Ashok Gehlot-led Rajasthan government came up with its state budget on Wednesday, offering benefits to all sections of society. With just around a year left for the next Rajasthan Assembly polls, the budget, as expected, has taken the populist route. The Congress had bounced back against the BJP in 2018, after a dismal performance in 2013 elections, and now faces the challenge of retaining power in the state. The Rajasthan government announced the re-institution of the old pension scheme. Essentially, it revoked the National Pension Scheme passed by the Central government in 2004. The contribution-based National Pension Scheme has been in public debate in some of the states going to polls currently. The government seems to steer clear of any potential controversies around the issue in the state. Furthermore, the Gehlot government has also decided to do away with the salary cuts of government employees which, once again, was a decision of the BJP state government in 2017. This has been yet another sensitive issue that has been resonating with salaried class for over years. The Gehlot government, which itself had invited public wrath for cutting salaries of government employees during the pandemic in 2020, has timed its decisions so well ahead of 2023 polls. As an icing on the cake, the government has also abstained from imposing any new tax. In principle, this decision can be said to be of help to the people who are yet struggling to recover from the ravages of the pandemic but, in reality, it may be targeted towards alluring the voting population. The most transformative of the changes introduced by the Gehlot government is the introduction of the Indira Gandhi Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme. On the lines of the popular MNREGA scheme for rural areas, the new employment guarantee scheme will cater to the urban population. It is indeed a pioneering step forward by the Rajasthan government. Notably, the Rajasthan CM has been flagging the issue of urban employment guarantee scheme at Central level for over years. He has also urged the Prime Minister several times to increase the work days limit under MNREGA. He has exemplified these demands through his actions this time around. He has extended the work days under MNREGA from 100 days to 125 days. However, there is further scope for intervention in this regard. In the past years, the state has witnessed delayed payments for wage workers. In particular, the disparities between the wages of different communities have been creating a rift among them. If the state government manages to remove these hiccups, it's interventions can truly be termed as successful. Indira Gandhi Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme, in particular, will be of great help to the wage workers hit badly by the pandemic. However, the program will take off next year only, whereas intervention was needed at this point in time. The state government has also aptly focused on the core sectors of health and education. In the health sector, it increased the insurance cover under Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh per year per family. This is a massive increment for the government's flagship health insurance scheme. To provide succor to the pandemic-hit population, Gehlot government had launched first of its kind state universal health insurance scheme last year with a total outlay of Rs 3,500 crore. In the current budget, it has also proposed free-of-cost IPD and OPD services in the government health facilities. For the education sector, the CM has announced the opening of 1,000 Mahatma Gandhi English Medium Schools each in urban and rural areas — with a special emphasis on strengthening English education in the state. In the agriculture sector, the allocation of Rs 5,000 crore for CM Krishak Saathi Yojna and Rs 2,700 crore for Rajasthan Micro Irrigation Mission are also steps in the right direction. Clearing the air around the REET paper leak controversy, the state government has also announced the conduction of the exams in July this year — with the number of posts nearly doubling from 32,000 to 62,000. In totality, while it can be said that the government has tried to please all by offering something or the other thing in the state budget, it must also be credited for at least focusing on the immediate needs of the population recovering from the pandemic.