Nagaland CM presents Budget, announces universal life insurance scheme

Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Tuesday announced a fully-funded universal life insurance scheme as he presented the Budget for 2024-25 which did not propose any hike in taxes.

Presenting the budget on the second day of the ongoing session of the State Assembly, Rio, who also holds the finance portfolio, said gross receipts are estimated at Rs 23,978.05 crore and the gross expenditures are pegged at Rs 23,727.88 crore.

The budget estimate is an increase of Rs 644.22 crore compared to the previous financial year where the amount was at Rs 23,083.66 crore.

Rio termed the budget as people centric and tax-free for the welfare of the people in general.

Among significant measures, the state government announced a fully-funded universal life insurance scheme to mitigate financial hardship due to untimely demise of a family's breadwinner. The Chief Minister's Universal Life Insurance Scheme will be fully funded by the state government.

A life insurance coverage of Rs 2 lakh will be given and additionally, accidental insurance coverage of Rs 2 lakh each will also be provided for the breadwinner and three other family members, Rio said.

The accidental insurance component covers both disability and death. In case of accidental death, the sum insured is Rs 2 lakh per beneficiary, Rs 2 lakh in case of total and irrecoverable loss of both eyes or loss of use of both hands or feet, and Rs 1 lakh for total and irrecoverable loss of sight of one eye or loss of use of one hand or foot.

This scheme will cover every household in Nagaland and a provision of Rs 15 crore has been provided to pay the cost of premium, he said.

Besides, the Local Area Development Fund (LADF) allocation has been hiked to Rs 2 crore from Rs 1 crore for each constituency.

To generate more resources for capital infrastructure, it becomes imperative to continuously take measures to augment our resources, he said steps are being taken in the different revenue sectors.

While emphasising that issues relating to the people of Eastern Nagaland continue to be of paramount importance, Rio said an amount of Rs 180 crore has been sanctioned under PM DevINE for the areas of Eastern Nagaland.

"We continue to remain committed to work together, and with the central government for suitably redressing the grievances of our Eastern Nagaland people," he said.

Meanwhile, the chief minister also expressed deep concern at the decision of the Union government of India to suspend the Free Movement Regime (FMR) along the international border with Myanmar.

"We all know that the boundaries that divide us today are not natural boundaries but are man-made. Whatever the reasons may be for such a decision, we are deeply concerned at the rift this will create in our harmonious social life, denying countless people access to their own ancestral lands and restricting interactions with their loved ones living across the border.

"This issue needs comprehensive consultations, and raising of the matter with the Government of India for reconsideration of its decision, and for continuance of FMR," he said.

While noting that the Naga political issue remains unresolved, he said the signing of Framework Agreement in August 2015 as well as the Agreed Position with the NNPGs in November 2017 had raised hopes of lasting peace, and that the state would have a peace accord soon.

The state government has been playing the role of an active facilitator in the peace talks, he said, adding that this august House has passed a number of resolutions over the years and there have been broad-based consultative meetings with all civil society organisations and stakeholders on several occasions. "Yet a conclusive outcome continues to elude us," he said.

"Our children today have high aspirations in life like their peers in other parts of the world. We owe the younger generation a secure future and to achieve that, make all possible efforts to resolve the Naga political issue so that our children can realise their full potential," he said.

In this regard, Rio called upon all the parties involved, the Union government and the Naga political groups to arrive at a solution that is honourable, acceptable and inclusive at the earliest.

Highlighting the sectoral allocations and the financial details of the Budget, Rio said the inflow of investment is essential for the growth of any economy.

"This is an area in which we have always been handicapped. To overcome these bottlenecks, the Investment & Development Authority of Nagaland (IDAN) was created to function as the State's investment promotion and facilitation agency," he said.

NLA Speaker Sharingain Longkumer announced that budget discussion will be taken up on Thursday and consideration and passing will be done on Friday.