Budget is not all about drawing a balance between income and expenditure but it is all about identifying the priorities for the growth and development of social service sectors for purposes of generating more and more employment and income opportunities besides developing technical and institutional infrastructural facilities for the purposes of developing industries and improving delivery of public services. Fortunately Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has taken care of both the growth and development of social service sectors and as well as development of institutional and infrastructural facilities in this year’s budget for Jammu & Kashmir. With the allocation of a budget of ₹1.18 lakh crore for the financial year 2023-24 for Jammu & Kashmir the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has rolled out a plan for all inclusive development of Jammu & Kashmir. Since the priorities of the budget are focused on promoting investments for the purposes of industrial growth and generation of new employment avenues for the unemployed youth and boosting sustainable agriculture and horticulture for the purposes of boosting the rural economy, the journey of J&K to infrastructural development and industrial growth is likely to move forward.
“Passing the budget is not as difficult as is it’s execution, Budget once presented in the parliament is passed by it even if opposition opposes it. What matters is the execution of the budget for achieving the targets set for the completion of developmental projects and implementation of public welfare schemes in the given timelines and the onus of executing the budget lies on the Jammu & Kashmir Government”.
The long awaited dream of connecting Kashmir through rail network with the rest of the country if comes true towards the end of 2023 as promised by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharam will not only be the beginning of a new chapter in development of travel and trade in Jammu & Kashmir but it would also ease the transportation of apple from Valley districts to other parts of the country and henceforth boost the key apple industry in Kashmir. With Government expecting revenue expenditure to be ₹77,009 crore likely to leave a revenue surplus of ₹29,052 crore for capital expenditure the development of almost all the social service sectors is likely to get a major boost in the ensuing financial year . Allocation of ₹2,526.74 crore for agriculture and horticulture, ₹2,097.53 crore for health and medical education, ₹4,169.26 crore for rural department, ₹1,964.90 crore for power sector, ₹7,161 crore for Jal Shakti (Public Health Engineering-PHE), ₹2,928.04 crore to housing and urban development, ₹1,521.87 crore to education, and ₹4,062.87 crore to the construction of roads and bridges shows the Government’s deeper interest in the development of social service sector in the ensuing financial year. What matters the most is the fact that passing the budget is not as difficult as is it’s execution, Budget once presented in the parliament is passed by it even if opposition opposes it. What matters is the execution of the buget for achieving the targets set for the completion of developmental projects and implementation of public welfare schemes in the given timelines and the onus of executing the budget lies on the Jammu & Kashmir Government.
