Highlights of the Press Conference of the LG Manoj Sinha on J&K Budget 2024-25

Budget 2024-25:

v   The Budget 2024-25 reflects the felt needs and aspirations of the people of J&K and commitment of the UT Administration for peace, progress and prosperity.

v   The immediate goal is to accelerate the pace of economic development in the UT of J&K and make it multi-dimensional.

v   The budget 2024-25 is primarily a “Growth-Oriented” budget and in line with the endeavours of the UT Government to double its economy in the next few years.

Budget Size/Key figures:

v   The size of the Budget for 2024-25 is Rs. 1,18,728 crore as against Rs. 1,18,500 in 2023-24.

v   Revenue Receipt Estimates for 2024-25 is Rs 97,861 crore and Capital Receipt Estimate is Rs 20,867 crore.

v   Revenue Expenditure for 2024-25 is pegged at Rs. 80,162 crore with sector-wise allocations as under;

Ø   Administrative Sector Rs. 12,580 crore.

Ø   Social Sector Rs. 24600 crore.

Ø   Infrastructure Sector Rs. 12,675 crore.

Ø   Economic Sector Rs. 5,306 crore.

v   Capital Expenditure (i.e Developmental Expenditure) for 2024-25 is Rs. 38,566 crore with broad sectoral allocation as under;

Ø   Administrative Sector Rs. 1,362 crore.

Ø   Social Sector Rs. 3,779 crore.

Ø   Infrastructure Sector Rs. 13,512 crore.

Ø   Economic Sector Rs. 6854 crore.

v   Capital Expenditure contribution towards GDP is 14.64%.

v   GDP for the year 2024-25 has been projected at Rs 2,63,399 crore which shows a growth of 7.5%.

v   The tax/Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio for 2024-25 has been projected at 7.84 percent which is just higher than previous year’s 6.56 percent.

Interim Budget Details

v  The total receipts in respect of Vote on Account for part of financial year 2024-25 are estimated at Rs 59,364 crore excluding the provision for ways and means advances of Rs 16,568 Crore. These receipts include Rs. 48,930 crore as revenue receipts and Rs. 10,434 crore as capital receipts.

v  The own revenues both tax and non tax are estimated to be Rs. 15,158 crore.

v  Rs 18,639 crore is to flow as central assistance and Rs. 8424 crore as CSS/ PMDP to the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.

v  The total net expenditure is estimated to be Rs 59,364 crore. This includes the estimated capital expenditure of Rs 19,283 crore and the estimated revenue expenditure of Rs 40,081 crore.

Focus areas:

v   Good Governance

v   Strengthening Grass-root Democracy

v   Promoting Holistic and Sustainable Agriculture

v   Promoting Jammu and Kashmir as an Investment Destination

v   Employment Generation

v   Developing New Tourism Destinations

v   Accelerated Development & Inclusive Growth

v   Women Empowerment

v   Social Inclusion

e-Governance Initiatives for 2024-25:

v   e-office to be extended in all the offices and panchayats.

v   Physical verification units to be established at Jammu & Srinagar.

v   Revitalization of Public Private Partnership (PPP) and Viability Gap Fund (VGF) cell in the Finance Department.

v   PM Gati Shakti to be fully implemented.

v   Emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and Internet of Things (IOT) to be implemented for effective delivery of services to the citizens by Information Technology Department.

Sector wise Key Features for 2024-25:

Agriculture & Allied Sectors (Allocation of Rs. 2029.95 Crore under Capital expenditure for 2024-25)

v  Establishment of 2000 Kisan Khidmat Ghars (KKGs) for providing facilities to the farming community at their door step. 

v  Strengthening of Departmental Seed Multiplication Farms. 

v  Competitiveness Improvement of Agriculture and Allied Sectors project in Jammu and Kashmir (JKCIP) to be implemented with an estimated value of USD 100 million loan from International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The goal of the project is to contribute to the sustained increase in income of rural households by improving the competitiveness of farming operations. 

v  283 borewells to be constructed and 520 irrigation pump sets to be distributed for providing assured irrigation covering an area of 1000 Hectare. 

v  4500 dairy units to be established & 3000 sheep units to be set up providing direct employment to around 12000 people. 

v  Increase in milk production from 25 to 45 Lakh Metric Ton and increase in milk collection/chilling from 2.0 to 8.5 Lakh Litres Per Day (LLPD) over a period of five years. 

v  Fish Production to be enhanced from 30670 MT to 35250 MT with technological interventions. 

v  Production of designer plants for promotion of high density plantation and rejuvenation of orchards. 

v  50 fruit including dry fruit processing units to be established for value addition of fruits, to reduce post-harvest losses and to generate employment opportunities for the youth. 

v  83000 MTs of Controlled Atmosphere (CA) storage capacity to be added during next fiscal.

Health & Wellness (Allocation of Rs. 1427.61 Crore under Capital expenditure for 2024-25): 

v  Two Cancer institutes at Jammu and Srinagar to be made fully operational during 2024-25. 

v  Enhancing DNB Seats to 400 thereby improving the availability of Specialists. 

v  Health records to be saturated by creation of ABHA IDs for 1.35 crore population. 

v  100% screening of 30+ age population for hypertension and diabetes.

v   Dialysis Services to be strengthened at 16 existing facilities and 10 new health facilities.

Rural Development & Panchayati Raj (Allocation of Rs. 3730.83 Crore under Capital expenditure for 2024-25):

v  Under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 400 lakh mandays to be generated. 

v  Under HIMAYAT scheme, training of around 7000 candidates to be completed.

v  Under NRLM 12000 additional Self Help Groups (SHGs) to be formed during 2024-25. 

v  600 new panchayat ghars to be constructed under Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) with 100% internet connectivity. 

v  2.60 lakh mandays of training to Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) members under Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA). 

v  80,000 houses to be constructed under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Gramin (PMAY-G).

v  Villages to have solid/liquid waste management facilities in order to become clean/litter and plastic free. 

v  26000-hectare area to be treated with completion of 1800 works under Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) during 2024-25.

Power Sector(Allocation of Rs. 1875 Crore under Capital expenditure for 2024-25): 

v  Extension of power supply/grid connectivity to Tulail Valley in Gurez. 

v  Creation of 02 new grid sub-stations at 220/132 Kv level, which will enhance capacity by 260 MVA at Radampora (160 MVA) and Rathsun Beerwah (100 MVA). 

v  Construction of 03 new transmission lines at 132 Kv level Pampore-NowbughChadoora, 132 Kv level Bandipora-Gurez and 132 Kv Direct Circuit tap line for 80 MVA grid sub-station Drusoo-Rafiabad. 

v  Segregation of critically overloaded 11 KV feeders for improvement in voltage and reduction in fault level.

Tourism & Culture (Allocation of Rs. 469.20 Crore under Capital expenditure for 2024-25) 

v  Development of infrastructure and basic amenities in 20 off-beat tourist destinations, 10 each in Jammu and Kashmir divisions. 

v  Development of Keran as border tourist village.

v  Development of Tosamaidan and Sitharan circuit. 

v  Development of Duggar Dani at Samba with traditional set up in the form of “mock village”. 

v  Construction and installation of 130 meter (425 feet) high National Flag Mast at Patnitop.  

v  Construction of grand welcome/entry gate at Lakhanpur to showcase and emphasize the major destinations within the Jammu & Kashmir Union Territory. 

v  Completion of revival and restoration of 75 identified heritage sites/cultural sites. 

v  Establishment and operationalization of 8 cultural centers.

v  Promotion and propagation of sufism in Jammu & Kashmir through structured programmes including operationalization of state of art Suffiana school at Srinagar. 

v  Digitization of all libraries.

Water Supply & Irrigation (Allocation of Rs. 5038.74 Crore under Capital expenditure for 2024-25):  

v  All 18.36 Lakh households of Jammu and Kashmir to have functional household tap connections. 

v  Har Ghar Jal (HGJ) certification of remaining 4000 villages. 

v  3244 JJM schemes to be handed over to Pani Samities/PRIs for their operation & maintenance. 

v  78 major medium irrigation schemes to be completed and 250 hectare of irrigation potential to be created/stabilized. 

v  297 Minor Irrigation Schemes to be completed for creating 2400 hectare of Irrigation potential benefiting population of 4400 souls. 

v  302 flood control schemes to be completed and 3000 hectare of land to be reclaimed and protected. 

v  51 schemes to be completed during 2024-25 under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana-Har Khet Ko Pani (PMKSY-HKKP) and 12 schemes targeted for completion under National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) loan assistance.

v  Shahpur Kandi Dam likely to be commissioned during 2024-25, which will benefit Jammu & Kashmir with 1150 cusec of irrigation water facilities for 32173 hectare of land in Kathua and Samba.

Housing & Urban Development (Allocation of Rs. 2329.55 Crore under Capital expenditure for 2024-25): 

v  05 Sewerage Treatment Plants (STPs) with sewerage treatment capacity of 65.33 MLD are under implementation. 

v  Under AMRUT 2.0, UT Water Action Plan for 153 projects of 78 ULBs has been completed. This includes 99 projects for water supply connections aiming to provide 2.25 lakh new tap household connections. 

v  Under Smart Cities Mission out of 262 projects, 207 projects have been completed and 55 project are likely to be completed in 2024-25. 

v  Pollution abatement of River Tawi by way of laying interception & diversion network at old city. 

v  Revamping of Transport Nagar Narwal Jammu and Parimpora Srinagar.

Education (Allocation of Rs. 1300.10 Crore under Capital expenditure for 2024-25):

v  Separate annual library grant ranging from ₹5,000 to ₹20,000 covering schools from Primary to Senior Secondary for purchase of books under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan.   

v  2000 Kindergartens to be established. 

v  Only fortified rice to be served to about 8.43 lakh students at elementary level (I to VIII) under Mid-Day Meal Scheme for improving nutritional health of students. 

v  Infrastructure of 233 schools to be upgraded under Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) Scheme. 

v  3.50 lakh adults to be made literate under New India Literacy Programme (NILP).  Scholarship @₹5000/ student under Beti Anmol Scheme for BPL girl students. 

v  18723 Schools to be provided sports equipments with the financial implication of ₹18.50 crore. 

v  Construction of 05 newly established colleges to be completed during 2024-25. 

v  Two hostel blocks, two science blocks and 06 additional lecture blocks in various colleges to be completed. 

v  08 colleges to be assessed and accredited in 2024-25.

Connectivity (Roads & Bridges) (Allocation of Rs. 4108.87 Crore under Capital expenditure for 2024-25):

v  4000 Kilometers of road length to be black-topped during 2024-25 under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)/Cities & Towns scheme/Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF)/National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) loan assistance/pothole free road scheme. 

Industrial Development (Allocation of Rs. 529.62 Crore under Capital expenditure for 2024-25) 

v  46 new Industrial Estates have been identified for development that will attract investment and create employment opportunities. 

v  Under Jammu & Kashmir Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (J&K REGP), 1167 units targeted to be setup during 2024-25. 

v  New Start-up Policy to be introduced for creating start-up ecosystem. 

v  Up-gradation of infrastructure in existing Industrial Estates. 

v  Private Industrial Estate Development Policy to be revamped.

Social/Tribal Welfare (Allocation of Rs. 306.82 Crore under Capital expenditure for 2024-25)

v  All intellectually challenged persons to be covered under Nirmaya Health Insurance Scheme. 

v  Vatsalya Sadan Jammu to be operationalized. 

v  1000 Anganwadi Centres to be made attractive and interesting in phased manner. 

v  250 small nature of tractor and link road connectivity to be provided to tribal population. 

v  70 Hand Pumps to be provided to Schedule Tribe basties. 

v  Smart cards to be provided to migratory tribal population. 

v  Transit accommodations to be established for trans-human tribal population which includes accommodation for 150-200 families, community kitchens, medical dispensaries, veterinary dispensaries, community toilets and livestock yards. 

v  186 villages, having 500 schedule tribe population, to be covered under “Pradhan Mantri Aadi Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAAGY)” scheme.

v  10 milk villages targeted to be completed during 2024-25.

Relief & Rehabilitation of Kashmiri Migrants (Allocation of Rs. 1067.61 Crore under Revenue and Capital expenditure for 2024-25)

v  Completion of construction of 1500 flats as transit accommodation for Kashmiri pandit employees during 2024-25. 

v  Remaining 350 posts out of 6000 posts under PM-Package for Kashmiri migrants to be filled in 2024-25.

Skill Development & Employment (Allocation of Rs. 165.50 Crore under Capital expenditure for 2024-25)

v  Financial support through self-employment schemes like Seed Capital Fund Scheme, Youth Start-up Loan Scheme, National Minorities Development & Finance Corporation scheme, Women Entrepreneurship Programme and under Mission Youth schemes to be provided to youth to undertake self-employment ventures. 

v  Outreach and counselling activities to be conducted for aspiring job seekers through Model Career Centers (MCCs).

v  New age courses to be introduced in 10 Industrial Training Institutes. 

v  Placement drives for 1000 pass outs to be organized in collaboration with big business and industrial establishments. 

v  Training of 6000 women Self Help Groups registered with NRLM to be completed.

Sports & Youth Initiatives (Allocation of Rs. 141.80 Crore under Capital expenditure for 2024-25)

v  75 lakh youth engagements in various sports events to be held at the Panchayat, Block, District, UT and National level during 2024-25. 

v  20 national sports events to be organized in 2024-25. 

v  200 playfields and 100 sports courts to be constructed.  Swimming pools to be completed at Moulana Azad Stadium, Jammu and Gindun Park Rajbagh, Srinagar.

Forestry & Environment (Allocation of Rs. 156.45 Crore under Capital expenditure for 2024-25)  

v  Planting of 190 lakh native trees and 100 lakh low cost greening interventions aimed to restore ecosystems, prevent soil erosion and enhance biodiversity. 

v  All urban Local bodies of Jammu and Kashmir to have at least one Nagar Van, Nagar Vatika or an Eco Park. 

v  10 lakh saplings of local, medicinal and economic importance to be distributed among the farmers for planting to augment trees outside forests & improve livelihood.

v  Infrastructure at wetlands like Gharana, Hokersar and Shallbugh to be developed for promotion of eco-tourism. 

v  Establishment of Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Station (CAAQMS) in Jammu.

 Food & Civil Supplies(Allocation of Rs. 313 Crore under Capital expenditure for 2024-25)

v  Additional 10 kg of rice per month at subsidized rate to Priority Households will be provided under Prime Ministers Food Supplementation Scheme. 

v  e-KYC of all beneficiaries under Public Distribution System to be completed.

Science & Technology (Allocation of Rs. 159.50 Crore under Capital expenditure for 2024-25)

v  4000 AC agriculture pumps to be replaced by Solar Pumps in phased manner under PM-KUSUM Component “C”. 

v  Around 04 megawatt rooftop solar power plants to be installed on the government buildings.  100 kw floating solar power plant to be installed in the Dal Lake, Srinagar for demonstration purpose to attract the tourists.

v  5000 improved biomass cook-stoves to be provided in the tribal areas to reduce indoor air pollution and fuel use. 

v  Land bank to be identified for development of solar parks. 

v  Under Special Area Development Programme (SADP) tourist & religious places to be taken-up for complete solarization.

Security Related Activities (Allocation of Rs. 1284.45 Crore under Revenue and Capital expenditure for 2024-25)

v  Construction of 42 new border police posts to strengthen the anti-infiltration grid. 

v  Installation of CCTV cameras with command-and-control center at public places to be completed. 

v  Improvement of basic facilities in police stations/police posts and police housing complexes. 

v  1218 community/individual bunkers to be constructed. 

v  Implementation of Inter-Operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) Project.

Allocation to major schemes