On February 5, 2024, Mr. Suresh Kumar Khanna, Uttar Pradesh's Finance Minister, delivered the state's budget for the fiscal year 2024–25. The BJP government will publish its eighth consecutive budget, while Finance Minister Suresh Khanna will give his fifth consecutive budget. Finance Minister in the state assembly, Suresh Khanna unveiled a record budget for the fiscal year 2024–25, totaling Rs 7.46 lakh crore. The budgetary outlay for the previous year was Rs 6.90 lakh crore. The state finance minister stated that new programs totaling Rs 24,863.57 crore are included in the overall expenditure for the upcoming fiscal year.

Budget Highlights

• At current prices, the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of Uttar Pradesh is expected to expand by 5.8% over 2023-24 to Rs 24,99,076 crore in 2024-25.
• The expected expenditure for 2024-25 (not including debt repayment) is Rs 6,96,632 crore, a 14% increase above the revised estimates for 2023-24. In addition, the state will repay the outstanding debt of Rs 39,806 crore.
• The expected receipts for 2024-25 (excluding borrowings) are Rs 6,10,101 crore, a 15% increase above the revised forecast for 2023-24.
• A revenue surplus of 3% of GSDP (or Rs 74,147 crore) is projected for 2024-25. 
• The targeted fiscal deficit for 2024-2025 is 3.46% of GSDP, or Rs 86,531 crore. The revised projections indicate that the fiscal deficit for 2023-24 will be around 3.49% of GSDP, which is in line with the budget estimate for the same period.

Policy Highlights

• Women and Child Welfare: Rs 4,073 crore has been set aside for widows' welfare. Amounts of Rs 5,129 crore have been set aside to feed mothers and children with wholesome meals. 
• The State government has increased the destitute women's pension from Rs 500 to now Rs 1,000 per month. 30 lakh women benefit from this.
• Youth Empowerment: Tablets and smartphones will be given out as part of the Swami Vivekananda Youth Empowerment Scheme. For it, Rs 4,000 crore have been set aside. Twenty-five lakh pills have been distributed thus far.
• Green Energy: To invest in clean technology and renewable energy, the government and Hero Future Energies inked a Rs 4,000 crore memorandum of understanding. By 2030, a target of 15% more forest and tree cover is to be reached.
• Power subsidy: The government has set aside Rs 2,400 crore to guarantee farmers' private tubewells have a steady supply of electricity.
• Agriculture: To encourage agriculture in gram panchayats, three new schemes will be introduced. These are the Automatic Weather Station-Automated Rain Gauge Scheme, the State Agriculture Development Scheme, and the UP Agri Scheme with World Bank assistance. Three programs totaling Rs 460 crore have been allocated.
• Housing: Township development has been given Rs 3,000 crore under the Chief Ministers' Urban Expansion/New Cities Initiative.

Uttar Pradesh’s Economy

• GSDP: Uttar Pradesh's GSDP increased by 8.3% in 2022-2023 (at constant prices), as opposed to 10.2% in 2021-2022. In contrast, the projected growth rate of the national GDP in 2022-2023 is 7.2%.
• Sectors: At current pricing, the agriculture industry rose by 10% in 2022-2023. By contrast, it expanded by 14% in 2021-2022. In 2022-2023 the manufacturing sector increased by 22% and the services sector by 12%. According to estimates, the manufacturing, services, and agricultural sectors will account for 24%, 30%, and 46% of the GDP in 2022-2023 (at constant prices).
• Per capita GSDP: Based on current prices, the predicted per capita GSDP for Uttar Pradesh in 2022-2023 is Rs 96,193, representing an 8% yearly growth from 2017-18.

Budget Estimates for 2024-25

• The total budget for 2024-2025 Excluding debt repayment is set at Rs 6,96,632 crore. This represents a 14% increase over the updated 2023-24 forecast. 
• The projected revenue surplus for 2024-25 is approximately equal to the revised forecasts for 2023-24, or 3% of GSDP (or Rs 74,147 crore).  

Receipts in 2024-25

• The expected total revenue receipts for 2024-25 are Rs 6,06,802 crore, a 16% increase above the 2023-24 revised estimate. Of this, the central government would provide Rs 3,26,017 crore (54%) while the state would raise Rs 2,80,786 crore (46%) on its own.
• The state's portion of central taxes in 2024-2025 is projected to be Rs 2,18,817 crore, a 10% increase over the 2023-2024 revised projection.
• The revised estimates for 2023-24 show a 5% fall in center grants to Rs 1,07,200 crore in 2024-25.
• The expected total tax revenue for Uttar Pradesh in 2024-25 is Rs 2,56,351 crore, a 27% increase over the revised forecast for 2023-24. The expected own tax income in 2024-25 as a proportion of GSDP is 10.3%, which is higher than the updated forecasts for 2023-24 (8.6%).

Deficits, Debt, and FRBM Targets for 2024-25

Annual goals are set by the Uttar Pradesh Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2004 to gradually reduce the state government's outstanding debt, revenue shortfall, and fiscal deficit.

• Fiscal Deficit: The difference between total outlays and total receipts is known as the fiscal deficit. The government borrows money to close this deficit, which raises overall obligations. The projected budget deficit for 2024-2025 is 3.46% of GSDP. The federal government has allowed states to have a fiscal deficit of up to 3% of GSDP in 2024-25; an additional 0.5% is available only if specific changes in the power sector are implemented.
• Revenue Surplus: The difference between revenue receipts and revenue expenditures is known as the revenue surplus. According to the budget, there will be a revenue surplus in 2024-25 of Rs 74,147 crore, or 3% of the GSDP. 
• Outstanding Government Guarantees: A few more contingent obligations that states may be required to fulfill under specific circumstances are not included in the list of outstanding liabilities of states. The borrowings made by State Public Sector Enterprises (SPSEs) from financial institutions are guaranteed by state governments. The state's outstanding guarantee as of March 31, 2023, is projected to be worth Rs 1,65,557 crore, or 7% of Uttar Pradesh's GSDP for 2022-2023. The power industry is covered by 79% of the state's guarantees.

According to the budget estimates for 2023–24, the average for a sector shows the average spending in that sector by 31 states, including Uttar Pradesh.

• Education: In 2024-2025, Uttar Pradesh will spend 14.6% of its total budget on education. This is approximately the states' average allocation (14.7%) for education in 2023-2024.
• Health: The state of Uttar Pradesh has allotted 6.2% of its total spending to health, matching the average state allocation of 6.2%.
• Development of the rural areas: Uttar Pradesh has set aside 5.2% of its budget for this purpose. This is just a little bit more than the states' average contribution of 5% for rural development.
• Energy: 6.7% of Uttar Pradesh's spending has gone towards energy. This is more than the state's average contribution to urban development, which is 4.7%.
• Agriculture: Compared to the average expenditure by states (5.9%), Uttar Pradesh has dedicated 3.1% of its overall expenditure to agriculture.
• Roads and bridges: Compared to the average state allocation of 4.6%, Uttar Pradesh has committed 5.9% of its total spending to roads and bridges.

UP Budget 2024 Highlights: Aviation Sector

• Rs 1,100 crore for the construction of airstrips throughout the region.
• The airports at Mayorpur (Sonbhadra) and Sarsawa (Saharanpur) have been developed, and Aligarh, Azamgarh, Moradabad, Shravasti, and Chitrakoot have been developed.
• In Ayodhya, the "Maharishi Valmiki International Airport Ayodhya Dham" was constructed.
• Ongoing efforts are being made by the state government to increase air connectivity in the state through the "Uttar Pradesh Civil Aviation Promotion Policy" and the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS-'UDAN') of the Government of India.
• A proposal of Rs 150 crore was made for the establishment and expansion of the Ayodhya airport.
• The number of passengers flying by air has increased by 19.2 percent in the current fiscal year compared to the previous one.

Highlights of the UP Budget 2024: Upcoming Projects

• The Ganga Motorway project has a budget of Rs 2057 crore
• The Link Motorway has a budget of Rs 500 crore, and 
• The Agra Metro has a budget of Rs 346 crore.
• Atal Industrial Infrastructure Mission to receive Rs 400 crore.
• 22,000 MW of solar power targeted.
• Rs 3,948 crore for the PM Gramme Sadak Yojana
• Rs 3,668 crore for the PM Awas program
• The National Rural Health Mission has been allotted Rs 7,350 crore
• The Varanasi Medical College has been given Rs 400 crore.

UP Budget 2024 Highlights: Agriculture

• A budget of Rs 1,100 crore has been set aside to provide farmers with free water. 
• The Uttar Pradesh budget anticipates 5.1% growth in agriculture in FY25. 
• From October 2023 to October 2024, approximately 37 lakh Kisan Credit Cards were issued.
• Under the Prime Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, 2.62 crore farmers will receive Rs 63,000 crore through DBT by December 2023.
• Approximately 10 lakh farmers who were covered received reimbursement of Rs 831 crore under the Prime Minister Crop Insurance Scheme between October 2022 and October 2023.
• From 2017 to January 29, 2024, the current government paid a record-breaking amount of Rs 2.33 lakh crore to about 48 lakh sugarcane farmers, setting a new milestone in this regard.
• The amount paid for cane is Rs 20,274 crore higher than the total amount paid for cane in the previous 22 years, which was Rs 2.1 lakh crore.
• The largest number of workers in the nation, 8.32 crore, have registered on the 'e-Shram' platform in Uttar Pradesh.

Highlights of the UP Budget 2024: Health

• The government allots approximately Rs 1,000 crore towards health.
• The state has set a growth target for agriculture of 5.1%.

Highlights of the UP Budget 2024: Improvements and Investments

• In the state, the unemployment rate is 2.4%.
• An investment proposal valued at Rs 40 lakh crore was submitted to the state during the Investors Summit.
• Uttar Pradesh is rapidly developing. The State exports goods and services valued at Rs 2 lakh crore. The industrial sector's growth is accelerating.
• 96 lakh MSME entities are operating in the state, and there are 22 lakh MSME scheme beneficiaries.
• Dialysis centers for kidney patients are now available in every state district.
• There are 3,900 slots in government medical colleges and 5,250 seats in private medical schools. 
• The state ranks first in terms of PM Jan Dhan Account subscribers. There are 9 crore accounts in the state.
• As per the interim budget unveiled on February 1 by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the state is anticipated to obtain approximately Rs 2,18,816 crore from the Central taxes. 
• The UP government had proposed a budget of Rs 6.9 lakh crore for 2023-2024 the year before, along with a supplemental budget of Rs 28,760.67 crore that included money for several Ayodhya development projects.

Conclusion

The budget for this is Rs 7,36,437 crore. The allocation is 6.7% higher than in previous budgets. The accomplishments of the Double Engine Government, which is devoted to PM Modi's vision of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Vikas, and Sabka Prayas" are also showcased. UP Budget 2024’s policies majorly focused on the upliftment of the marginalized sections of society.