Thomas Isaac. Photo: ScreengrabFor Kerala Budget 2018 Live updates, news and analysis click here.
Thiruvananthapuram: Coming on the trail of Cyclone Ockhi that devastated Kerala’s coastline, the state Budget includes a Rs 2,000 special package for the fisheries sector. Finance minister T M Thomas Isaac, who also announced measures to revive the healthcare sector, said that the cyclone presented a model in disaster management. He also said that Kerala was No. 1 in economic achievements and the state was an impenetrable fortress against forces of communalism.
Below are the highlights of Kerala Budget 2018-19.
• Fair value of land increased by 10%
• Rs 16 crore for NRI returnees
• Kerala Bank to start functioning this year
• Rs 144 crore for art and culture:
• Rs 10 crore for Punnapra-Vayalar memorial
• Rs 10 crore for setting up AKG memorial at Peralasseri, Kannur
• Rs 14.5 crore for jail modernization
• Half of the revenue from jails to be used for jail modernization
• Rs 28 crore for Sabarimala Master Plan
• Rs 300 crore for setting up computer labs in LP and UP schools
KSRTC
• Govt will not take over the pension dues of Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC)
• Rs 1,000 crore to revive KSRTC
• Will enable KSRTC to pay off its salary, pension dues
• Will make changes in the management level
• To be divided into three profit centers
Major announcements
• Rs 80 crore for startup incubator
• Pamba action plan to be revived
• Land tax of 2015 restored, to rope in Rs 100 crore in revenue
• The previous UDF government had withdrawn the tax after protests
• Rs 40 crore assistance for special schools
Industries
• Rs 600 crore for coir sector
• Rs 150 crore for handloom
• Rs 19 crore for Khadi sector
• Rs 54.45 crore for cashew sector
Also visit Union Budget 2018 special coverage
A She Budget
Isaac's Kerala Budget give women their due - from ensuring protection to aid for women-centeric projects. He also sprinkled his Budget presentation with quotes from women writers in Malayalam.
• Isaac presents women-friendly Budget
• Rs 1267 crore for women-safety projects
• Rs 50 crore for women safety
• Rs 10 crore for panchayats for women safety
• Rs 36 crore to assist assault survivors
• Nirbhaya houses to get Rs 5 crore
• Rs 25 crore for working women's hostel in all districts
Budget Goes Green
• 3 crore saplings to be planted
• Rs 50 crore to ensure water for wild animals inside forests
• Rs 71 crore for environmental projects
• Rs 100 crore to tackle wild animal menace in human habitats
Healthcare
• Rs 10 crore differently abled, safe homes to be set up in all district centers
• Trauma care units to be set up in taluk hospitals
• Rs 1 crore renovation fund for schools with more than 500 students
• Rs 33 crore for modernization of education sector
• Rs 17 crore for mental healthcare
• Uber-model ambulance services to be introduced across state
• Public health services to get Rs 1685 crore
• Rs 2,500 crore for life mission housing scheme
• Kerala lottery funds to be utilized for comprehensive healthcare scheme
• Cardiology units to be set up in all district hospitals
• Oncology departments to be set up in all medical colleges
• New cancer center in Kochi
• Isaac breaks monotony of Budget presentation by quoting from literary greats of Malayalam
• Rs 2,500 crore for life mission housing scheme
• Rs 8 crore for SupplyCo modernization
• Rs 954 crore for food subsidy
• Rs18 crore for poultry farming, govt will set up hatcheries in all panchayats to be run by Kudumbashree
• Rs 31 crore to implement food security plan
Coastal package
• Kerala Budget focuses on reviving Ockhi-hit areas, announces comprehensive coastal package
• Rs 150 crore for rehabilitation of families living in coastal areas
• Rs 900 crore investment for coastal areas from KIIFB
• Isaac sets fiscal deficit target at 3.1% vs 3.3% now
• Govt allotted Rs 4274 crore for KIIFB
• Isaac hints at tough austerity measures
• Isaac blames GST for current financial crisis, says new tax regime only benefits corporates
• Free WiFi for coastal areas
• Rs 584 crore loan to redevelop fishing harbors
• All schools in coastal areas to be modernized
• Rs 2,000 crore package for coastal areas
• Rs 100 crore to set up satellite network as part of coastal package
• Rs 10 crore for detailed project report (DPR) on coastal package
• Communalism finds place in Isaac's Budget speech
• Finance minister T M Thomas Isaac begins Budget presentation
• First Kerala Budget after the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST)
• Isaac's third Budget presentation as the finance minister in the Pinarayi government
• Speech to be shorter by about an hour because he neither has a long list of new taxes nor a shower of sops to present.
• No ambitious projects, sops likely this year
Read more: Budget | Isaac to present his crisis-year state budget: Here's what to expect
