THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac presented the Pinarayi Vijayan government’s second budget for the state on Friday with an allocation of Rs 2,000 crore for development of coastal areas and raising tax on Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) to 200% and doubling the price of beer.
Thomas Issac has also announced that a robot developed by a Kozhikode native will be used to clean sewers and manholes, putting an end to manual scavenging in the state. He has earmarked Rs 10 crore for the welfare of transgenders in the state.
According to the state’s economic review document tabled in the House on Thursday, 35,541 engineering graduates were seeking jobs in 2017, up from 30,719 in 2016. In the case of general work seekers, the figure stood at 34.62 lakh, of which 21.40 lakh are Class 10 educated, while 3.58 lakh had studied below Class 10, 7.31 lakh have studied up to Class 12, 2.17 lakh are graduates, while there were 16,000 post graduates.
HIGHLIGHTS
* Allocates Rs 80 crore towards welfare of NRIs. Considering the huge remittances flowing into the state from NRIs in Gulf countries and beyond, the state government has allocated money towards programmes for their welfare.
* Proposes Rs 16 crore for those stuck in difficult or perilous situations in foreign countries.
* Aovt allocates Rs 14.5 crore towards jail renovation across the state. Half the revenue earned from jails will be used for the welfare of prisoners.
* Govt allocates Rs 28 crore for Sabarimala master plan
*Will increase tax on alcohol in the state. The state currently receives an annual revenue of Rs 12,000 crore from liquor sales. .
* Rs 10 crore to build a memorial and museum in the memory of AK Gopalan in his hometown of Peralassery.
* Gas connections to be made available in every town through which GAIL pipeline passes.
* Pensions for every KSRTC employee to be paid by March.
* Special package for KSRTC to be announced by March.
* 52 railway over-bridges will be built. Thalassery-Mysuru rail line will be deliberated with the help of Railways
.* Kozhikode to get a mobility hub on the lines of Vyttila in Ernakulam.
* Rs 144 crore for the field of culture.
* Rs 46 crore for Ayurveda education and Rs 23 crore for homeopathy education.
*Rs 2859 crores for SC/ST-centric programmes. Rs 10 crore for bamboo, Rs 54 crore for cashew industry, Rs 19 crore for khadi industry, Rs 150 crore for coir industry is being set aside.
* The state government is allocating Rs 1267 crores for women’s welfare. ‘She-lodge’, temporary housing for working women, will be thrown open in Kochi. Rs 50 crore for measures to prevent attacks on women. Rs 2000 hike for ASHA workers has also been announced in the budget. 13.6% of the budget is being allocated for women-centric measures.
* Monetary aid for marriages increased from Rs 10,000 to Rs 40,000.
* Endosulfan package will be fully-implemented. Rs 50 crore in first installment will be disbursed soon.
* Rs 43 crore for renovation of bud schools.
* Rs 300 crore for computer labs.
* Rs 33 crore for digitisation of schools in the state.
* Rs 200 crore allocation for Kudumbashree
* Rs 2500 crore for Life Housing scheme
* Malabar Cancer Centre will be upgraded to the status of Regional Cancer Centre (RCC).
Medical Colleges will have more doctors and nurses. District hospitals will have department for heart-related ailments. Taluk hospitals to have trauma-care centres. Rs 1685 crore for public health services. An ambulance service on the model of Uber will be launched soon, the FM says.
*Operation Sulaimani in Kozhikode and the recently-launched ‘Numma Oonu’ in Kochi, a state-wide scheme to eliminate hunger is being planned.
*Rs 20 crore for a project to alleviate hunger in urban and rural areas. He praises the project implementation in Alappuzha district and says it will be expanded across state.
* Extensive coastal package of Rs 2000 crore post Ockhi
*An additional Rs 150 crore for sustainable green development of coastal areas. A loan of Rs 584 crore for port development will be sanctioned.
