Shinde govt's 1st budget offers relief in professional tax, aid for farmers

The Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government on Thursday presented its maiden Budget for 2023-24 in which it proposed Rs 6,000 assistance to farmers and Re 1 crop insurance scheme while also offering relief in professional tax to working women, 50 per cent discount on ticket fares to women in state-run buses and a new scheme for the girl child.

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is also the state Finance Minister, presented a revenue deficit budget of Rs 16,222 crore in the Legislative Assembly with a total outlay of Rs 1,72,000 crore.

Announcing a crop insurance scheme for farmers at Re 1, the deputy CM said the government will bear the financial burden of Rs 3,312 crore.

"Under the earlier crop insurance scheme, the farmers had to pay two per cent of the crop insurance premium. Now, the farmers will not need to pay anything as the government will pay the premium amount," he said. Apart from this, the budget also proposed the 'Namo Shetkari Mahasanman Scheme', under which every farmer in the state will get Rs 6,000 in addition to the Rs 6,000 he gets under the central scheme (PM Kisan Samman Nidhi) every year. As many as 1.15 crore farmer families will benefit from it and the government will bear a burden of Rs 6,900 crore, he added.

"A new scheme, 'Lek Ladki', will be launched for empowerment of girls. For yellow and orange ration card holder families, a subsidy of Rs 5,000 will be given after birth of a girlchild, Rs 4,000 in Class 1, Rs 6,000 in Class 6 and Rs 8,000 in Class 11. After completing 18 years of age, a cash amount of Rs 75,000 will be given to the beneficiary girl," he said.

Women will be given a 50 per cent discount on ticket fares in Maharashtra State Transport Corporation (MSRTC) buses. A woman buyer will get one per cent concession in the stamp duty registration for the purchase of a residential unit. But the woman cannot sell that unit to a male buyer for 15 years and this condition has now been relaxed, he said. Fadnavis also announced 'Shakti Sadan', a new scheme to provide shelter to women in distress, liberated from sexual exploitation or facing domestic violence, will be launched with the assistance of the central government by combining the Swadhar, Ujjwala schemes. The survivors will get shelter, legal aid, medical care and counselling, he said. Fifty new Shakti Sadans will be started under the scheme, he said. Fadnavis announced a waiver in professional tax for women with a monthly salary of up to Rs 25,000. Earlier, women with a salary of more than Rs 10,000 had to pay professional tax. "The budget focuses on sustainable agriculture, prosperous farmers, inclusive for women, tribals, backward class. It also focuses on huge capital investment in infrastructure development, employment generation, skilled youth, environment-friendly development," he said.