In its tenth budget, the Yogi government plans to prioritize social programs and set aside a sizable sum of money from the government treasury for development projects in order to placate the state’s citizens ahead of the assembly elections the following year.
In the election budget, the government will consider all facets of society and not only allocate a substantial amount of funds through various programs to improve the lives of women, youth, and the elderly, but it will also give more attention to transportation and infrastructure projects for the developed state of Uttar Pradesh in order to accelerate the state’s transition to economic independence.
This time, the Yogi government may provide the police department with around Rs 45 thousand crore to enhance it under the zero tolerance policy, since nothing is possible without improved law and order.
In the estimated budget of about Rs 9 lakh crore for the next financial year 2026-27, the government can keep more than Rs 2.5 lakh crore for development works.
Only after Finance Minister Suresh Khanna presents the budget to the House on February 11 will it be evident how much money has been set aside for which populist schemes and projects. However, based on the government’s recent speeches and those of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, it is evident that the government will not hesitate to spend treasury funds during the election year.
Through the Lok Kalyan Sankalp Patra, the BJP made 130 significant pledges to the state’s citizens prior to running for office in the 2022 assembly elections. The Yogi government has so far fulfilled the majority of these promises, but plans are in motion to fulfill the remaining commitments with this budget.
Sources claim that in order to implement the resolutions, the government will raise the pensions for the elderly, widowed, poor women, and disabled from Rs 1000 to Rs 1500 per month in current budget.
Making public transportation free for women over 60 is another commitment; but, if the government does not make this announcement in the budget, it might do so closer to election time. This year will undoubtedly see the fulfillment of the promise to give scooters to deserving female students.
The budget may also include a declaration to raise the honorarium by 1,43,450 Shiksha Mitras. Since 2017, Shiksha Mitras have received an honorarium of 10,000 rupees per month, with the possibility of an increase to 17,000 to 20,000 rupees. It is possible to set aside 250 crore rupees in the budget for this reason.
This year, the Public Works Department could get more than 42,000 crore rupees to improve the state’s road system. There will be bridges, connection roads, village roads, charitable routes, state highways, and city bypasses built.
The Home Department’s planned budget of Rs 45 thousand crore will be specifically set aside for building construction, police-PAC and fire service vehicle purchases, and the prevention of cybercrime.
The government might set aside 1,300 crore rupees under the Zero Fatality Plan to reduce accidents, 100 crore rupees to equip buses and bus stations with CCTV cameras, and 1,200 crore rupees to construct bus stops in each development block and gram panchayat. It may be possible to buy diesel and electric buses for two thousand crore rupees.
The building of all airstrips, including Jewar, might cost two thousand crore rupees, which would enhance air travel. The government could also provide 500 crore rupees for the Inland Waterways Authority.
This time, basic and secondary education could receive an extra ₹2,500 crore. Secondary education could get ₹25,000 crore, and basic education could get ₹81,000 crore. Kasturba Gandhi Girls’ institutions could receive ₹1,000 crore, while decaying institutions could receive ₹300 crore in the remaining 140 improvement blocks.
Dream Skill Lab clusters in secondary schools could receive 500 crore rupees. The Housing Department could receive 8,500 crore rupees for infrastructure in cities. The Chief Minister’s Urban Expansion Scheme may provide 3,500 crore rupees for the construction of new townships.
Two and a half thousand crore rupees can be allocated for the development of urban infrastructure, including the construction of divisional offices in Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Kanpur, Meerut, and Moradabad, as well as for the development of authorities such as Mathura-Vrindavan, Kanpur, and Lucknow. Additionally, Rs 500 crore can be allocated for the Lucknow Metro Rail Project.
The government may set aside two thousand crore rupees for new infrastructure projects under the Accelerated Economic Development Plan in light of the state’s overall development. It may be possible to set aside five billion rupees for Bundelkhand and about 1.5 billion rupees for special projects in Purvanchal.
Sports promotion could also receive a budget of one thousand crore rupees. The government could spend over 42 crore rupees to build a sports science lab, gym, sports equipment, and books at the Major Dhyanchand State Sports University in Meerut, in addition to providing about 20 crore rupees for the establishment of sports colleges in Agra, Mirzapur, Devipatan, Jhansi, Moradabad, Ayodhya, Bareilly, and Aligarh.
The government should set aside ₹350 crore for open gyms and stadiums in rural areas. Under the PM Ajay Yojana, the budget might possibly set aside ₹2,000 crore for the development of areas dominated by Scheduled Castes. Under the Atal Industrial Infrastructure Mission, the government might spend an astounding ₹4,000 crore to upgrade infrastructure in industrial districts.
Just 40% of the Rs 37,798 crore allocated to the Public Works Department, which the Chief Minister oversees as the departmental minister, could be used within the ten months allotted in the current fiscal year.
Spending was 61 percent for the police department, 45 percent for revenue, 37 percent for housing, 53 percent for primary education, 58 percent for social welfare, 46 percent for forests, 34 percent for transportation, 21 percent for infrastructure, and just 33 percent for the sports department. Budget declarations notwithstanding, numerous plans remain unexecuted.
For instance, a ₹400 crore (US$1.2 billion) plan to give scooters to deserving female students pursuing higher education was proposed in the last budget, but it has not been put into action yet. The North-South Corridor, the Kukrail Night Safari, and the construction of divisional offices have also not progressed.
Additionally, the state’s commitment to create the Maa Annapurna canteen in order to give impoverished people access to inexpensive food and to give each family one job—self-employment—has not yet been fully implemented.
