VIJAYAWADA: Despite the Covid-induced financial crunch, the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government on Thursday presented an optimistic, innovative and welfare-oriented budget for 2021-22, with a total outlay of Rs 2,29,779.27 crore -- almost half of which estimated to be spent on the various welfare schemes including its flagship Navaratnalu schemes. This is more than the estimated budget of Rs 2.24 lakh crore last financial year whose revised estimates finally meant Rs 1.85 lakh crore was spent.
It is innovative in the sense that this time, it has identified and classified allocations for the welfare of women under the head Gender Budget and for children, under the Child Budget. As Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath put it, this is a tool to integrate concerns pertaining to women and children in policy planning and budgetary allocations besides giving clear information on the same. The Gender Budget comes with an outlay of Rs 47,283.21 crore with schemes specifically aimed at women’s welfare and empowerment accounting for Rs 23,463.10 crore. Similarly, the Child Budget estimate is Rs 16,748.47 crore, with schemes for children’s welfare running up to Rs 12,218.64 crore.
As for the flagship Navaratnalu schemes, the Finance Minister has earmarked approximately Rs 48,000 crore but combined with the various other welfare programmes, the welfare agenda itself is estimated to be almost Rs 1.10 lakh crore in the overall budget estimates. Which, brings the inevitable question of from where does the government propose to mobilise resources.
The estimated revenue expenditure is Rs 1,82,196.54 crore and capital expenditure including loan repayments and capital disbursements is pegged at Rs 47,582.73 crore. Revenue receipts, on the other hand, are expected to be Rs 1,77,196.48 crore or a deficit of around Rs 5,000 crore. Capital receipts are estimated to be Rs 52,582.79 crore. The fiscal deficit is set at around 3.49% of the GSDP, lower than the 5.51% last fiscal whereas the revenue deficit could be around 0.47% of the GSDP, much lower than the actual 3.54% last fiscal.
The Finance Minister has clearly done some careful balancing hoping for the best possible outcome in economic terms. For instance, revenue receipts in the last fiscal were just around Rs 1.18 lakh crore and the deficit was Rs 34,926.80 crore. The government had to go in for open market loans amounting to Rs 50,896 crore while Grants-in-aid from the Centre were around Rs 33,000 crore contrary to estimates of Rs 53,175 crore. In FY 2021-22, the Finance Minister expects Grants-in-aid to be somewhere around Rs 58,000 crore and importantly, tax revenue to be a little over Rs 85,000 crore up from Rs 57,377 crore last time. Similarly, the share of Central taxes is expected to be Rs 26,935 crore.
If we look at public debt of the State, it was Rs 3,55,874.30 crore or 35.23% of the GSDP in 2020-21. This is expected to increase to Rs 3,87,125 crore or 36.46% of the GSDP with open market loans amounting to Rs 2,64,894 crore up from Rs 2,30,728 crore last fiscal. Public debt expected to be raised this fiscal is Rs 50,525 crore. Debt servicing is set to cost Rs 23,205.88 crore.
In view of the severe second wave of Covid and possible third wave, adequate allocation has been made to deal with the pandemic, while strengthening medical and health infrastructure in the State.
Treatment of black fungus, which is reported in patients recovering from Covid-19, has been brought under the ambit of YSR Aarogyasri. A sum of Rs 2,258.94 crore has been allocated for Aarogyasri and purchase of drugs in the budget, he said.
In addition to it, Rs 500 crore has been allocated to combat Covid and another Rs 500 crore for Covid vaccination. Before going for global tenders, the State government had placed an order for 4.08 crore doses of Covid vaccine with three companies in the country, which is estimated to cost Rs 1,600 crore.
A sum of Rs 300 crore has been allocated for 108 and 104 emergency medical services, which are being extensively used in the fight against Covid-19.
Even before the outbreak of Covid, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had started strengthening medical and health infrastructure at all levels and the pandemic only made it a necessity. Besides earmarking Rs 3,202.33 crore for the National Health Mission, the government has allocated Rs 1,535.88 crore for revamping of hospitals under the Naadu-Nedu programme.
“Governments which give due importance to healthcare, will have healthier and more productive human capital, which in turn helps increase the GSDP. Hence, the government is according priority to Naadu-Nedu,” he said. Under the programme, health sub-centres, primary health centres, community health centres, area hospitals, district hospitals and teaching hospitals are being upgraded to maintain the benchmark standards of National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) and Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS), Buggana said.
The government is also establishing 16 new medical colleges in the State, besides upgrading the existing medical colleges and teaching hospitals as per the MCI guidelines under Naadu-Nedu. An allocation of Rs 720.60 crore has been made to Andhra Pradesh Vaidya Vidhana Parishad (APVV) and another Rs 100 crore for sanitation in APVV hospitals. As promised by the Chief Minister during his visit to Palasa in Srikakulam district, Rs 50 crore has been allocated for the Kidney Research Centre and super speciality hospital for the benefit of people of Uddanam region. A sum of Rs 4,662.69 crore has been allocated for other schemes in the budget, he said.
Gender, child budgets help chalk out policy
The Gender Budget comes with an outlay of Rs 47,283.21 crore with schemes specifically aimed at women’s welfare and empowerment accounting for Rs 23,463.10 crore. Similarly, the Child Budget estimate is Rs 16,748.47 crore, with schemes for children’s welfare running up to Rs 12,218.64 crore. Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath explained this method is a tool to integrate concerns pertaining to women and children in policy planning and budgetary allocations.
Great expectations on taxes, Grants-in-aid
In FY 2021-22, the Finance Minister expects Grants-in-aid to be around Rs 58,000 crore and importantly, tax revenue to be a little over Rs 85,000 crore up from Rs 57,377 crore last time. Share of Central taxes is expected to be Rs 26,935 crore.