'India's budget = Bihar+Andhra budget': Finfluencer as FM Sitharaman announces big sops for allies

Budget 2024-25: As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced big sops for ally-ruled states, the opposition leaders and some financial experts said the budget looked like a budget for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. Bihar and Andhra - ruled by NDA allies JDU and TDP - featured prominently in Finance Minister Sitharaman's budget speech in Lok Sabha on Tuesday. 

"India's budget= Bihar + Andhra budget. Let's see what other states get," Akshat Shrivastava, founder of investing educational platform Wisdom Hatch, said in a tweet.  

The JDU and TDP are two critical allies for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu had been pushing for financial packages to develop the state.  

During her budget presentation, Sitharaman made several announcements for Bihar and Andhra. For Andhra Pradesh, Sitharaman said the Centre would facilitate special financial support through multilateral development agencies. In the current financial year, Rs 15,000 crore will be arranged, with additional amounts in future years, she said. 
 
The finance minister stated that her government is fully committed to financing and early completion of the Polavaram Irrigation Project, which is the lifeline for Andhra Pradesh and its farmers. For promoting industrial development, she said, funds will be provided for essential infrastructure such as water, power, railways and roads in the Kopparthy node on the Vishakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor and Orvakal node on the Hyderabad-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor. Sitharaman also announced grants for backward regions of Rayalaseema, Prakasam and North Coastal Andhra. 

For Bihar, Sitharaman announced an industrial nod at Gaya. On the Amritsar-Kolkata industrial corridor, she said, the Centre will support the development of an industrial nod at Gaya in Bihar. She said the move would catalyse the development of the easter region. "We will also support the development of road connectivity projects- Patna -Purnea expressway, Buxar- Bhagalpur highway, Bodhgaya- Rajgir-Vaishali- Darbhanga, and an additional two-lane bridge over river Ganga in Buxar for Rs 26,000 crores."  

The finance minister has announced funds for flood management in Bihar and other states. She announced Rs 11,500 crore for projects such as the Kosi-Mechi intra-state link and 20 other ongoing and new schemes including barrages, river pollution abatement and irrigation projects. 

Sitharaman also announced the redevelopment of iconic temples in Bihar. She said comprehensive development of Vishnupad Temple Corridor and Mahabodhi Temple Corridor will be supported, modelled on the successful Kashi Vishwanath Temple Corridor, to transform them into world-class pilgrim and tourist destinations. She also announced the support for the development of Nalanda as a tourist centre besides reviving Nalanda University to its glorious stature.  

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said that announcements for Bihar and Andhra were made to save the government at the Centre. "'Sarkaar bachani hai toh acchi baat hai ki Bihar aur Andhra Pradesh ko vishesh yojnao se joda gaya hai'...They have increased unemployment in the last 10 years," he said while speaking to reporters. 

Akali Dal's Harsimrat Kaur Badal said that Budget 2024 was tailor-made for two NDA allies in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh "even as farmers, poor and youth across the country were ignored".