Jharkhand rolls out pro-poor budget

Focusing on hut dwellers, the Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand, a mineralrich tribal state, waived loans up to INR 50,000 (USD675), promised 100 units of free power and enhanced funds for education and rural development in its first budget after coming to power last December.

Soren’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), or Jharkhand Liberation Movement, and its allies had won comprehensively in the December elections cornering 47 seats in the 81-member assembly defeating Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Jharkhand Finance Minister Rameshwar Oraon tabled the budget of INR 86,370 crore (INR 86 billion or USD 1.1 billion).

“It is a poor centric budget. It is an indication that the government is moving towards people living in huts,” said Soren, son of a veteran politician and JMM patriarch, Shibu Soren. “The budget aims to ensure that no one dies of starvation or due to the absence of treatment. It also aims to ensure that all children go to school, and not graze goats. It is a revolutionary budget,” said Soren in his second stint as the chief minister. His last tenure had lasted only about 14 months from July 2013 to December 2014. “The aim is to make the farmers happy. Some steps have also been taken for the youth. Our aim is to provide employment to the youth and stipend to those who are trying their luck for jobs.”

Soren also announced that the state, which was carved out of Bihar, is planning to reserve 50% of seats in its government jobs for native tribals. He added the state has allocated the highest amount for education at 15.64%, followed by rural development at 13.22%. Police and disaster management has been allocated 8.32%, welfare, including minorities’ welfare, 8.28%, health 5.31% and energy 5.65%. He said the budget aims at achieving a 7.2% growth rate for the state GDP (Gross Domestic Product) from current 5.7%, and push per capita income to INR 65,802 (USD89) from the existing INR 62,345 (USD83).