Rajasthan Congress government to present paperless Budget

Congress government in Rajasthan would present their third Budget today. The paperless Budget is expected to focus on allocations for farmers, women and employment generation.

Jaipur: Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government in Rajasthan would present its third budget on Wednesday, which would be a paperless exercise.

"The state budget 2021-22 would be paperless this time. And the legislators would be provided soft copies of the budget speech and other related documents in tablets instead of hard copies," a senior Finance Department official said.

Chief Minister Gehlot, who also holds the finance portfolio, finalised the Budget at his residence on Tuesday. It is expected that the Budget would focus on agriculture, health and information technology.

It is likely that the Budget would give impetus to farmers in the wake of ongoing protest and the State would ask for more funds from the Centre, said Govind Singh Dotasra, Minister of Education.

It would comprise of provision of power supply for farmers, new power feeders during the day, improvement in canal areas, availability of agricultural loans, additional subsidy from the state government on agricultural resources, support for purchasing livestock to farmers, he added.

Keeping in view of the ongoing affairs in the state, impetus for job creation in corporations and municipal bodies including health, panchayati raj, education is also expected, said Dotasra.

There would also be emphasis on allocation for women which would include loans for startups, IT innovations, MNREGA and honorarium of women working in Anganwadi, said Dotasra.

Mining and petroleum sectors are also expected to receive concessions. Moreover, by-elections in Sahada, Rajsamand, Sujangarh, Vallabhnagar would also be eyed upon.

With inputs from agencies