Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 1, (BPNS )
The Union Budget 2023 has given nothing to be cheered about for the state, said chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. According to him, the persistent demands of the state like All India Institute of Medical Science and railway development have once again been snubbed.
“The budget remains mum on solving the growing economic disparities in the country. In turn, it helps only in the concentration of wealth among corporates,” said Vijayan.
The CM also expressed the view that the budget had ignored to represent a regionally balanced approach.
According to Opposition Leader VD Satheesan, the budget was nothing but ‘cleverness with numbers.’
“Eyeing the upcoming election at Karnataka, the Union Government announced projects/schemes worth Rs 5300 crore there. And Kerala got nothing. It was expected that a special package for returnees and the cashew sector will be announced. But nothing turned up,” said Satheesan.
At the same time, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said that the budget is meant for comprehensive development and it had set the platform for the growth and development for the next 25 years.
“The budget had catered to the need of the state also. It had announced allocation for women empowerment, environment-friendly initiatives, young artisans, and tourism. All these will benefit the state,” said Muraleedharan.
However, the budget evoked mixed responses from the stakeholders including the travel and tourism industry, small and medium traders, and others.
According to the Confederation of Kerala Tourism Industry, the budget would do a lot of positive things in the tourism sector in the coming years. It also added that the very mention of tourism at the beginning of the speech that it is one of the pillars of the growth engine for employment generation has acted as a booster for the sector.
At the same time, the small-and -medium-scale traders were unhappy over the absence of any announcement of any change in the existing GST rules. It also flayed the absence of any amnesty scheme for the traders.
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