THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As part of tackling the challenges posed by the pandemic, a second Covid package of Rs 20,000 crore has been announced in the first budget of the second LDF government on Friday. Kerala finance minister K N Balagoal, who presented the budget, said that of the 20,000 crore package, Rs 2,800 crore will be spent to tackle health emergency situations. While Rs 8,900 crore will be disbursed directly to people whose livelihood has been affected by the pandemic, Rs 8,300 crore will be used to provide interest subsidies for loans aimed at economic revival.
"The pace and severity of the second wave of Covid and the possibility of a third wave indicate that the challenge is not yet over. We may have to face greater challenges in the coming months," Balagopal said.
Isolation wards for contagious diseases, with 10 beds each, will be set up in all community health centres, taluk, district and General Hospitals at a cost of Rs. 636.5 crore. The budget has also earmarked Rs.1000 crore for providing vaccines to all above 18 years of age and Rs.500 crore for the purchase of allied equipment.
Rs.50 crore has been earmarked to set up isolation blocks in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode Medical Colleges and Rs 25 crore will be spent to set up pediatric ICU wards in selected District Hospitals and Medical Colleges.
"Even though tax increase is inevitable in the state’s financial situation, no new tax proposals are announced in the context of Covid pandemic situation," the Finance Minister said.
Fiscal rejuvenation
As part of fiscal rejuvenation measures, loan scheme from NABARD for primary cooperative societies will be made available through Kerala Bank. The objective is to provide loans amounting to Rs. 2,000 crore in the financial year 2021-22, the Finance Minister said.
Loans worth Rs 1,000 crore will be provided at reduced interest rates to start new enterprises in agricultural, industrial and service sectors. In addition to this, bank loans of at least Rs 1,000 crore will be made available to neighbourhood groups through Kudumbasree. "All loans upto Rs. 5 lakh will be made available at 4% interest rate and Rs. 100 crore will be provided for interest subvention," Balagopal said.
Coastal protection
The budget has laid stress on coastal protection due to the large-scale devastation of the state's coast owing to cyclones and sea erosion. Coastal area conservation measures have been formulated in such a way that it suitably integrates new technologies like double layered tetrapods with anti-scour layer, mangroves, diaphragm walls with anti-scour layer, rolling barrier systems, geo-containers, and geo-tubes. "The estimated expenditure of this project which can be completed in five years would be around Rs. 5300 crores. An amount of Rs. 1500 crore will be provided as financial assistance from KIIFB towards the first phase of conserving most fragile coastal areas, the Finance Minister said.
Other sectors
The Higher education sector, which would lead the LDF government's ambitious plan of transforming the state to a knowledge society, has got a major boost in the budget. The ‘knowledge economy fund’ for skill promotion, technological transformation and strengthening of the higher education system has been increased to Rs 300 crore in the budget. The fledgling Sree Narayana Guru Open University, that has been struggling since its inception last year, will get Rs 10 crore for upgrading its facilities.
Low interest rate loans will be made available to MSMEs. Additional working capital loans and term loans will be made available to existing MSMEs at lower rates. Loans amounting Rs 2000 crore will be provided in the industrial sector and Rs.50 crore has been earmarked for interest subvention. The budget allocation towards various welfare schemes for expatriate Keralites has been enhanced to Rs.170 crore.
Loan amounting to Rs. 400 crore will be made available through KFC for mobilsing more working capital in the Tourism Sector. "In addition to the existing provision of Rs.100 crore, an amount of Rs.50 crore is additionally earmarked for marketing initiatives of the Tourism Department," Balagopal said.
As part of reducing KSRTC's operational loss, 3000 diesel buses will be converted to CNG. The estimated expenditure for this would be Rs. 300 crore. The budget has enhanced the allocation for the current financial year to Rs. 100 crore, Balagopal said.
The allocation of the existing livelihood package under Kudumbashree has been raised to Rs. 100 crore for providing subsidies to enterprises and for imparting training to those who have lost their livelihoods to find new jobs. Kudmbashree will also receive Rs. 10 crore for starting value added production units. The budget has also provisioned Rs 10 crore for the reduction of extreme poverty.
While Rs. 10 crore has been allotted for preliminary expenditure in reviving agriculture and allied sectors, an equal amount has also been allocated for information technology service network for marketing of agriculture products. The budget has also provisioned Rs 10 crore for production of value added products using milk. An amount of Rs 5 crore is allocated for building infrastructure facilities for fish processing considering the possibilities for making value added products.
Major highlights of the budget:
# Rs 5,300 crore for coastal protection and coastal infrastructure development
# Rs 2,000 crore worth of loans for agricultural sector
# Rs 2,000 crore earmarked for primary cooperative societies
# Rs 1,000 crore for providing vaccines free of cost; Rs 500 cr for related equipment
# Rs 1,000 crore loans for Kudumbashree neighbourhood groups
# Rs 1,000 crore worth of low interest loans for Non Resident Keralites
# Rs 636.5 crore for isolation wards in all primary health centres
# Rs 100 crore as part of Covid package to Kudumbashree