Patna: Bihar Finance Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary on Tuesday presented a Rs 2.61 lakh crore budget for 2023-24, with a focus on employment, health and education.
He said that the state budget has increased three fold in the last 10 years, while pegging economic growth rate of the state at 10.98 per cent in the last financial year “which is much higher than the country”.
He said that the the economy of Bihar has increased and the growth rate reached to third position among all states, but said it is still a developing state and needs financial help from the Centre to become a developed state.
Chaudhary also announced a huge recruitment drive for various state government departments.
“We are going to recruit for 75,543 posts in the Police Department, 40,506 primary teachers, 44,193 middle school teachers, and 89,724 upper middle school teachers in the Education Department. Besides, we will also recruit for 49,000 posts through the BPSC and 2,900 by the SSC. We have also allocated funds for the recruitment of 63,900 more posts in different departments,” he said.
The Finance Minister also claimed that the Centre has adopted many projects which were started in Bihar.
“We have started ‘Har Ghar Bijli Yojana’ in 2016 and the Modi government has started in 2017. We have started “Har Ghar Nal Ka Jal Yojana” in 2019. The Modi government had implemented it in the entire country after a few months,” he saidsaid.
This led to an uproar from BJP legislators after the minister mentioned PM Narendra Modi.
Chaudhary also allocated Rs 5,540 crore for the expansion of the PMCH, Rs 40 crore for the development of madrasas, Rs 50 crore for the female students bicycle scheme, Rs 100 crore in female students dress scheme, and Rs 94 crore in the fund allocated for students who come first in Class 10 Board examinations.
The state government will also convert 21 Sadar hospitals of the state into model hospitals. He has also announced schools for the minority community in every district. At present, such schools are running in Darbhanga and Kishanganj districts.
–IANS