Kerala Budget 2023: Rs 2,000 crore allocated to address price rise, focus on 'Make in Kerala' projects

During his Budget 2023-24 speech, Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal said the southern state has bravely overcome COVID challenges and finally returned to the path of growth and prosperity.

KN Balagopal, the finance minister for Kerala, presented the Left government's proposed budget on Friday. He included several infrastructure and higher education projects and funding of Rs 100 crore for social programmes and Rs 2,000 crore to combat price increases.

The Minister said the southern state had bravely faced COVID problems and had finally returned to growth and prosperity as he opened the budget statement on a hopeful note. 

Kerala is not in a debt trap, he added, although the state's economy is having difficulties due to the federal government's financial policies and its decision to reduce the state's borrowing limit.

Assuring that the financial constraints would not impact the government's welfare and social security schemes, Balagopal said Rs 100 crore would be set aside for welfare development programmes in the budget. 

"A total of Rs 2,000 crore will be allocated for tackling price rise in the state," he said. 

The FM said common people would be addressed while announcing big projects and Rs 80 crore would be allocated for alleviating extreme poverty in the southern state. 

He said that a total of Rs 600 crore would be set aside for rubber subsidy in the state budget, adding that a separate Research and Development budget would be presented to give more focus to the R&D sector. 

He said an extensive industrial and commercial centre would be developed around the under-construction Vizhinjam port. 

The Minister added that more focus would be given to the "Make in Kerala" project to increase the state's domestic production and boost employment and investment opportunities.

(With inputs from PTI)