Omkar Dattatray
It is the matter of happiness and pride for the people of the J&K UT that its budget was presented and unveiled in the parliament by the finance minister of India ,Nirmala Sitharaman just after presenting the Union budget on Tuesday the 23rd of July .It is consecutively for the record fifth time in succession that the finance minister has presented the Jammu and Kashmir budget .It is pertinent to mention here that since the Jammu and Kashmir UT is without a duly elected legislative assembly and so the J& K revenue and expenditure outlay for the financial year 2024-25 was prepared and presented by the union finance minister although the finance department of Jammu and Kashmir submits the necessary financial details to the finance ministry of the centre so as the latter will not be handicapped in preparation of the J&K budget .This year’s budget for Jammu and Kashmir is the biggest so for interims of the financial outlay .The main focus of this year’s budget is on development ,agriculture and tourism .However it is most likely that this year’s budget will have sops for the various sections of the society of Jammu and Kashmir because the budget has been prepared and presented just before the possible assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir UT .Thus it will be no exaggeration to say that this budget is the budget of the election year and so people have many expectations and hopes from the budget. So union finance minister has presented a statement of estimated receipts and expenditures of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir for 2024-25 after she presented the General Budget of the year .This is the fifth Budget for the UT after the abrogation of article 370.In February ,the finance minister proposed an interim Budget of Rs 1.18 lakh crore for the Jammu and Kashmir. The interim Budget 2024-25 reflected the felt needs and aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and the commitment of the union Territory government for peace ,progress and development .All eyes of the people of Jammu and Kashmir are on the major announcements which were made by the finance minister .The finance minister presented the Jammu and Kashmir Budget one hour after the conclusion of the presentation of the union Budget 2024-25 in the Lok Sabha .The budget aims to reduce the fiscal deficit and achieve a 7.5% growth in the GSDP..Finance minister Sitharaman has proposed an interim budget of Rs 1.18 lakh crore for fiscal 2024-25 for the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir .The budget aims to reduce the fiscal deficit and achieve a 7.5% growth in the GSDP .Sitharaman praised the government’s efforts to decentralize governance, promote inclusive development , and increase revenue generation .The capital expenditure for the fiscal has been proposed at Rs 38,566 crore ,which is 14.64 per cent at the gross state domestic produce [GSDP] ,as per the interim budget tabled by Sitharaman in parliament .The revenue receipts for the next fiscal stood at Rs 97,861 crore .According to Sitharaman, the crucial reforms undertaken in 2019 enabled ”path -breaking ”measures by the union territory government to decentralize governance structure ,promote inclusive development ,upscale revenue generation and step up infrastructure development .”The government is maintaining law and order to ensure security while simultaneously implementing initiatives for economic and social development .The government has adopted a policy zero tolerance against terrorism ,”Sitharaman said. Security forces are taking effective and continuous action in countering terrorism. Due to the effective measures and efforts taken .the security scenario in Jammu and Kashmir has significantly improved ,She said. In the budget ,Rs 42,277 crore has been allocated to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir ,which is currently under the direct control of the central government .There is nominal hike of 1.2 per cent from the Rs 41,751.44 crore given to the UT in the last fiscal .The erstwhile state has been without an elected government since 2018.On February 5,Sitharaman proposed an interim budget of Rs 1.18 lakh crore for the fiscal 2024-25 for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir .The finance minister presented also a separate budget for Jammu and Kashmir .The UT budget is expected to be around the same amount in today’s budget .However some welfare measures are expected in the Budget today since the UT is likely to see assembly elections later this year .UT budget copies have arrived and the FM presented the interim budget of Jammu and Kashmir .Under Jammu and Kashmir Rural Employment Guarantee Programme [J&K REGP],1167 units targeted to set up during 2024-25.New Start -up Policy to be introduced for creating start up ecosystem .Up -gradation of infrastructure in existing Industrial Estates .Private Industrial Estates Development Policy to be revamped. The gross domestic product of Jammu and Kashmir was estimated at Rs 1.76 lakh crore {equivalent to Rs 2.1 trillion or US Dollar 25 billion in 2023.It is expected that Jammu and Kashmir’s Gross Domestic Product -GDP will exceed Rs 2.30 lakh crore, with a growth rate of 10 per cent .As per the provisional data ,the capital expenditure has increased from Rs 14,666 crore in financial year 2022-23 to Rs 22,400 crore in 2023-24.India has announced an interim budget of dollar 14 billion for fiscal 2024-25 for the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir ,around 4.5 times more than the amount Pakistan is seeking for its whole nation from IMF. Finance minister Sitharaman unveiled the interim budget on a day Pakistan marked it as ”Kashmir Solidarity Day” .The budget proposal represented a substantial commitment to the economic and social development .To conclude it can be said that this year’s Jammu and Kashmir budget is in fact an election year budget and the people of Jammu and Kashmir who feel alienated expect some sops and welfare measures and infrastructure development .It is clear by now that this year’s J&K UT budget focuses on development ,agriculture and tourism so that people of the UT will get benefitted. People of Jammu and Kashmir have high expectations from the finance minister and they expect a growth oriented, inclusive and people’s budget.
(The author is a columnist, social and KP activist)