State hopes for big ticket projects, boost to farm sector
With the state’s economy in “dire straits”, the Aam Aadmi Party government, industrialists and farmers are looking to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for uplifting not just the state finances, but also helping the industry get a level playing field with units located in states closer to ports. Sitharaman is all set to announce her Budget proposals for the fiscal 2025-26 on February 1.
Even as industry captains, politicians and the agrarian population have been increasingly talking about the differences in ideology between the ruling party in the state and the BJP-led Centre, impacting the transfer of central funds to the state, hopes are once again high that some big ticket investment in Punjab would be announced in the Budget 2025-26. The announcement will cause a ripple effect and many ancillary units can then be set up. After the Bathinda refinery became operational in the state in 2012, there has been no big public sector industrial investment in this state bordering Pakistan, and having the unemployment rate of 7.7%, much higher than the national average.
More industrial investment would not only give a fillip to the state’s sagging economy in the terms of income from direct and indirect taxes, it will also help protect the state’s demographic profile. With youth migrating abroad for greener pastures, and even to the metro cities in India, the state has witnessed a steady rise in emigration with 13.34% of rural households having at least one member abroad.
The agriculture sector, on the other hand, is hopeful of the Centre giving some direction to the state’s till now feeble and several failed attempts at diversification from the wheat-paddy monoculture. With farmer unions on the “warpath” once again, there is hope that the Union Finance Minister may just fulfil the long-standing demand of farmers — a legal guarantee of minimum support price for all crops.
The state government, in its wish list presented to the Union Finance Minister, has sought support to diversify 10 lakh hectares under the water-guzzling paddy cultivation to other crops, as it would help in saving Rs 31,000 crore for the Centre, reimbursement of market fee and Rural Development Fund, and assistance in incentivising farmers against stubble burning. The state has also demanded complete reimbursement of National Health Mission funds, some of which have been held back as a legacy payment. Another demand is to restore the total loan to be disbursed by NABARD to Rs 3,041 crore, as was done in the year 2023-24. During the current fiscal, these advances were reduced to just Rs 1,100 crore. A higher borrowing limit for the Powercom, rail connectivity between Rajpura and Chandigarh, more Vande Bharat trains connecting Punjab to Delhi, financial assistance for setting up electric bus services in cities, incentives for MSMEs and help in industrialisation of six border districts of the state have also been sought.
