Bhagalpur highway, Bodhgaya-Rajgir-Vaishali-Darbhanga and an additional two-lane bridge over river Ganga in Buxar for Rs 26,000 crores," Sitharaman said in her speech.
She also spoke of setting up airports, medical colleges and sports infra in Bihar.
Power projects, including setting up a new 2400 MW power plant at Pirpainti in Bihar, will be taken up at a cost of Rs 21,400 crore, the finance minister announced.
When it came to Andhra Pradesh, the Finance Minister said efforts have been made to fulfil the commitments made in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.
"Recognising the state's need for capital, we will facilitate special financial support through multilateral agencies. In the current FY, Rs 15,000 crore will be arranged with additional amounts in future years. Rs 15,000 crore allocated for development of Amravati as AP's capital," she went on to add.