Kerala Demographic Challenge and the Way Forward

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#opinion Kerala is a state that is often considered one of the best places to live in India. It ranks high on multiple indices of the NITI Aayog and boasts impressive Human Development Indicators such as literacy rate, healthcare, education, and low corruption. This success is attributed to the contributions of visionary leaders, irrespective of political affiliation, as well as public participation in socio-politics, policymakers, subject experts, the erstwhile Travancore Kingdom, and many others. This collective effort has led to what is known as the Kerala Model of Development. The state is among the top ten in terms of both GDP and per capita income. Despite Kerala's significant progress in quality of life and human development parameters, there are other fronts where this success is lacking. Today, Kerala is in the news for negative reasons such as a financial crisis, decreased revenue, rising debt, high unemployment, brain drain, and other challenges. While some issues are ov
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Takeaways from Kerala Budget 2024

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The budget speech was held on 5th April by the Financial Minister of Kerala K N Balagopal in the Kerala Legislative Assembly. The Economic Review report was presented in the Assembly on February 2, 2024. Mr Balagopal’s third Budget after taking over as Kerala’s Finance Minister.

National Budget Article 


Major Announcements from the Budget Speech 

  1. GSDP Growth rate- 2022-2023- 6.6% 
  2. Revenue Deficit- ₹27,846 crore- 2.4%
  3. Revenue- ₹1,38,655 crore
  4. Expenditure- ₹1,84,327 crore- 3.4%
  5. Fiscal Deficit- ₹44,529 crore
  6. Longest Budget speech 
  7. Political points 
  8. Building a Nava Keralam- New Kerala 
  9. "Kerala will not be shattered, Kerala will not tire, Kerala cannot be destroyed"
  10. Ignorance of the Central Government to the state 
  11. LSG Government- ₹8000 crore
  12. Infrastructure Sector- ₹34,530 crore
  13. Increase in Tax Revenue- ₹7804 crore
  14. Increase in Non-Tax Revenue- ₹1,503 crore
  15. Transport Infrastructure- ₹1,976.04 crore 
  16.  Capital Investment- ₹34,530 crore
Major Takeaways 
  • Financial Crisis taking centre stage Centre 
  • Centre-State conflicts on debt and borrowing
  • Attract ₹3 lakh crore worth of investment 
  • Kozhikode and Trivandrum light metro to be built 
  • Proceed with the K-Rail Silverline Project 
  • More support for the Kochi and Vizhinjam Project 
  • Vizhinjam port will begin functioning in May and will be transformed into a transport hub
  • River sand mining to be allowed in the state
  • Regulation of the Lottery System 
  • ₹5 lakh crore under LIFE Mission 
  • Special Packages for Wayanad, Idukki and Kasargod 
  • Make Kerala the Medical hub 
  • Masters graduates in Digital University can study for PhD at Oxford University 
  • 50 new branches for KSFE 
  • ₹73 crore Minority Welfare
  • ₹35 crore for Forward Communities 
  • ₹1000 crore for Nava Kerala Sadas
  • 2502.23 for Healthcare 
  • Keralayam to be continued 
  • Focus on privatisation 
  • Discontinuation of Contributory Pension 
  • ₹773.09 for MSMEs
  • ₹2,979.4 crore for Scheduled Caste sub-schemes 
  • ₹859.5 crore for Scheduled Caste Development
  • ₹170 crore for Art and Culture 
  • ₹265 crore for Kudumbashree mission

Increase in Cost 

  • Stamp Duty 
  • Electricity Tariff 
  • Foreign Liquor made in India 
  • Court Fees 
  • Land Tax 
Decrease in Cost 
  • Tourist Bus registration

Transportation and Urban Infrastructure 

  1. Urban Development Schemes- ₹961.14 crore
  2. Vizhinam Project 
  3. Kochi Port Development 
  4. 9 crore for Fishing ports 
  5. Kozhikode and Trivandrum light metro 
  6. K-Rail Silverline Project 
  7. ₹27.6 for Sabarimala Master Plan
  8. v100 crore for the Smart City Project 
  9. ₹57 cr was allocated for addressing the flooding situation in Alappuzha 
  10. ₹293 crore for Kochi Metro 
  11. Development of industrial corridors and IT and IT-enabled services (ITES)
Education 
  1. ₹23.51 crore for Kerala Digital University
  2. ₹1,736.63 crore for Public Education
  3. ₹456.71 crore for Higher Education 
Science, Technology and IT 
  1. ₹507.14 crore 
  2. ₹324 crore for Kinfra
  3. ₹6 crore for Startup Initiative 
  4. 2000 WiFi Hotspots 
  5. ₹35 crore for Life Science Parks
  6. ₹150.26 crore allocated for the modernization of the police

Criticisms 
Principal opposition party Congress criticised the budget as far-fetched and away from reality. They also flayed the ruling party for making it too political than substantial. BJP took shots at the budget and government for trying to borrow more just for its political mileage and wasteful expenditure. 

Analysis 
We can see a massive push for infrastructure, development, transportation etc. despite the financial crisis and the government trying to reduce its expenditure. A mix of old projects and new projects also got an elaborate mention. Also, there is enough push for education, agriculture, environment, IT, health and other sectors. Overall a lot of sectors were touched despite the challenge.  The state is still under the grip of cash crunch and borrowings. Unlike previous budgets, there is less focus on KIIFB. It was a politically charged budget with attacks on the central government and pushing the idea of Nava Keralam which can be compared with Amrit Kaal. 
 
This is an important push for the modernisation of education, infrastructure and transportation in recent years which is very different from classical LDF regime budgets. The controversial K-Rail project received a mention, but not much was said on that which will create a lot of confusion. IT sector and startups will get a big boost and can help reduce unemployment and reduce emmigration. Addressing flooding and coastal region challenges was focused on fighting climatic and environmental problems. An increase in court fees and stamp duty may stop people from using judicial services. Social welfare is not the core of the budget anymore, unlike typical LDF budgets. Overall it was a deviation from classical communism just like last year. 

Credits- Mathrubhumi, Asianet, TOI, Onmanorama, Manorama Online

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