Yogi Adityanath says UP all set to become trillion-dollar economy

Lucknow: The Yogi Adityanath government on Thursday presented the maiden budget of its second term in Uttar Pradesh, claiming that it is on the way to turning the state into a USD 1 trillion economy in the coming years.

The Rs 6.15 lakh crore budget for 2022-23 -- up from Rs 5.5 lakh crore last year --- sets aside Rs 39,000 crore for welfare schemes, the government said.

In the current financial year the BJP-led UP government will spend Rs 1,500 crore on a youth empowerment scheme, Rs 1,000 crore on a scheme to develop small irrigation projects and Rs 650 crore to help farmers and their families if the breadwinner meets with an accident.

A big ticket item is the Centre-initiated Jal Jeevan Mission. The UP government has earmarked Rs 19,500 crore this year to provide drinking water in water-scarce regions under the scheme.

"The economy of the state is improving rapidly. We believe that we will be successful in taking the state's economy to USD 1 trillion," Finance minister Suresh Khanna said in the budget speech, with the chief minister sitting next to him in the state assembly.

Hailing the budget later, Adityanath said it met the aspirations of the people.

It has allotted Rs 54,883 crore for 97 schemes out of the total 130 points mentioned in the BJP manifesto in the recent assembly polls, he told reporters. This includes the election promise of providing two cooking gas cylinders free each year to the beneficiaries of the 'Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana'.

Samajwadi Party president called it a spider's web of statistics and Bahujan Samaj Party's leader Mayawati termed it clich d .

On law and order, the budget has proposed spending over Rs 730 crore for strengthening the Police Emergency Management System.

Over Rs 276 crore will be set aside for establishing the UP Special Security Force entrusted with the security of courts and historical and religious places, including Ayodhya, Varanasi and Mathura.

Also, the budget provides Rs 100 crore for beautification and development of tourism facilities in Ayodhya and Varanasi.

Swami Vivekananda Youth Empowerment Scheme, under which the government is distributing smartphones and computer tablets, gets Rs 1,500 crore. Twelve lakh devices have already been distributed out of the two crore planned over five years.