C’garh: In a first, C’garh finance minister presents hand written budget in Assembly

In a departure from the tradition of presenting a computer-typed budget, Mr Choudhury penned the entire 100-page budget himself for presentation in the house.

“The handwritten budget, penned by me, symbolizes authenticity and transparency in governance”, the minister said.

He said the handwritten budget in the digital age holds significance, while calling it a ‘step towards tradition and originality’.

This is perhaps the first time a finance minister in a state has presented a handwritten annual budget in the house.

The annual budget of Rs 1,65,100 crore presented in the house by Mr. Choudhury has given special focus in the development of Leftwing extremism-hit Bastar.

The budget has proposed creation of a Special Operation Group (SOG) in the line of National Security Guard (NSG) for speedy disposal of cases relating to Maoist violence.

Provisions were also made to accelerate infrastructure development including establishment of mobile towers in the remote areas in the state particularly in Bastar.

The budget has also focused on the theme of GATI (G stands for good governance, A for accelerating infrastructure, T for technology and I for industrial growth) to ensure speedy development of the state.

While the budget of the previous year focused on the theme of GYAN (Gareeb, Yuva, Annadata, and Nari), this year’s budget aims to drive progress in the state under the theme of ‘GYAN for GATI’ to build on the progress made in this year and continue the journey with a rapid progress towards achieving the goal for 2030, as part of ‘Amrit Kaal Vision 2047’, Mr Choudhury said.

“The previous year’s budget laid a foundation for inclusive development. Today’s budget has presented the next step in that developmental journey”, chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai said.

The budget has also introduced ten new schemes relating to infrastructure development.