Along expected lines, the new Modi government’s Budget 2024 opened its purse strings generously towards Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, ruled by key political allies of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
In her budget speech earlier today, Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman announced Rs 15,000 crore for Andhra Pradesh's new capital, a long-standing demand of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). Similarly, the government has kept aside Rs 26,000 crore for various road projects in Bihar, ruled by Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)].
Both TDP and JD(U) emerged as crucial allies for the Modi government in June this year when their coalition secured 293 seats in the Lok Sabha. TDP and JD(U) contributed 16 and 12 seats, respectively, to this tally.
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Bihar will also get an industrial push from the Centre in addition to an approval for additional borrowings from multilateral lenders. FM Sitharaman said during her speech, “On the Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor, we will support development of an industrial node at Gaya. This corridor will catalyze industrial development of the eastern region.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP is reliant on its allies to maintain a simple majority in the parliament. Notably, Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar, the respective leaders of TDP and JD(U), have walked out of BJP-led governments in the past.
The new TDP-led state government in Andhra Pradesh (AP) has been very keen on developing the new capital city of Amaravati. The Centre announced financial assistance worth Rs 15,000 crore towards the project.
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Further, the finance minister also reiterated the government’s commitment towards the Polavaram Irrigation Project in the state. AP Chief Minister Naidu’s demand for assistance in the state’s industrialisation was also addressed in the budget.
“For promoting industrial development, funds will be provided for essential infrastructure such as water, power, railways and roads in Kopparthy node on the Vishakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor and Orvakal node on Hyderabad-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor. An additional allocation will be provided this year towards capital investment for economic growth,” Sitharaman said in the parliament.
For Bihar, the budget announced new airports, medical colleges and sports infrastructure projects, in addition to religious tourism measures such as development of Vishnupad Temple Corridor and Mahabodhi Temple Corridor.
TDP national spokesperson Jyothsna Tirunagari told Outlook Business, “We thank the Central Finance Minister for this progressive and Confidence-Boosting Budget and for recognising the needs of our State and focusing on a Capital, Polavaram, Industrial Nodes and Development of Backward Areas in AP in the Union Budget of FY 24-25. This support from the Centre will go a long way towards rebuilding Andhra Pradesh. This would ensure to put Andhra Pradesh back on track.”
The demand for special status by Andhra Pradesh and Bihar was, however, not granted.
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