Puducherry Budget | Subsidy for gas cylinders, support for unemployed youth, funds for girl children are among new schemes announced

Other schemes announced in the annual budget of ₹11,600 crore, presented by CM N. Rangasamy on Monday, include a corpus fund for traders, setting up of a new Anti-Human Trafficking Unit and an IT park

A subsidy of ₹300 per month for 12 LPG cylinders in a year, a fixed deposit scheme of ₹50,000 for a newborn girl, a 1% subsidy on the purchase of land and machinery for unemployed youth to start industrial units and setting up of a corpus fund of ₹2 crore for traders welfare: all of these schemes form part of the annual budget of ₹11, 600 crore for the Union Territory, presented by Chief Minister N. Rangasamy in the Assembly on Monday.

Highlighting the new initiatives planned by his government during the next financial year, the Chief Minister said the government would provide a subsidy of ₹300 per month for 12 LPG cylinders in a year for all family ration card-holders in the Union Territory. A sum of ₹126 crore has been set aside in the budget for this, for the next fiscal.

For the welfare of girl children, a new scheme ‘Chief Minister’s Female Child Protection Scheme,’ has been introduced in the budget. The government will remit ₹50,000 as a fixed deposit at a nationalised bank for a period of 18 years for all newborn girls born in the UT.

In order to assist unemployed youth to start new ventures, the government has decided to provide a subsidy of 1% on land, building and machinery for the first five years of starting a new industry. Considering the welfare of traders, the government has proposed to set up a corpus fund of ₹2 crore for a ‘Traders Welfare Association.’

The government has also decided to incur the premium for the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (accident insurance scheme) for all red ration card-holders.

The Chief Minister also said all vacancies in government departments would be filled, and promotions on merit and seniority, would be accorded to employees. He also thanked the Prime Minister, Home Minister and Finance Minister for providing additional a Normal Central Assistance of ₹1,250 crore in the Budget Estimate for 2023-24.

Of the total budget outlay of ₹ 11, 600 crore, the UT’s own revenue comes to around ₹6,154 crore, the Normal Central Assistance, including the disaster management fund, comes to ₹3, 117 crore and funds under Centrally Sponsored Schemes amount to ₹620 crore. The remaining ₹1, 707 crore would be mobilised through Open Market Borrowings and loans from financial institutions.