Assam Assembly Approves ₹2.63 Lakh Crore Budget for Fiscal Year 2025-26
Why in News?
- Assam Assembly Approves ₹2.63 Lakh Crore Budget for Fiscal Year 2025-26 budget, focusing on economic growth, social welfare, and infrastructure development. This budget is significant due to its pro-people initiatives and pre-election economic measures aimed at boosting various sectors in the state.
Important Key Points:
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Professional Tax Exemption: Individuals earning up to ₹15,000 per month are exempted from professional tax, benefiting over 1.43 lakh taxpayers and enhancing their purchasing power.
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Support for Tea Garden Workers: A one-time financial aid of ₹5,000 is allocated to approximately 6.8 lakh tea garden workers, totaling ₹342 crore, alongside a two-year extension of the tax holiday for green tea leaves to support the tea industry.
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Empowerment of Women Entrepreneurs: The Mukhya Mantri Mahila Udyamita Abhiyan is launched with a ₹3,038 crore allocation to encourage women entrepreneurship, targeting 30 lakh self-help group members in rural areas and 2 lakh in urban areas, providing a ₹10,000 seed capital as an entrepreneurship fund.
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Orunodoi Scheme Expansion: An allocation of ₹5,000 crore is made to extend the Orunodoi scheme, providing financial assistance to over 37 lakh women in Assam, with increased pensions for widows to ensure parity.
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Additional Support for Farmers: Farmers will receive additional financial aid over the minimum support price (MSP), with allocations of ₹2,550 per quintal for paddy, ₹2,475 per quintal for maize, and ₹6,450 per quintal for mustard. Approximately 500 well-performing Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) will receive ₹10 lakh each under the Mukhya Mantri Utkarsh Yojana, and a Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme with an initial corpus of ₹15 crore is established for collateral-free loans.
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Support for Graduates: The ‘Chief Minister’s Jibon Prerana’ scheme offers a motivational support of ₹2,500 per month to graduates passing out in 2025 from government universities/colleges in Assam during their job search period, assisting in preparation for competitive exams, interviews, and entrepreneurial pursuits.
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Electricity Subsidy: A reduction of ₹1 per unit in electricity rates is proposed for Jeevan Dhara and domestic consumers with monthly consumption up to 120 units, benefiting approximately 48 lakh consumers.
